Gendered Challenges and Unexplored Avenues in Rural Women's Involvement in Advancing Sustainable Food Security through Tea Production in Kenya and Uganda

Abstract

This study offers a comparative analysis of gendered tea production in Kenya and Uganda, interrogating the structural and intersectional barriers that constrain rural women’s participation in the tea value chain. Drawing on feminist intersectionality theory, the research reveals how gender, class, geography, and institutional dynamics intersect to marginalise women as undervalued labourers, despite their vital role in tea cultivation. Through qualitative insights and policy critique, the study highlights the need for inclusive reforms by the Kenya Tea Development

Agency (KTDA) and Uganda Tea Development Agency (UTDA), emphasizing women’s access to training, incentives, and decision-making platforms. The findings underscore the importance of grassroots engagement and context-specific policy design, advocating for a feminist intersectional approach to enhance equity, agency, and sustainability in the tea sector. Ultimately, the study calls for a reimagining of agricultural development that centres women’s voices and contributions as vital to community resilience and food security.