This book is the result of a process to better understand the role of gender in agriculture that was initiated by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) in 2009. Recognizing the importance of empowering women farmers, Sida commissioned a study of the gender aspects of five of its major agricultural programmes.

The case studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nicaragua and Zambia, and the accompanying umbrella analysis, highlighted many difficulties in working towards greater gender equality in agricultural development programmes, but it also revealed a number of valuable lessons and promising approaches.