Agriculture is a cornerstone of the global economy, but it is also one of the sectors most susceptible to climate change. With increasing droughts and rising food insecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a promising tool to help farmers navigate these challenges.
Innovations in artificial intelligence are already revolutionizing agriculture by offering real-time weather forecasts, linking farmers to markets, and identifying crop diseases. However, a crucial question arises: Is AI benefiting everyone equally, or are women farmers—who are essential to the agricultural sector—being overlooked?
Women make up 43% of the global agricultural workforce, yet they encounter ongoing challenges, including limited access to land, credit, technology, and training. Additionally, women in agriculture often face low wages, informal employment, poor working conditions, and a lack of social protection.
AI models in agriculture frequently rely on training data primarily gathered from male farmers. As a result, these algorithms are often tailored to address issues from a male perspective, overlooking challenges unique to women, such as access to land and the double burden of unpaid domestic labor.
Involving women in the design, testing, and development of AI tools will lead to solutions that are not only technologically robust but also socially inclusive and widely accepted.
The future of agriculture—and, by extension, food security—hinges on our ability to address the challenges of gender equality in AI.
