If gender issues are not taken into account, efforts to strengthen potato and banana supply chains in Uganda will have the unintended effect of disempowering women, research conducted by the RTB-ENDURE initiative has found. In Uganda, most decisions regarding the production and marketing of potatoes and bananas are carried out by men, while women are primarily involved in retailing.

As women often do not have access to relevant training courses and may lack decision-making power at household level, new technologies are more likely to be adopted by men, particularly if purchasing the new technologies is capital intensive. As a result, women may be precluded from taking advantage of emerging market opportunities.

RTB-ENDURE is now carrying out a programme of gender empowerment and gender sensitive interventions in the region. This includes such measures as providing women with access to financing mechanisms, including women friendly loan products. RTB-ENDURE is a three-year initiative (2014-2016) implemented by the CGIAR Research Programme on Roots, Tubers and Bananas that is funded by the European Union.

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