Women empowerment and food security among urban crop farmers in Ekurhuleni, South Africa

Food insecurity and gender inequality are the major threats to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 and 5. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the empowerment of women, food security, and the relationship between women empowerment and food security in the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Quantitative data were acquired from 216 randomly sampled urban crop farmers using a survey. Food Consumption Score (FCS) was employed to measure food security, and women’s empowerment in agriculture was measured using Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and an ordered logistic regression model. The results showed that the majority of the households (89.4%) had an acceptable FCS, 9.3% had a borderline FCS, and only 1.3% had a poor FCS. The results also revealed that over half of the women (57.9%) were empowered. Age, educational level, employment status, business, garden size, autonomy in production, access to and decisions on credit, control over use of income, and workload were significantly associated with food security. In conclusion, the results show that an increase in women empowerment indicators, such as access to and decisions on credit, control over use of income and workload, and food security, reflects a profound relationship, influenced by socio-demographic factors. The results propose the urgency of concerted policy implications to address the synergies between women empowerment and household food security. Addressing gender gaps in agriculture and improving women’s financial autonomy is recommended to improve household food security.