Harnessing women’s potential for food production and food security has been a challenge in
Southern Africa. The face of food production in Southern Africa is often female, but more often
than not, their roles are generally undervalued and constrained by gender inequalities and
limitations on their access to resources, services, and market opportunities. There is a tendency
of men and women participating unevenly in food production, having unequal access to productive
resources and exhibiting different levels of engagement in rural, urban and home-based food
production. Despite of this, there is still a common understanding that food production needs to
be increased in order to cope with the increased human population levels and achieving food
security in the region. With this in mind, food production and security have emerged as key
development targets in Southern Africa. This has propelled the urgent need for promoting food
production, reducing food insecurity and poverty reduction in its totality. This essay attempts to
describe the impact of gender-based discrimination on food production and its implication on
food security. The indispensable role and challenges faced by women in food production are
highlighted. The need to invest in education and training of women to support food production
systems in order to accrue maximum benefit is acknowledged. In this regard, this essay concludes
that it is imperative that planning and implementation of any food production programs focusing
on improving food security should be based on gender sensitive policies
