Agricultural engineering is traditionally viewed as a male-dominated technical discipline. In farming practice, particularly in Africa, much, if not most, of the field work (including the use of numerous tools and pieces of equipment) is managed and carried out by female farmers. Despite this, a lot of male agricultural engineers acting in their capacity as project practitioners, extensionists, researcher or policy makers, are not prepared to approach and work with women farmers. FAO has implemented a programme on gender issues. The outcome of the programme is a booklet and poster called "Making Each and Every Farmer Count - Participation in Agricultural Engineering Projects". The initial idea for the booklet was born in 1996 after a workshop on "Gender and Agricultural Engineering" in Kadoma, Zimbabwe of which the proceedings are available on request.

FAO together with IFAD and has conducted a Study on the Potential for Improving Production Technology of Farm Women in Africa. The study was carried out in Burkina Faso, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The final report is available on request.