EMPOWER-ME: Inclusive Digital Agriculture for Women Farmers in Malawi
- Challenge:SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- Co-Funders:Irish Aid
- Phase:Seed
- Team Lead:Prof. Supriya Garikipati, University College Dublin
- Partner Country Team Lead:Dr John Omondi, IITA-Malawi
- Team Co-Lead:Prof. Kevin McDonnell, University College Dublin
- Societal Impact Champion:Dr Richard Petautchere, NASFAM
Funders
Co-funded by: Irish Aid
Women make up around 70% of Malawi’s agricultural workforce, yet their crop yields are on average 20–30% lower than men’s. This persistent gender productivity gap threatens household food security and national food sovereignty. A key barrier is that existing digital agricultural technologies (DATs) are generic, not tailored to women farmers’ realities, and therefore underutilised.
EMPOWER-ME aims to boost women farmers’ productivity, climate resilience and agricultural decision making by making digital agricultural technologies more inclusive, relevant, and gender-responsive. At its core is our agronomic work, which integrates locally relevant agronomic advice, financial services, and market linkages. Combining this with the gender sensitisation training we develop for delivery through the Village Savings and Loan Associations, the project will test how tailored DATs can reduce the gender gap in agriculture, enhance food security, and strengthen women’s decision-making power.