Challenging Chains to Change - Gender Equity in Agricultural Value Chain Development

Value chain development is a key approach worldwide to increasing the incomes of small and medium producers and the economically active poor. In recent years, the active (but under-recognized) role of women in agricultural value chains has become more and more obvious. Development organizations need to understand the gender dynamics at play in value chains.

This book enthusiastically takes up the challenge of addressing gender in value chain work. It addresses gender at two intersecting levels: as a justice issue, in which both men and women should benefit from value chain gains, and as a means of building more robust and efficient chains.

This book is the result of exchange by practitioners and academics using a “writeshop” (jointly writing a book in a workshop). It contains an easy-to-read analysis of many excellent examples from practice that convince us that there are many entry points and opportunities for addressing gender in value chain development: ways that benefit both the men and women involved and the success and profitability of the chain itself.