Rural women in low- and middle-income countries face multiple constraints in accessing
and benefiting from essential complementary resources, technologies and services for
agriculture production and participation in the food system. This paper highlights new
thinking since the 2011 SOFA around these constraints and how to overcome them.
Specifically, we consider complementary factors that allow women to access, retain and
maximally benefit from productive resources such as land, labor and physical capital.
These complementary factors comprise (1) networks and social capital resources
(e.g., self-help groups, civil society groups and cooperatives), (2) information
and communication technology, (3) technology (e.g., modern agricultural inputs,
mechanization/laborsaving technologies and other technologies facilitating women’s
integration into agriculture and food systems), (4) agricultural extension and advisory
services, (5) financial services (e.g., credit, formal savings, insurance) and (6) social safety
nets. We analyze the evolution in women’s access to these complementary factors since
2011 and describe the potential benefits of reducing constraints and thus closing the gap
in access to complementary resources. We further provide evidence on what has been
effective (or not) at reducing constraints on women accessing them. Finally, we conclude
with policy recommendations.