| Sumario: | This baseline gender study evaluates the starting conditions for the Building Equitable Climate-Resilient African
Bean and Insect Sectors (BRAINS) project in Uganda, implemented in Soroti, Kaberamaido, Isingiro, and Mayuge.
The assessment focuses on gendered participation, access to productive resources, labour distribution, decision
making, and inclusion across the project’s three priority enterprises, such as beans, fruit trees, and beneficial
insects. The findings provide crucial data for developing gender-responsive, socially inclusive interventions that
promote climate resilience, food security, and value-chain performance for smallholder farmers.
The results reveal persistent gender disparities across various domains. Although 82% of households are male
headed, women constitute 59% of the key players involved in agricultural production, highlighting their central
role in beans, fruit trees, and emerging insect enterprises. Women are the primary labour providers on bean plots
(71% overall), influence crucial production decisions, and achieve higher yields than men while having much
lower landholdings. However, structural barriers, including limited land rights, reduced digital access, restricted
mobility, and weaker market linkages, continue to hamper women’s full capacity to benefit from agricultural
innovations. Group membership is higher among women (76%); however, men disproportionately occupy
leadership posts, demonstrating underlying gender power imbalances in collective activity and resource access.
Across firms, the analysis indicates gendered patterns of participation and control. Women are more engaged in
bean cultivation and avocado ownership, whereas men dominate citrus production, decision-making over fruit
income, and beekeeping. Awareness and use of agro-weather information services are very high, but access
challenges, particularly digital constraints, limited extension, and low gender-responsive communication, affect
women disproportionately. Emerging prospects exist in insect farming and value addition; yet knowledge and
adoption remain low for both genders. Overall, the baseline creates clear entry points for the BRAINS project to
increase equity, strengthen climate resilience, and encourage gender-transformative outcomes. Targeted action
is needed to promote women’s land access, increase their involvement in lucrative markets, enhance access
to digital and climate information, and support equitable household decision-making within climate-smart
agricultural systems.
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