Gender and inorganic nitrogen: what are the implications of moving towards a more balanced use of nitrogen fertilizer in the tropics?

For agriculture to play a role in climate change mitigation strategies to reduce
emissions from inorganic nitrogen (N) fertilizer through a more balanced and
efficient use are necessary. Such strategies should align with the overarching
principle of sustainable intensification and will need to consider the economic,
environmental and social trade-offs of reduced fertilizer-related emissions. However,
the gender equity dimensions of such strategies are rarely considered. The case
studies cited in this paper, from India, Lake Victoria in East Africa and more broadly
from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), show that the negative externalities of imbalanced
inorganic N use in high- and low-use scenarios impact more strongly on women
and children. We examine, through a literature review of recent work in SSA, the
relative jointness of intra-household bargaining processes in low N use scenarios to
assess the degree to which they impact upon N use. We suggest that genderequitable
strategies for achieving more balanced use of N will increase the
likelihood of attaining macro-level reductions in GHG emissions provided that they
secure equity in intra-household decision-making and address food security.
Gender-equitable N use efficiency strategies will help to integrate and assure
gender and social equity co-benefits at local scales