Women’s Empowerment, Income, and Nutrition in a Food Processing Value Chain Development Project in Touba, Senegal

Abstract

To study the impacts of implementing a gender-sensitive value chain development (VCD) initiative in the agri-food sector, we conducted a mixed-methods study of a woman-owned food processing business and its associated value chain in Touba, Senegal. As a result of partnering with a USAID-funded project, the business began producing instant fortified flours, an innovative, higher-value product compared to traditional porridge, using extrusion and fortification techniques. Drawing on Senegalese women’s association networks, the business connected with local women who could work as processors and retailers. Our study’s goal was to explore how the project’s support of this food processing value chain has affected the lives of women processors and retailers, farmers, and medical personnel along the value chain. Particularly relevant to our study is the general lack of opportunities for women to earn their own incomes in the study region, especially outside of the home, and provide for their families. Through surveys, interviews, observations, and novel participatory focus group activities, our study provides qualitative and quantitative evidence of the perceived impacts of value chain development on women’s empowerment, income, and nutrition by key stakeholders in the value chain. We find an often cited barrier to women’s empowerment is the husband’s lack of understanding and limitations placed on women’s mobility, yet we also find perceptions of women’s empowerment in this conservative religious context. Our findings and discussion highlight the need for more research into VCD projects on the complex and, at times, contradictory processes of women’s empowerment. The women in our study expressed a desire for freedom to work outside of the home, and they expressed a need for childcare and contraception. Notably, the women discussed positive community changes, such as infrastructure and the creation of a childcare center, that implicate women’s collective empowerment. We also highlight a promising research opportunity in Senegal to explore the subnational variation in women’s empowerment through VCD.

Feeding the future in Ghana: Gender inequality, poverty, and food insecurity

“…Future studies should investigate men's and women's perceptions of their own empowerment in relation to development projects. One such example of a study on women's empowerment in an agricultural development project is O'Brien et al (2022), which employs qualitative methods like participatory research activities to understand context‐specific interpretations of empowerment. Since quantitative measures of empowerment (like a survey) applied across contexts can miss localized meanings, we recommend qualitative methods to gather nuanced explanations of perceived empowerment from study participants themselves.…”

“…Some men in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa have reported to at least one coauthor of this paper that women's empowerment must disempower men because they view women's empowerment as a zero‐sum game. However, studies show that women's empowerment can improve household income, nutrition, and other areas of well‐being for men and communities too (O'Brien et al, 2022). Thus, we further encourage development projects seeking to empower women to educate study participants, households, and communities about the benefits of women's empowerment for men, families, and communities, and to educate that both men's and women's empowerment are not mutually exclusive.…”

“…Women's empowerment is a distinct concept that this study explores in support of the development goal of gender equality. (For more on the difference between gender equality and women's empowerment, see, e.g., O'Brien et al, 2022. ) In the next section, we present the methodology of the data collection for gender analysis in the PHLIL Ghana project.…”

“…Women's empowerment is a distinct concept that this study explores in support of the development goal of gender equality. (For more on the difference between gender equality and women's empowerment, see, e.g., O'Brien et al, 2022. )…”

Harms to Community Food Security Resulting from Gender-Based Violence

“…Ref. [43] reports that women engaged in a USAID-funded food processing development project in Touba, Senegal, sometimes experienced domestic violence from their husbands due to the time spent outside the home producing instant fortified flours. The abuse and low-esteem experienced spill over into the community and undermine vital food processing and packaging activities that are required to support CFS.…”