Claudia Ringler and Elizabeth Bryan GENDER conference October 14, 2022

1. Gender-responsive investments and policies in
response to the crisis brought about by
Russia’s war on Ukraine
Claudia Ringler & Elizabeth Bryan
International Food Policy Research Institute
October 14, 2022 | GENDER conference

2. The war on Ukraine, together with C19 and climate change has
led to dramatic increases in food/fuel/fertilizer prices
2007-08 food, fuel &
fertilizer crisis
2011-12 food, fuel &
fertilizer crisis
2021-22 food, fuel &
fertilizer crisis
-4.0%
-2.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
GDP
growth
in
LMICs
Food,
fuel
&
fertilizer
price
indices
(2000=100)
Source: Headey and Hirvonen (2022) using data from FAO, the World Bank and the IMF.

3. Do we still have a food/fuel crisis? Yes
▪ Price spikes came on the heal of low GDP
growth in LMICs
▪ Food inflation levels increased in the last
few months over levels earlier in the year
▪ Prices remain above levels prior to
COVID19
▪ New export bans (f.ex. India for rice)
▪ High fuel/ fertilizer prices dampen
agricultural production/productivity,
suggesting lasting impacts
▪ Growing adverse climate extremes further
push up prices
▪ The war has not ended, more adverse
food impacts well possible

4. What are gendered vulnerabilities and impacts?
▪ Stalled growth in women’s access to smart phones and mobile internet
▪ Persistent gender gap in bank account ownership
▪ Growing gender gap in food and nutrition security: In 2021, at least 150
million more women than men were experiencing food insecurity; COVID-
19 phone surveys show that in most cases women’s dietary diversity was
more affected than that of men
▪ Growing gender gap in employment: more women than men lost jobs as a
result of Covid-19→ affects women’s access to leadership positions
▪ Expected growing gap in access to fertilizers: subsidies in response to
higher fertilizer prices tend to reach men and richer farmers
▪ Agroecological approaches promoted in response to the crisis often grow
women’s labor burden

5. What do phone surveys tell us? (n=281); Example northern
Ghana
▪ 98% of women and 96% of men noticed increased food prices over the last 6
months (94% of men and 96% of women noticed increased fuel prices)
▪ According to women farmers, prices for rice, maize and oils rose most (men did
not notice changes in edible oil prices as much)
▪ 80% of farmers believe prices will increase further (this will affect hoarding of
food, decisions on planting, etc.), three quarters of respondents sold less of the
food they produced than they usually do
▪ 63% of women and 45% of men stated they had to borrow money to buy food
▪ Main response to higher fuel prices: 41% of women went less to the market and
26% of men used alternative mode of transportation
▪ Main response to higher fertilizer prices: 52% of women and 63% of men used
less fertilizer on family plots, men reported more reduction on women’s plots

6. Thoughts of why food prices have risen vary
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Bad government
Because of COVID-19
Because of the Ukraine war
Because of weather / climate change
[e.g. drought/high…
Because of God's will
Women Men
Source: Food/fuel price incresae survey, northern Ghana

7. Thoughts of why energy prices have risen vary
Source: Food/fuel price increase survey, northern Ghana
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Bad government
Because of the Ukraine war
Because of COVID-19
Because of God's will
Because of weather / climate change [e.g.
drought/high temperatures/lack of rain.…
Female Male

8. 1. Gather
evidence
▪ Gender-responsive approaches
require data on food crises
broken down by sex that are
timely, accessible, and localized
▪ Monitoring longer-term effects
on women’s empowerment and
well-being is also essential
▪ Without such data, gender-blind
investments are difficult to avoid
Photo credit: Sharad Maharjan, IWMI

9. 2. Expand social
protection
▪ Evidence abounds that social
protection programs can protect
women and children during food crises
▪ It should be a priority to expand these
programs to women who are not
formally in the labor force and those
whose businesses were forced to close
or are struggling
▪ Risk of program erosion due to
food/fuel price spikes eroding gov
budgets
Photo credit: Edward Echwalu/ESP

10. 3. Increase
opportunities
for decent work
▪ Women need support to run
businesses, including farming
▪ Such support includes childcare,
business development centers,
and access to finance, as well as
targeted procurement of goods
and services from women
farmers and entrepreneurs
Photo credit: Panos Pictures

11. 4. Support
women’s groups
and networks
▪ Existing social networks and
women’s groups are essential to
direct resources to women and
girls
▪ They can also boost resilience by
providing a platform for
collective action, sharing labor
and childcare responsibilities,
organizing transport, accessing
credit and savings, and
disseminating information
Photo credit: SEWA group, Gujarat

12. 5. Tailer financial
services to
women
▪ Waiving women’s access
barriers, such as registration
fees or collateral requirements,
while simultaneously increasing
financial literacy, should be part
of any program aiming to grow
food security and nutrition
Photo credit: C. de Bode/CGIAR

13. 6. Broaden
access to
information
▪ To counteract current agriculture
and food insecurity challenges,
women need information on less
labor- and input-intensive farming
practices and how to safely store
food to prevent contamination and
minimize food waste
▪ Increasing their ownership of
mobile phones and training on
how to use them is essential to
access extension messages and
market information increasingly
delivered through digital platforms
Photo credit: M. Cooperman/IFPRI

14. 7. Promote
women’s
leadership
▪ Women leaders and women’s
organizations need equal and
meaningful participation in decision-
making spaces at multiple scales to
develop more inclusive processes,
design gender-responsive
interventions, coordinate
implementation across sectors, and
monitor and evaluate the gendered
impacts of the crisis response
▪ Only if women’s voices are formally
represented in crisis planning and
response will programs be more
equitable and effective.
Photo credit: C. de Bode/CGIAR

15. Further readings
▪ Bryan E., C. Ringler and N. Lefore. 2022. To ease the world food crisis, focus
resources on women and girls. Nature Comment. 609: 28-31.
▪ Alvi, M.F., S. Gupta, P. Barooah, C. Ringler, E. Bryan and R.S. Meinzen-Dick.
2022. Gendered impacts of COVID-19: Insights from 7 countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia. Washington, DC: IFPRI
▪ Quisumbing, A.R., N. Kumar, R. Meinzen-Dick and C. Ringler. Why gender
matters in COVID-19 responses: Now and in the future. In COVID-19 and global
food security, eds. J. Swinnen and J. McDermott. Part Six: Gender, Chapter 20,
Pp. 88-90. Washington, DC: IFPRI
▪ M. Alvi, S. Gupta, R. Meinzen-Dick and C. Ringler. 2020. Phone surveys to
understand gendered impacts of COVID-19: A cautionary note. IFPRI PIM
Gendering Data Blog.
▪