Gender Transformative Business Models
Gender Equality Holds Untapped Potential in Value Chains
Gender inequality remains a significant issue in value chains, where structural barriers and harmful sociocultural norms not only limit women’s access to resources, agency, and control over their livelihoods, but also hinder businesses from generating revenue and mitigating risks. At IDH, we aim to transform agricultural markets by changing business practices and convening stakeholders to address systemic gender inequalities that limit both business growth and the potential of women in the sectors we work in.
To achieve this, we analyse and advise on Gender Transformative Business Models (GTBMs). This innovation guide serves as a practical blueprint for agri-businesses and practitioners, providing insights, best practices, and lessons to implement GTBMs. It's designed to support, for example:
- Value chain managers looking to integrate women more consistently into their production, off-taking, and value-adding processes;
- Service providers seeking to attract and retain more women in their field force and to better serve women farmer customers;
- Business developers seeking social investors focused on achieving gender targets.
In agricultural value chains, despite being essential stakeholders as customers, employees, and suppliers, women are often marginalised and face significant disparities in income, access to resources, control over those resources, and decision-making power. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), women make up approximately 43% of the agricultural labour force worldwide. Yet, they represent a large market segment that is frequently overlooked by businesses, leading to lost revenue and missed sourcing opportunities.
Moreover, with the increasing enforcement of international regulations (e.g., Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)) and rising consumer demand for socially responsible products, businesses that fail to engage effectively with their female stakeholders risk facing challenges that hinder their success. These factors highlight the need for companies to adapt their business models to embrace gender equality—not only to strengthen and sustain commercial outcomes but also to comply with progressive regulations.
In the following sections, we unpack the key concepts of GTBMs, offering actionable recommendations for designing and implementing them. We bring these models to life through a series of case studies, while providing critical reflections on their achievements and remaining risks.
What are GTBMs?
GTBMs are business models that enhance commercial viability, while empowering women for both their economic and social benefit. They unlock value for businesses by addressing and overcoming the root causes of gender inequality:
- Building individual capacities: Extension services, technical support, and training programs often overlook the specific needs of women, leaving them without critical knowledge and skills in areas like good agricultural practices, financial literacy, and climate resilience. By offering training, education, and resources, GTBMs enhance the capacities of both women and men, enabling them to participate equally in economic activities.
- Addressing harmful gender norms: Harmful cultural and gender norms, particularly in rural areas, prevent many women from accessing key agricultural resources (e.g., land, quality inputs, equipment) and from participating in decision-making at the household and farm levels. GTBMs actively challenge and dismantle these harmful gender norms and stereotypes, promoting gender equality and helping to realise the full potential of both women and men.
- Strengthening institutional rules and practices: Poor institutional rules and practices limit women's access to markets, key agricultural resources, and financial services, restricting their ability to invest in their farms and scale agricultural production. GTBMs aim to change these institutional rules and practices to close gender gaps and ensure equitable access to resources.
Why are GTBMs important?
GTBMs demonstrate a strong and clear business case for companies and farmers' businesses, while making notable contributions to community and societal welfare.
- Increased productivity and profitability: Women often make up a significant portion of the agricultural labour force but face barriers that limit their productivity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, farm yields could increase by 20–30%, potentially raising total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5–4%. Evidence from IDH’s Women’s Safety Accelerator Fund program shows that addressing gender-based violence—both in the workplace and at the household level—can reduce absenteeism by 10%, which is responsible for 5-7% of annual revenue losses. Additionally, data from our FarmFit program in West and East Africa demonstrates that a combination of mechanisation, financial support, empowerment of women farmers, and community engagement has been key in boosting farm productivity and, as a result, increasing the profitability of the off-taker companies involved.
- Lower cost-to-serve: Companies that engage a larger proportion of women in their farmer base can experience more cost-efficient operations. Data from our portfolio suggests that agri-businesses working with a higher share of women farmers (around 30-50%) have seen lower costs to serve farmers (see chart below). While this finding may be influenced by underlying value chain dynamics, a possible explanation is the collective action and strong community ties often present within women’s farmer groups, which can lead to reduced outreach costs. Additionally, businesses can benefit from typically higher loyalty rates (and reduced side-selling), as well as lower default (and higher repayment) rates, which are often reported among women farmers.
Service delivery cost per farmer
The chart above depicts the median service delivery cost per farmer, distributed by women farmer share (in buckets of 10%) of the company’s farmer base. It aggregates data from 56 business models in several geographies, mainly (but not exclusively) East Africa, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. Note: The last bucket is aggregated in ‘Above 50%’ (as opposed to the other 10% buckets) owing to the limited data points we had in those categories.
- Stronger employer-employee relationships: Gender-inclusive workplaces foster a supportive environment, leading to higher employee satisfaction and retention rates. Inclusive practices make employees feel valued, which in turn increases their commitment to the company. Results from Deloitte’s survey suggest that women working for organisations that prioritise gender equality have three times higher loyalty, productivity, motivation, and sense of belonging compared to those working for companies that lag behind in this area.
- Lower credit losses: Women are reliable borrowers with high repayment rates, reducing credit risk for companies and financial institutions. Research published in The Empirical Economics Lettersshows that women have a strong negative relationship with microfinance institutions' portfolio at risk, while positively impacting the self-sufficiency and profitability of these institutions. The World Bankalso notes that women are less likely to default on loans, leading to lower credit losses. Companies in our portfolio, such as Raphael Group Limited in Tanzania, and Agri-trade and Tamanaa in Ghana, have reported that women farmers are generally more committed than men in repaying loans, aligning with higher cost recovery from services.
- Reduced business risks: Diversifying the supplier and customer base by including women significantly expands your market, reduces dependency risks, and strengthens supply chain resilience. According to a report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), companies with gender-diverse leadership and supply chains are better equipped to manage risks and adapt to changes.
- Reduced reputational risk: Consumers are increasingly favouring socially responsible brands. A Nielsen survey found that 66% of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands. Companies adopting gender-inclusive practices can enhance their reputation and, in turn, attract a larger customer base.
- Reduced compliant risk: Adopting GTBMs helps companies comply with national and international regulations and standards (e.g., CSRD, CSDDD) on gender equality and non-discrimination, reducing the risk of legal penalties and improving eligibility for government contracts and funding opportunities.
- Better access to services and resources: GTBMs focus on providing women with equal access to resources (e.g., land, credit, training, inputs, technology), leading to increased farm productivity. Research shows that giving women access to improved inputs can boost yields by up to 24%. A USAID program found that women farmers who adopted improved practices saw yield increases of 28%. Similarly, the FAO estimates that equal access to productive resources for women could raise farm yields by 20-30%, potentially increasing total agricultural output in low-income countries by 2.5-4%.
- More income: Empowering women in agriculture boosts their income streams. Evidence from our portfolio shows that GTBMs benefit both women and men farmers more than other business models (see chart below), highlighting the synergies between improving farmers' wellbeing and making a compelling impact investment case for companies.
Change in farmer’s net income
The chart above depicts the change of focus crop net-income in percentages, over a 3-year period, across gender intentional and gender transformative business models, disaggregated per gender.
- Control over financial resources and household benefits: GTBMs promote women's financial inclusion and autonomy over economic resources. Data from the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP) shows positive links between women’s control over savings and increased economic resilience. According to the UNDP, when women control their income, they are more likely to invest in their families' health, education, and nutrition, leading to broader societal benefits.
- Economic growth: Gender inequality limits economic potential. By empowering women and ensuring their full participation in the economy, GTBMs can significantly boost productivity and economic growth. Moody's Analytics estimated that closing the gender gap could add USD 7 trillion to the global economy. A report from the FAO suggests that closing the gender gap in farm productivity and agrifood-system wages could increase global GDP by 1% (nearly USD 1 trillion) and reduce food insecurity by 2%, benefiting 45 million people.
- Poverty alleviation: McKinsey & Company estimates that women’s equal participation in the economy could add up to $28 trillion to global GDP by 2025, while the FAO estimates that women having the same access to productive resources as men could reduce the number of hungry people in the world by up to 150 million.
- Gender equity: GTBMs promote gender justice by addressing the systemic barriers that prevent women from achieving their full potential. This is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ambitions of national and international policies (e.g. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), CSDDD, etc.), as well as fostering cooperative power structures that uphold the dignity, aspirations, and capabilities of all individuals involved.
How to get started with building GTBMs?
IDH has identified key components to help businesses address gender gaps and implement interventions that advance GTBMs. These focus on gender-strategising at the business level, collecting gender-disaggregated data to understand farmers and staff, creating inclusive workplaces, consulting both women and men to understand their needs, and tailoring interventions accordingly.
Since GTBM implementation is not a one-size-fits-all process, businesses should adopt a contextual approach, engaging both women and men to tackle the root causes of gender inequality i.e., limited individual capacities, harmful gender norms, and poor institutional rules .
However, businesses don’t need to implement all components simultaneously. We emphasise taking incremental steps, prioritising actions, and setting long-term goals suited to their context and capacity. Below, we unpack these components to help businesses assess their gender performance, identify improvement opportunities, and align interventions with impactful outcomes, along with practical recommendations based on our lessons and best practices.
1. This involves being intentional and strategic in promoting gender equality by assessing gender gaps, setting goals and targets, and adopting gender-sensitive marketing approaches.
- Tip: Businesses can identify specific gender gaps and norms by conducting gender analyses and engaging with local communities. FAO's gender analysis guide offers detailed guidance on understanding and conducting gender analysis throughout the programming cycle.
2. Assigning gender expert(s) helps design, implement, and monitor policies and interventions that promote gender equality. For example, Agri-trade employed a gender specialist to support their gender interventions, demonstrating the value of expert guidance.
3. Engaging women with context awareness helps avoid strong conflict with existing gender norms, preventing potential tensions between the business and the community.
- Tip: This UN Women report highlights cases of community backlash against gender interventions worldwide and offers recommendations on how to recognise and prevent such reactions.
1. Collecting and analysing gender-disaggregated data helps businesses identify gaps for intervention and informs strategic planning. It also enables companies to understand the business case for tailoring products to specific customer profiles, particularly in serving women.
- Tip: A report from the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) emphasises the importance of gender-disaggregated data in understanding gender inequality and promoting inclusion. Implementing a Farm Management Information System can streamline gender-disaggregated data collection, enabling analysis and insights that inform business decisions.
2. Regularly monitoring and evaluating gender-related indicators allows businesses to track progress, identify challenges, make informed adjustments, and generate insights for continuous improvement.
- Tip: The case study of Raphael Group Limited demonstrates how the company used insights from gender-related indicators and gender-disaggregated data to foster knowledge exchange with other farmer groups.
1. Involving women in leadership roles and decision-making processes encourages greater female participation in agricultural activities.
- Tip: From our portfolio, we have observed that women farmers are often more comfortable receiving services from female agents or attending training sessions led by women extension officers. This is particularly relevant in contexts where the community disapproves of women interacting with men outside their families.
- Tip: Gender-balanced leadership fosters confidence and challenges traditional gender stereotypes. The case study of Tamanaa highlights this, particularly in the training provided to women working in its parboiling centres.
2. Implementing gender-sensitive policies and adhering to sustainability standards ensures compliance and accountability.
- Tip: This includes implementing policies such as equal pay, anti-harassment mechanisms, family leave, and flexible working practices. A USAID guide provides a comprehensive list of gender-related workplace policies. Additionally, businesses can leverage insights and practices from existing sustainability frameworks like the UNGPs, CSRD, and CSDDD.
1. Building trust by actively engaging local communities (both women and men), government agencies, and other stakeholders will strengthen the impact of interventions, reduce resistance, and foster collective ownership.
- Tip: Depending on the audience and engagement objectives, different techniques can be applied, such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and surveys. In some cases, creative techniques (e.g., rich pictures, SWOT analysis, visioning) can help gather key information, especially in contexts where gender issues are considered taboo.
2. Embracing consultative approaches during planning and implementation ensures the sustainability of gender interventions beyond the project lifecycle.
3. Engaging men to build allyship is crucial for combating harmful gender norms.
- Tip: Engaging male leaders in patriarchal communities can help facilitate women’s access to resources. For example, Agri-trade and Tamanaa worked directly with male leaders and chiefs, who are the landowners. Their involvement led to buy-in and allyship, which was crucial for successfully implementing gender interventions.
1. Providing women with essential resources (e.g., land, credit, inputs, mechanisation) empowers them to participate equally with men, helping overcome gender-specific barriers in value chains.
- Tip: Strategies to provide these resources should be tailored based on data collection and inclusive consultation, considering specific needs and conditions. Practices may include adjusted timing and locations for training, sizing input bags according to the physical needs of women, providing loans to individual bank accounts to increase women's agency, leasing land to women without titles (e.g., through block farming models), and prioritising mechanisation services for women farmers.
2. Facilitating fair market access and financial inclusion for women is key to enhancing their economic independence and resilience.
- Tip: Customised financial products and tailored credit scoring systems help women overcome barriers to accessing finance. For example, RGL established tripartite financing agreements with banks to create customised financial products for women smallholder farmers (SHFs).
3. Providing tailored training on good agronomic practices (GAPs), climate-resilient techniques, financial literacy, and leadership skills fosters women’s empowerment.
- Tip: Agri-trade, for example, offered targeted training for women farmers in GAPs, alongside other services that promote their empowerment, such as improved inputs and mechanisation.
What are the defining impacts of GTBMs?
While there is substantial evidence on the impact of individual gender interventions, comparable evidence at the GTBM level remains limited. To address this gap, we present four case studies that highlight a range of gender innovations, offering deeper insights into the practical application of GTBMs and their outcomes for both companies and women farmers.
The following section explores these case studies, showcasing how different companies have integrated key gender performance components within their specific contexts.
Case studies of gender interventions and innovations
Agri-trade is a Ghanaian agribusiness specialising in rice production through an out-grower scheme. The company increased high-quality rice production and raised SHFs’ incomes by expanding operational capacity, improving farm productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, and diversifying into rice processing.
Key gender interventions included the integration of a gender expert, a 60:40 support rule (60% women, 40% men), engaging community leaders to secure women's land access, and establishing a women-run seed multiplication block farm. This block farm:
- Secured affordable, certified rice seeds for out-growers (both women and men);
- Increased control over seed quality and quantity; and
- Provided local women with job opportunities as seed multipliers.
Through these interventions, Agri-trade achieved more cost-efficient service provision. It increased rice seed supply to around 400 MT per season to meet the needs of 5,000 SHFs, boosted rice sourcing by about 3.5 times during certain periods, and reduced business risks. Read the complete case study of Agri-trade.
Tamanaa Company Limited is a grains processor based in Northern Ghana. The company launched a projectto optimise its rice mill capacity while empowering the community through gender-inclusive practices, such as securing long-term access to farmland for women and providing them with the necessary tools, equipment, and logistics for efficient operations.
The project included several key initiatives: women-operated rice parboiling centres, youth-led spray services for rice farmers, and engaging community leaders and sub-chiefs to secure women’s land access. During the project, Tamanaa worked with around 4,000 smallholder farmers (SHFs), 50% of whom were women, cultivating an average of 2 acres of paddy rice each.
As a result of these interventions, Tamanaa improved rice quality, increased rice volumes sourced from 11,200 to 98,000 MT annually, and boosted SHFs’ productivity from 3.5 to 7.0 MT per hectare. Additionally, the project significantly contributed to higher farmer incomes, job creation, and increased women’s participation in the rice supply chain. Read the complete case study of Tamanaa.
Coscharis Farms Limited (Coscharis) is a commercial rice production and processing company based in Anambra state, Nigeria. The company implemented a block farming model to integrate smallholder farmers (SHFs) and empower women and youth through in-grower and out-grower schemes. The project established a strong supply chain by recruiting 750 in-grower farmers on Coscharis’ nucleus farm and 4,250 out-grower farmers on block farms formed from lands leased from local communities.
Leveraging economies of scale, Coscharis provided comprehensive services to its block farmers, including access to land, financial services (with insurance), training, high-quality inputs, mechanisation, and guaranteed offtake. This engagement and service package boosted SHFs' productivity by 75%, increased paddy rice supply by 9%, and reduced rejection rates from 40% to 5%.
The block farming model played a critical role in empowering women and youth farmers, who often face barriers to land ownership and access in Nigeria’s patriarchal society. The project successfully built a resilient and inclusive business model that surpassed initial farmer participation targets. Read the complete case study of Coscharis.
Raphael Group Limited (RGL), based in the Southern Highland region of Tanzania, implemented an innovative smallholder farmer (SHF)-inclusive business model through its consortium, Upper Southern Highlands Rice and Beans. The project expanded support to SHFs, with a particular focus on empowering women and youth through targeted services such as training, access to finance, and market linkages.
Key gender interventions included the creation and strengthening of 23 women-only SHF groups, reaching around 42,000 women farmers with tailored services. These interventions helped RGL increase its sourced volumes of rice and beans by 87% and 163%, respectively, while scaling the business in a lower-risk manner by engaging more women farmers. Women farmers exhibited a 98% credit repayment rate, compared to 70% among men farmers. Read the complete case study of RGL.
Where to find more inspiration
Inclusive Business Model reports
- Inclusive Business Model Analysis: Rujo Agri-Trade, Ghana
- Inclusive Business Model Analysis: Tamanaa, Ghana
Videos
Case studies
Other internal resources
External resources
- ABERA: Accelerating Business to Empower Rural women in Agriculture (joint CGAP/IDH program, includes blog posts and videos)
- Toolkit for business: Investing in women’s economic empowerment to strengthen supply chain resilience
- Valuing Women’s Work: A framework for business on gender equality and decent work
Important to note
Driving the adoption of gender-transformative business practices on a large scale requires a deeper understanding of how companies can effectively address gender challenges and why these practices make good business sense. Since gender issues are highly context- and culture-dependent, this innovation guide should be seen as a living document, updated over time as new evidence from different value chains and geographies is incorporated.
Annexes: Case studies of gender interventions and innovations
Summary: Agri-trade, an agribusiness in Northern Ghana, specialises in rice, maize, and soybean production through an out-grower scheme. The company boosted high-quality rice production to meet processing capacities while raising smallholder farmers' incomes. Agri-trade’s strategy involved expanding operational capacity, improving farm productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, and diversifying into rice processing. Key gender interventions included hiring a gender expert, implementing a 60:40 support rule (60% women, 40% men), engaging community leaders for women's land access, and creating a women-run seed multiplication block farm. This block farm secured affordable, certified rice seeds, improved control over quality and quantity, and provided jobs for women as seed growers. As a result, Agri-trade increased its rice seed supply to 400 MT per season, meeting the demand of 5,000 farmers, and boosted rice sourcing by 3.5 times while reducing business risks.
How Does Agri-trade Drive GTBM?
To address the root causes of gender inequality and support the implementation of its GTBM, Agri-trade implemented the following gender interventions across the key components:
1. Gender Strategy
- The company made a conscious effort to employ more women, strategically targeting 60% of women farmers.
- Agri-trade employed 14 women and 10 men on a full-time (FTE) basis. The company also has a gender specialist available for employees to consult when needed.
- The company developed policies to ensure all employees are aware of their rights and protocols, regardless of gender.
2. Data collection
- Agri-trade implemented gender-disaggregated data collection to track and monitor farmer reach, access to services, yields, and procurement.
3. Inclusive Workplace
- Agri-trade’s block farm model created income opportunities for women as seed multiplication SHFs and provided additional roles along the value chain, such as seed cleaning.
- The company facilitated the formation of women-only groups to break cultural barriers that hampered women participation.
4. Inclusive Consultation
- Agri-trade facilitated women's access to land by building relationships with community leaders, convincing them of the importance of allowing women to use land for farming, often at no cost.
5. Adaptation for Inclusion
- Through the block farming model, women seed farmers received training in GAPs, bundled input packages, quality control, and market access.
- Agri-trade tailored input delivery by ensuring the weights were manageable for women, minimising physical strain on seed farmers.
- Agri-trade supported women to adopt organic fertilisers as a complementary source of plant nutrition, reducing input costs by 45% while increasing their farm profit by over 20%.
- The company trained and empowered women to take up group leadership roles so they can protect the interest of women during decision-making.
- Trainings intentionally targeted women with topics like integrated pest management, zero or minimal tillage, efficient use of water, and planting of cover crops to increase their knowledge in sustainable production.
- Trainings were delivered in local languages and supported with audiovisual aids to accommodate illiterate women.
- Where flood alerts were received, Agri-trade prioritised mechanised harvesting and offtaking of produce from women farmers.
- Agri-trade provided mechanisation services, such as ploughing and harvesting, for women rice and seed farmers, allowing them to work on larger areas of land with less physical strain.
- Agri-trade provided input credit to individual SHFs, prioritising women, enabling independent decision-making and direct digital payments to women farmers rather than household or couple-based credit.
- Agri-trade provided women farmers with inputs on credit, to be repaid during offtake through forward agreements, easing financial strain during the farming season.
To enhance its gender interventions, Agri-trade introduced an innovative women-run seed multiplication block farm, whose operation is showcased below:
- As part of its gender strategy, Agri-trade identifies and recruits women farmers from the community to multiply seeds.
- The company identifies available irrigated land and establishes the seed multiplication block farm for women farmers to work in.
- Agri-trade provides a wide range of services tailored to the seed multiplication process.
- The company offtakes certified seeds and pays the women seed farmers.
- Agri-trade supplies its rice farmers with a holistic package of services, including the certified seeds produced in the seed multiplication block farm.
- Finally, the company offtakes paddy and pays the rice farmers.
Achievements Made
Agri-trade achieved significant outcomes at both the company (business case) and farm (impact case) levels, resulting from its interventions across key components, the women-run seed multiplication block farm innovation, and other aspects of its business model.
Business Case
- Better servicing: Agri-trade increased its seed supply to 400 MT per season, meeting the demand of 5,000 rice SHFs. This growth was directly driven by the implementation of the women-run seed multiplication block farm.
- Better procurement: Due to interventions such as the seed multiplication block farm, targeted GAP training, bundled inputs, and mechanisation services, Agri-trade increased its rice sourcing by 3.5 times during certain periods, from 1,100 MT to approximately 3,900 MT.
- Improved quality: Owing to the series of interventions, the sourced paddy meeting the required quality standards (12-15% moisture at harvest, 0.5% impurities) increased by over 70%.
- Reduced risks: Agri-trade saw higher repayment rates for inputs on credit from women farmers. Additionally, women farmers were more available and attentive to farming activities when engaged by extension workers.
- Enhanced opportunities: By mainstreaming gender processes into its business, Agri-trade has built a reputation as a gender-inclusive company, improving its chances of attracting funding and other gender-focused support.
Impact Case
- More jobs: Agri-trade incorporated 120 women (out of 150 farmers) as seed multiplication farmers in its 200-acre block farm, while also creating additional job opportunities along the value chain, such as seed cleaning.
- Improved access to resources: With Agri-trade's support, women from the communities gained access to farmland traditionally owned by men and community leaders. Moreover, the company provided 2,410 women farmers (out of 3,997 total farmers) with affordable inputs, including certified seeds multiplied in the block farm.
- Better income: Women farmers have reported income gains from using certified seeds multiplied in Agri-trade’s block farm. This is attributed to the lower cost of certified seeds compared to market prices and the higher yields compared to farm-saved seeds.
- Increased resilience: Approximately 40% of Agri-trade’s farmers (including women) now cultivate rice using regenerative agricultural practices, mitigating adverse effects of climate change while reducing production costs.
- Increased food security: Community members, including focus groups with men-only groups, reported increased food security at the household level due to women's greater involvement in farming and the overall rise in household income.
Some of the outcomes at the farm level can be visualised in the chart below. The diagram illustrates the changes experienced by women farmers working with Agri-trade over a 3-year period of commercial engagement. These improvements are seen across several areas, including: (a) greater access to mechanisation and quality inputs, (b) increased crop production and sales, (c) enhanced ability to manage climate challenges, and (d) reduced crop production costs and losses.
Changes experienced by women farmers
The chart above illustrates the changes reported by 222 women farmers working with Agri-trade over a 3-year period. It covers various performance categories at the farm level, including crop production and sales, climate resilience, and access to services. Notably, a decrease in crop losses is considered a positive outcome.
Tips for Replication of GTBM Components
Context
- Farmlands, ideally irrigated for seed multiplication, must be made available, which can be achieved through negotiations with landowners, such as community leaders.
- Clustering women farmers within blocks farm is particularly impactful in contexts where social norms restrict their access to land
Best Practices
- Recruiting women farmers through existing women leaders and women extension officers can be more effective in encouraging their participation.
- A FMIS enables the company to manage gender-disaggregated data effectively, allowing them to monitor performance, track needs, and tailor services to the specific conditions of women farmers.
- Tailoring service bundles (e.g., inputs, mechanisation, finance) to the needs of women farmers can enhance their productivity and promote gender inclusivity.
- Providing mechanised services, such as ploughing and harvesting, is essential to boosting the productivity of women farmers.
- Partnering with input suppliers allows the company to offer (women) farmers better, more affordable inputs on credit, reducing costs and supporting their financial independence.
Enabling Conditions
- Prospective seed multiplier women farmers should already have farming experience, allowing the company to focus on upskilling in seed multiplication rather than basic farming skills.
- If gender norms require, the company should ensure the support and consent of husbands or male family members to facilitate women’s involvement in farming activities.
- Required services must be available in adequate volumes and at the specific stages of rice/seed multiplication.
Outstanding Risks and Challenges
- Companies may face funding shortages and limited access to working capital, as financial institutions often view smallholder farming as a high-risk sector. This can hinder the full implementation of gender interventions.
- Climate and environmental risks, such as changes in rainfall patterns and pest infestations, pose a constant threat to productivity. Women farmers, being more vulnerable than their male counterparts, are often more severely impacted by these risks.
- A limited availability of essential services, especially mechanisation and inputs, can significantly constrain the productivity of women farmers.
Summary: Tamanaa Company Limited, a grains processor in Northern Ghana, embarked on a project to optimise its rice mill and empower the community through gender-inclusive practices. Key initiatives included women-operated rice parboiling centres, youth-led spray services for rice farmers, and working with community leaders to secure women’s land access. The project engaged approximately 4,000 smallholder farmers (SHFs), 50% of whom were women, each cultivating an average of 2 acres of paddy rice. As a result, Tamanaa achieved improved rice quality, boosted rice sourcing from 11,200 to 98,000 MT annually, and increased SHF productivity from 3.5 to 7.0 MT per hectare. The project also helped raise farmer incomes, create jobs, and enhance women’s participation in the rice supply chain.
How Does Tamanaa Drive GTBMs?
To address the root causes of gender inequality and support the implementation of its GTBM, Tamanaa implemented the following gender interventions across the key components:
1. Gender Strategy
- Tamanaa promoted inclusivity by engaging 50% women farmers in its supply chain, incorporating 1,500 women in the parboiling centres, and supporting the establishment of 32 women savings and loan associations (VSLAs).
- The company engaged local youth in spraying groups, providing upskilling and job opportunities to those who might otherwise migrate.
2. Data Collection
- Tamanaa employed gender-disaggregated data collection to measure and monitor farmer reach, access to services, yields, and procurement.
3. Inclusive Workplace
- Women were engaged not just in farming but also in parboiling activities, paddy aggregation, and rice milling for Tamanaa and other suppliers. This approach ensured that women played a key role across the supply chain, challenging traditional gender roles and promoting a more equitable distribution of economic opportunities.
4. Inclusive Consultation
- In partnership with traditional community leaders and sub-chiefs, Tamanaa facilitated the release and long-term security of farmland for women. Community members began to support women's access to land after observing improvements in food security resulting from their participation in farming. Through community sensitisation and lobbying activities, Tamanaa was able to break down the cultural barriers that previously restricted women’s land access.
5. Adaptation for Inclusion
- The parboiling centres (established to increase rice quality), empowered women by providing them with the tools, equipment, and logistics needed to efficiently run their operations. This strategy created job opportunities for women and strengthened their roles in the rice value chain.
- The company recruited, trained, and equipped local youth to form spraying groups, linking them with suppliers of high-quality agrochemicals. This expanded the service offering to rice farmers.
To better articulate the gender interventions above, Tamanaa implemented the innovative women-run parboiling centres (linked to VSLAs) and youth-led spraying groups, as shown below
- Tamanaa identifies and recruits parboiler women from the community and establishes the parboiling centres.
- The company identifies and recruits youth from the community to partake in the spraying groups
- The company identifies agrochemical providers and reaches agreements with them to supply the spraying groups.
- The spraying groups provide spraying services to Tamanaa’s rice farmers at a fee.
- The company provides other services to its rice farmers and offtakes paddy.
- Tamanaa supplies paddy to its parboiling centres and offtakes parboiled rice.
- Part of the revenues of the parboiling centres are distributed to the respective women VSLA groups.
Achievements Made
Tamanaa achieved significant outcomes at both the company (business case) and farm levels (impact case). These results stemmed from key interventions, including the innovations mentioned above, along with other general components of the company’s business model.
Business Case
- Better sourcing: Owing to the series of interventions in its business models (and despite climatic challenges), Tamanaa increased its procurement capacity from 11,200 MT to 98,000 MT annually.
- Improved processing: As Tamanaa nearly increased its paddy sourcing ninefold, the company's milling efficiency improved from 53% to 66%, making more efficient use of its existing infrastructure.
- Reduced risks: Tamanaa has seen a 98% recovery rate of input loans and reduced side-selling from women farmers. The company also reported that women farmers supplied better-quality rice than their male counterparts.
Impact Case
- Increased empowerment: The establishment and expansion of women-operated parboiling centres empowered 1,500 women, providing them with job opportunities, greater income access, and improved rice quality for their households.
- Increased financial capacities: Through participation in 32 women-only VSLAs and financial literacy training, women from the communities saw an improvement in their financial capabilities.
- More job opportunities: By establishing spraying groups and linking them with agrochemical providers, 50 youth from the communities gained independence in service provision, earning fees directly from rice farmers.
- Increased productivity: By accessing improved services (e.g., training, better inputs, mechanisation), both women and men SHFs doubled their productivity, increasing from 3.5 to 7.0 MT per hectare.
Some outcomes of the impact case at farm level are illustrated in the chart below. It shows the changes experienced by women farmers working with Tamanaa over a 3-year period of commercial engagement. These changes highlight improvements in several areas, including (a) increased access to mechanisation, quality inputs, and finance, (b) higher crop production and sales, (c) improved ability to manage climate challenges, and (d) reduced crop losses.
Changes experienced by women farmers
The chart above illustrates the changes reported by 307 women farmers working with Tamanaa over a 3-year period, across various performance categories at farm level. These include improvements in crop production and sales, climate resilience, and access to services. It is important to note that a reduction in crop losses is considered a positive outcome.
Tips for Replication of GTBM Components
Context
- The implementation of parboiling centres is most effective in contexts where paddy has low moisture levels or where there is strong market demand for high-moisture rice.
- Ensuring access to farmland is crucial, and this can be achieved through negotiations with landowners, such as community leaders or sub-chiefs.
Best Practices
- The direct involvement of the company’s management team with communities (rather than solely relying on a gender team) is key to improving women’s access to resources for parboiling and farming processes.
- Briquettes made from rice husk, a by-product of rice processing, offer a more environmentally friendly fuel source for the parboiling process compared to firewood.
- The company should engage with local leaders, authorities, and landowners to facilitate the long-term release of land for women’s commercial farming.
- Recruiting parboiler women and women farmers through existing women leaders and extension officers can be more effective in encouraging their participation.
- A FMIS enables the company to effectively manage gender-disaggregated farmer data, allowing for performance monitoring, tracking of needs, and tailoring services to the specific conditions of parboiler women and women farmers.
Enabling Conditions
- Company- or community-owned infrastructure, transportation logistics (e.g., tricycles to transport paddy from parboiling centres to the milling factory), and equipment must be in place to effectively implement the parboiling centres.
- If required by local gender norms, the company should ensure that community leaders, husbands, and/or other male family members provide consent and support, as this will help integrate women into parboiling centres and farming activities.
- Agrochemicals must be locally available, ideally through local suppliers, to support the formation of spraying groups and ensure the affordability of necessary inputs.
Outstanding Risks and Challenges
- Companies may face limited access to working capital, as financial institutions view smallholder farming as risky, which can hinder the implementation of gender interventions, including the operation of parboiling centres.
- Cultural norms may prevent women from accessing services (e.g., finance, mechanisation, labour) outside their communities; the absence of local providers for these services may limit the effectiveness of gender interventions like parboiling centres.
- Parboiling centres may become overly reliant on the company's support, restricting their scalability and financial sustainability.
- Climate and environmental risks (e.g., erratic rainfall, pest infestations) are constant threats to farmers and parboiling centres. As women farmers are generally more vulnerable, they are often more impacted by these risks.
Summary: Coscharis Farms Limited, a commercial rice production and processing company in Anambra State, Nigeria, implemented a block farming model to integrate smallholder farmers (SHFs) and empower women and youth through in-grower and out-grower schemes. The project established a strong supply chain by recruiting 750 in-grower farmers on Coscharis’ nucleus farm and 4,250 out-grower farmers on community-leased lands. By leveraging economies of scale, Coscharis provided its block farmers with access to land, financial services (including insurance), training, quality inputs, mechanisation, and guaranteed offtake. These efforts led to a 75% increase in SHFs' productivity, a 9% rise in paddy rice supply, and a reduction in rice rejection rates from 40% to 5%. The block farming model proved especially beneficial for empowering women and youth, who often face barriers to land ownership in Nigeria’s patriarchal society. Ultimately, the project exceeded its initial farmer participation targets and built a resilient, inclusive business model.
How Does Coscharis Drive GTBM?
To address the root causes of gender inequality while supporting the implementation of its GTBM, Coscharis implemented the following gender interventions across the key components:
1. Gender Strategy
- Coscharis appointed dedicated staff, including a gender specialist, to manage its block farm and provide tailored agronomic support to farmers.
- Of the approximately 5,000 SHFs involved in the block farm, Coscharis intentionally targeted one-third of women from the communities, with this engagement being carried out in consultation with community leaders and farmer groups.
2. Data collection
- Cosharis employed gender-disaggregated data collection in its block farm to measure and monitor farmer reach, access to services, yields and procurement. This work was directly supported by a gender specialist.
3. Inclusive Workplace
- The block farming model promoted gender inclusion by ensuring both women and men farmers had equitable access to land, inputs, and services, allowing them to participate in commercial rice farming.
- Coscharis' block farm included both in-growers (working on the nucleus farm) and out-growers (from surrounding communities), creating direct and indirect job opportunities for women and men. Some women, particularly young migrants, returned to invest in farming activities within the block farm.
4. Inclusive Consultation
- Ahead of the farming season, Coscharis offered women and men block farmers a menu of services, allowing them to select the services that best suited their needs and ambitions.
5. Adaptation for Inclusion
- The block farming model empowered women by granting access to services such as high-quality inputs, mechanisation, and irrigation, which would otherwise be unaffordable or inaccessible due to patriarchal customary laws.
- Tailored services led to greater adoption of complex offerings like large-scale mechanisation, allowing women farmers to cultivate larger areas with reduced physical strain and optimised time for farming activities.
- Coscharis provided access to finance for 1,350 women farmers (90% of the project target), empowering them to make independent investment decisions, despite cultural barriers restricting women’s access to financial resources in Nigeria.
To effectively articulate the gender interventions above, RGL implemented the innovative block farming model, as showcased below:
- Coscharis plans the block farm: goals, location, number of (women and men) farmers, crops, volumes, required services, management, etc.
- The company purchases or leases land; a single big plot and/or contiguous smaller plots. The land is parcelled in smaller plots to be farmed.
- Women and men SHFs are individually assigned the plots through previously negotiated contracts.
- The company delivers the agreed services to SHFs according to their choices from the menu of services.
- At the appropriate time, Coscharis coordinates the harvesting and off-taking of produce.
- The company pays SHFs for their products.
Achievements Made
Coscharis achieved several outcomes at both the company (business case) and farm level (impact case). These outcomes were driven by interventions across key components, the specific innovations outlined above, and other general aspects of the company's business model.
Business Case
- Better procurement: Through the block farming model, Coscharis increased its paddy rice supply by 9%. Additionally, by effectively delivering services such as training, inputs, and mechanisation, the company reduced its rice rejection rate from 40% to 5%.
- Enhanced social responsibility: Coscharis has strengthened its social responsibility through its block farm, investing $12.1 million in local communities over the last three years and creating 20 new direct jobs. The company incorporated 1,740 women into the block farm, representing 33% of total farmers. Additionally, the proportion of paddy rice sourced directly from SHFs increased from 16% to 52%.
Impact Case
- Increased productivity: By gaining access to better services such as improved inputs, irrigation, and mechanisation, both women and men SHFs involved in the block farm increased their productivity by 75%.
- Increased income: Women and men out-grower SHFs experienced a 103% increase in income. This significant growth was driven by improved productivity and Coscharis' guaranteed market.
- Reduced cost of services: Block farmers benefited from lower service rates, as the model allowed Coscharis to leverage economies of scale. This increased access and affordability led to a 315% rise in women farmers adopting services and a 330% increase among all block farmers over the last three years.
Some of the outcomes at farm level can be visualised in the chart below. The chart shows the changes experienced by women farmers working with Coscharis over a 3-year period of commercial engagement. These changes highlight improvements across various categories, including: (a) increased access to mechanisation, quality inputs, and finance, (b) enhanced crop production and sales, (c) improved ability to deal with climate issues, and (d) reduced crop losses.
Changes experienced by women farmers
The chart above illustrates the changes reported by 94 women farmers working with Coscharis over a 3-year period, highlighting improvements in several key areas of farm performance. These include crop production and sales, climate resilience, and access to services. Notably, a reduction in crop losses is considered a positive outcome.
Tips For replication of GTBM Components
Context
- Block farms are most beneficial for women farmers in contexts where social norms restrict their access to land, credit, and advanced agricultural services.
- Block farms are most effective with crops that can be produced in large quantities, such as cereals or root crops.
- Large areas of farmland must be available and accessible, typically secured through purchasing or leasing.
- Essential services must be available in the required volumes and at the appropriate times, tailored to the specific needs of individual farmers.
Best Practices
- Engage communities and farmers, including women and youth, throughout the planning, implementation, and operation of the block farm.
- Secure necessary capital and service providers early in the planning phase.
- Involve key organisations (e.g., churches, schools) and individuals (e.g., village heads) when negotiating land and mobilising women farmers, ensuring their inclusion in the process.
- Conduct due diligence on the legal status of land before finalising any agreements, to avoid litigation risks that could affect women farmers' access to land.
- Establish formal relationships with SHFs through fair contracts, tailored to meet the specific needs of women farmers, and include off-take clauses to guarantee a market for them.
- Set up a robust decision-making structure for effective management of the block farm, including a gender team or expert to address the specific needs of women farmers.
Enabling Conditions
- The company must be committed to the farming model and possess strong leadership capabilities to coordinate activities effectively.
- Necessary resources and management staff, including a gender expert, must be secured ahead of time.
- SHFs must be accustomed to or open to working in coordination, and willing to collaborate and adopt new practices.
Outstanding Risks and Challenges
- Women's participation in the block farm can be limited by reluctance from some community members (e.g., husbands, chiefs).
- Women farmers may be deterred from participating in the block farm if it conflicts with other responsibilities, such as childcare and household chores.
- SHFs may struggle to collaborate effectively in the block farm, especially if they come from communities with existing conflicts or rivalries.
- Securing capital and service providers early in the season can be challenging; without these resources, block farming may become unfeasible, and its positive impacts on women farmers may be diminished.
- The gender transformative potential of block farms can be weakened if the design does not include interventions or innovations specifically aimed at improving gender performance (e.g., tailored finance, training).
Summary: Raphael Group Limited (RGL), based in the Southern Highland region of Tanzania, implemented a highly inclusive business model through its consortium, Upper Southern Highlands Rice and Beans. The project expanded support for smallholder farmers (SHFs), with a particular emphasis on empowering women and youth. RGL focused on providing tailored services such as training, access to finance, and market linkages. A key feature of RGL's gender interventions was the creation and strengthening of 23 women-only SHF groups, reaching approximately 42,000 women farmers with specific services. As a result of these efforts, RGL saw significant increases in its rice and bean volumes, with an 87% increase in rice sourcing and a 163% increase in beans. By engaging more women farmers, who exhibited a higher credit repayment rate of 98% compared to 70% for men, RGL successfully scaled its business with lower risk.
How Does RGL Drive GTBM?
To address the root causes of gender inequality while supporting the implementation of its GTBM, RGL implemented the following gender interventions across the key components:
1. Gender Strategy
- RGL set a strategic goal to engage 60% of women and youth SHFs (from a total base of 42,500 farmers), with a strong emphasis on gender equity as a key pillar for achieving sustainable agricultural development.
- The company also incorporated gender-specific staff within its organisational structure to oversee and ensure the effective implementation of its gender interventions.
2. Data collection
- Supported by a Farm Management Information System (FMIS), RGL implemented gender-disaggregated data collection to track and monitor farmer reach, access to services, yields, and procurement.
- RGL leveraged learnings from women-only groups, using these insights to promote knowledge exchange with other heterogeneous farmer groups, fostering greater collaboration and shared learning.
3. Inclusive Workplace
- RGL created women-only groups, providing a safe space for women SHFs to work and learn. This initiative increased their access to collective resources such as land, inputs, and training, while also opening opportunities for additional revenue-generating activities like seed multiplication.
4. Inclusive Consultation
- By creating women-only groups, collecting gender-disaggregated data, and maintaining regular contact via gender-specific staff, RGL gained a deeper understanding of the unique needs of women SHFs.
5. Adaptation for Inclusion
- RGL advanced credit to women’s groups, with a particular focus on beans farmers who traditionally struggle with access to finance.
- The company partnered with banks to develop tailored financial products for women SHFs. By the end of the project, the product was ready for deployment at the bank.
- RGL provided gender training at both farm and household levels. At the farm level, it focused on increasing women and youth participation in agricultural activities, ensuring women had access to and control over resources. At the household level, both women and men received training to encourage more equitable decision-making.
- The company enhanced access to and control over credit inputs for women and youth (about 60% of its SHF base), empowering them to boost productivity and improve their financial stability and independence.
To articulate more effectively the gender interventions above, RGL implemented the innovative women-only farmers groups as illustrated below
- RGL identifies and recruits SHFs from the community to start a commercial engagement (i.e., provision of services and produce offtake).
- From the recruited SHF base, RGL organises groups of women-only SHFs.
- With the support of a gender expert, RGL provides a holistic package of services tailored for the women SHF groups.
- The company offtakes the produce from the women SHF groups and pays them (settling outstanding balances from the provided services).
- In parallel, RGL carries out a similar commercial engagement with other regular SHF groups (without any gender disaggregation).
- RGL distills lessons from the gender-disaggregated engagements while fostering learnings exchange between SHFs groups.
Achievements Made
RGL achieved several outcomes at both the company (business case) and farm level (impact case). These results stemmed from the interventions across key components, the specific innovations implemented, and the broader elements of the company's business model.
Business Case
- Better procurement: Through its effective engagement with both women-only and mixed farmer groups, RGL increased its sourcing volume of rice and beans by 87% and 163%, respectively, during the 2022-2023 period. This growth was driven by improved service delivery, input financing (either direct or through tripartite financing), and training in good agricultural practices. Additionally, RGL’s enhanced procurement capacity boosted its regional trade footprint, growing from 3,200 MT to 9,000 MT in the same timeframe.
- Lower risks: RGL reported lower credit losses in its engagement with women-only groups. The company's data shows that women have a repayment rate of 98%, compared to 70% for male farmers. Additionally, side-selling rates are significantly lower among women-only groups.
- Enhanced relationships: RGL, coalition partners, and farmer groups all agree that women SHFs are better business partners. Evidence from interviews shows that women are more committed to adopting new GAPs and attending training, less likely to default on credit, and tend to make more sensible investments in household priorities. Women’s groups have also proven to be effective conduits for testing new innovations, such as seed multiplication.
- Increased profit: Overall, RGL's GTBM and interventions proved profitable, with the company generating a cumulative net income of USD 53 million from rice and beans sales between 2019 and 2025. The GTBM contributed to this improved profitability through mechanisms such as increased sourcing volumes, enhanced service delivery, input financing, and better training for farmers.
Impact Case
- Increased access to finance: Women farmers working with RGL experienced increased access to agricultural loans. Evidence from farmer organisations and banks indicates that this was due to women’s higher repayment rate and lower risk of default, making them more creditworthy than their male counterparts.
- Enhanced women empowerment: RGL’s project strengthened and empowered women farmers, enhancing their position in the value chain. Interviews with women-only groups revealed positive outcomes, including increased income, greater control over resources, and improved influence in household decision-making.
- Improved household dynamics: RGL provided gender training at the household level for both women and men, fostering a more equitable decision-making process and challenging traditional gender norms. Feedback from farmer organisations highlighted the training as pivotal in improving household decision-making dynamics.
Some of the outcomes of the impact case at farm level can be visualised in the chart below. The chart shows the changes experienced by women farmers working with RGL in the beans value chain over a 3-year period of commercial engagement. These changes highlight improvements across several categories, including: (a) increased access to quality inputs and finance, (b) increased crop production and sales, and (c) a reduction in crop losses.
Changes experienced by women farmers (beans)
The chart above illustrates the changes reported by 53 women farmers (involved in the beans value chain) working with RGL over a 3-year period. It covers various performance categories at the farm level, including crop production and sales, climate resilience, and access to services. Notably, a decrease in crop losses is considered a positive outcome.
Tips for Replication of GTBM Components
Context
- Women-only groups are particularly effective in contexts where the collectivisation of farmers into groups is common, such as in Tanzania.
Best Practices
- Incorporating a gender team or expert within the company's staff is essential to manage gender components of the GTBM, such as gender-disaggregated data analysis and tailored consultations.
- Delivering training sessions through women staff enhances female farmer participation, as gender norms may limit women’s ability to interact with male trainers.
- Establishing partnerships with financial institutions, preferably through tripartite financing agreements, and providing group-based tailored credit solutions for women are crucial for achieving financial inclusion.
- Implementing a Farm Management Information System (FMIS) enables effective management of gender-disaggregated farmer data, performance monitoring, tracking needs, and tailoring services accordingly.
- Women-only SHF groups should be geographically close to regular SHF groups to promote knowledge exchange, demonstrate the effectiveness of gender interventions, and encourage the participation of more women farmers.
Enabling conditions
- Prospective members of women-only groups should already be farmers to allow the company to focus on gender-specific issues, rather than starting from scratch with capacity building in farming.
- Partnering with existing women’s collective groups helps the company strengthen and formalise established social structures, making interventions more effective and sustainable.
- In contexts where gender norms require it, obtaining the consent and support of husbands or male family members is essential to ensure the successful implementation of women-only farmer group activities.
Outstanding Risks and Challenges
- Traditional financial institutions often view farming as a high-risk business due to a lack of sufficient collateral, which limits access to financing for women farmers. This creates a barrier to gender interventions such as input pre-financing, equipment rental, and payment for labour.
- Climate-related risks, such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves, can lead to defaults and high credit losses, even with strong efforts from women farmer groups. While irrigation infrastructure and crop insurance can mitigate these risks, they require substantial investments from the company.
- Companies may view the involvement of a gender expert or team as only a requirement for specific projects or grants. A lack of commitment from management can hinder the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of gender initiatives.
In this article
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Gender Equality Holds Untapped Potential in Value Chains
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What are GTBMs?
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Why are GTBMs important?
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How to get started with building GTBMs?
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What are the defining impacts of GTBMs?
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Case studies of gender interventions and innovations
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Where to find more inspiration
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Important to note
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Annexes: Case studies of gender interventions and innovations
Related Resources
Women are empowered through seed multiplication programs, which help them increase crop yields and improve their livelihoods. Meanwhile, Agritrade benefits from enhanced productivity and sustainability.
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