Our Gender Approach
Gender equality is critical to sustainable agricultural transformation. Women play a central role in African agriculture but continue to face barriers such as unequal access to resources, knowledge and decision-making. KCOA addresses these challenges through gender-sensitive, gender-responsive and gender-transformative measures guided by tools such as the Reach-Benefit-Empower Principle and the Gender Equality Continuum.
These measures works to ensure women not only participate in activities but also benefit meaningfully and take on leadership roles. Through inclusive training, accessible knowledge products and advocacy that challenges harmful norms, KCOA aims to strengthen women’s agency and build more equitable, resilient food systems. Its gender guide provides practical tools and recommendations to support gender equality throughout implementation.
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Our gender partners and programmes
- KCOA’s knowledge hubs in North, West, Central, East and Southern Africa prioritise gender sensitivity, responsiveness and transformation in their programme approaches and activities. They have also developed a variety of related knowledge products, ranging from publications to posters, to support gender equality. Search for these resources in the KCOA database.
- Addressing gender inequality requires the active participation of men. The Southern Africa and Central Africa hubs collaborated in 2025 to train facilitators across the KCOA network in an approach that fosters positive masculinity. The Positive Masculinity Toolkit documenting this approach is under development.
- In partnership with Young Professionals for Agricultural Development, PELUM Kenya and African Green Store Network, KCOA launched the Building Women & Youth-led Network Alliances for Agroecology and Organic Agriculture (WYNA) Programme to raise awareness of agroecology and organic agriculture, build practical skills among women and youth, support green entrepreneurship and jobs, strengthen partnerships and improve knowledge sharing through storytelling and co-creation.
Our latest gender resources
This practical guide explores how to strengthen gender equality in organic agriculture and agroecology through more inclusive and empowering approaches. It includes tools, frameworks and practical recommendations to help build more just and resilient food systems.
This practical toolkit explores how to engage men and boys as active partners in advancing gender equality within food systems. It provides tools to challenge harmful stereotypes, strengthen positive masculinities and support more inclusive and gender-transformative approaches.
This featured knowledge product shows how participatory theatre can help surface and engage harmful gender norms in a community. It is a participatory tool with which to engage communities in finding ways to resolve gender disparities in a non-threatening way.
Our gender achievements (2019-2026)
Our latest gender stories
Discover sustainable farming practices and organic solutions tailored for African farmers on the Agroecology Africa Blog, addressing unique challenges like soil health, crop protection, water conservation and much more with practical strategies. The articles are edited by KCOA’s Knowledge Promotion Team. The authors are responsible for the contents of the posts.
