Agricultural Technology and Gender

Is technology advancement in agriculture a a developmental gain or curse as regards women economic empowerment?Studies on the gender analysis of the impact of agricultural technology warn that unless there is a deliberate intervention , agricultural technology may perpetuate inequality.

Agriculture remains the backbone of most African economies.Women are overly represented in agriculture as subsistence farmers.However a research done by UNCTAD observed the following:Trade integration policies do not have clear-cut positive or negative effects on women in agriculture: the effects vary across subgroups of women depending on the agricultural sectors and markets where they are active, and are often double-edged, with different impacts on women as consumers and producers, livestock breeders and seed conservors