One strategy to strengthen food system resilience and achieve global food security is through bolstering farm-level crop diversity. A new study ‘Women’s empowerment, production choices, and crop diversity in Burkina Faso, India, Malawi and Tanzania: a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data’ found that empowering women can lead to an increased number of food crops grown, and food groups cultivated.  

The researchers conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from four cluster-randomised controlled trials conducted in Burkina Faso, India, Malawi, and Tanzania. Women's empowerment was assessed using indicators from the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, and farm-level crop diversity was measured by considering the number of food crops grown, the number of food groups cultivated, and the presence of nutrient-dense crops. 

Findings:  

• Across all countries, households where women had greater involvement in decision-making were associated with more food crops, a higher number of food groups, and grew more nutrient-dense crops 

• Across all countries, each additional community group women actively participated in was associated with a higher number of food crops and food groups grown 

• In Burkina Faso and India, women's ownership of agricultural assets was associated with a higher number of food crops and food groups grown 

Overall, the findings indicate that increased women's empowerment is positively associated with higher crop diversity and suggests that supporting and promoting women's empowerment could be an effective strategy to strengthen food system resilience.