Ensuring equal rights in ownership and control over land for women and men is essential to achieve gender equality (SDG5) and eradicate poverty (SDG 1).

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is, ostensibly, upon us. The term was coined in 2016 by Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Form.

For rural communities, land is crucial for providing families with housing, food, and security. Holding land is often associated with social status and higher income.

The government is working with the agricultural sector to support and manage address challenges that women face in the industry, agriculture, land reform and rural development minister Thoko Didiza said.

In 2020, the South African government approved a women empowerment policy proposing that roughly 50% of the allocation of agricultural farming land under the Redistribution Programme should be for women, 40% for youth, and 10% for people living with disabilities.

The World Bank recently released an interesting book titled Agriculture in Africa: Telling Myths from Facts. It covers a wide range of topics from smallholder land access, post-harvest losses, financing of agricultural inputs, agricultural labour productivity and women’s work in agriculture amongst others.