A question of respect: gender, interpersonal dynamics, and sustainable agriculture in Northern Ghana
(Contribution to International Womens’ Day)
The relationship between gender and sustainable agriculture has gained increasing attention in the face of climate change and food security challenges. While existing research shows that gendered power relations shape farmers’ vulnerability and adaptive capacity, gender, intersecting other identity markers, does not fully explain persistent inequalities within gender groups. Drawing on qualitative research in northern Ghana using interviews, focus groups, and participatory methods, this study explores how interpersonal dynamics influence farming practices and the adoption of sustainable agriculture. The findings reveal that access to agricultural resources is shaped less by formal gender roles than by social recognition, symbolic status, and everyday interactions. Performative behaviors help construct reputation and legitimize unequal hierarchies, sometimes reinforced through gender-based violence. The study concludes that agricultural development initiatives must move beyond binary gender analyses and instead account for socially constructed positions and relationships when designing gender-equality interventions.
