Gender analysis of the Orange Fleshed Sweet Potato Value Chain in Malawi:  A systematic review

Scope definition

This systematic review focused on gender dynamics and how they affect the participation of both men and women in the sweet potato value chain node. This review determined how gender affects women’s participation in production, value addition, processing and policies around the sweet potato value chain to come up with recommendations that can be followed to make the whole value chain more gender inclusive. The review also determined the various cultural and social influences that affect women’s participation in the commercial aspects of the sweet potato value chain. To fully understand these aspects, the systematic review considered how different regions within Africa experience these gender dynamics, as well as the strategies employed to manage the existing gender differences in the sweet potato value chain. Understanding the trends in other African countries enabled the authors to make plausible recommendations for Malawi.

Literature search strategy

The literature was searched for targeted studies from peer-reviewed journals. Academic databases, particularly Google Scholar, were used to collect relevant and recent literature. The search was broad and exhaustive with the following combinations of keywords:

Relevant articles were read and thoroughly scrutinized to check their relevance with regard to the interest in this systematic review. The review focused on literature published from 2015 to 2025 to ensure that up-to-date research was included while incorporating foundational studies that provide historical and geographic contexts in which sweet potatoes are grown.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

The following criteria were used to maintain a focused and relevant review: The review ensured that it captured literature specifically for gender analysis in the sweet potato value chain. Articles that included gender dynamics and other factors that influence gender participation in the sweet potato value chain. In addition, articles that explored the participation of smallholder processors in the value chain and others that focused on food systems were analyzed. On the other hand, the review excluded studies that did not focus on Africa or did not analyze the gender dynamics in the sweet potato value chain by examining the aspects of food systems. In addition, this study ruled out reviews and theoretical articles without empirical data and analysis.

Quality assessment

Following a full-text review, the studies included in this systematic review were independently assessed by two authors (MC and YM). Among the 7 studies included in the present systematic review, four used mixed methods, one was purely qualitative, and two used purely quantitative approaches for data collection. All studies included in this systematic review were cross-sectional in design. The studies had varying gender focus areas ranging from the different roles of men and women in the sweet potato value chain to factors that influence participation, land ownership, gender dynamics, and gendered factors that influence the participation of men, women, and youth in more profitable aspects of the value chain, such as processing and marketing. Therefore, the appropriate version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale⁹ was used for the quality assessment of these studies. This risk of bias tool covers three domains: selection criteria, comparability criteria, and outcome/exposure criteria, where each study is scored for each domain by stars. The selection criteria were allotted a maximum of four stars, comparability criteria a maximum of two stars, and outcome criteria a maximum of four stars.

Data extraction

Data extraction is a process in which articles are read to filter out relevant data for a specific cause¹⁰. In this systematic review, a comprehensive data extraction process was performed for each selected piece of literature. This process involved documenting the key aspects of each article, as presented in Table below. The extracted information included names of authors and publication year, study objectives, methodologies, key findings, geography, sample size, study focus with regard to sex, key value chain nodes, and study limitations. (See Data extraction Table 1.)

Data synthesis

The extracted data were organized into thematic areas to facilitate the synthesis. This process helped to show the gender analysis and gender dynamics that are involved in the sweet potato value chain in Malawi, which enabled us to come up with detailed discussions and recommendations that can help to change the current gender landscape in the sweet potato value chain. Several themes were included in this systematic analysis. The first theme examined gender and value chain. This theme focuses on how gender affects participation in the sweet potato value chain. Another important theme was small-scale processing and sweet potatoes, which looked at various activities in which small-scale processors from both rural and urban settings take part in sweet potato value addition. The last theme of focus in this review was the nutrition and food systems in Malawi. This theme focuses on how the production and processing of sweet potatoes affect the overall nutrition and food systems in Malawi and other African countries.

Gender roles in the sweet potato value chain

The authors understood that the gender roles within the sweet potato value chain are essential for identifying the opportunities and barriers that different actors face at various stages of production, processing, and marketing. In Malawi, as in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, sweet potato is not only a staple crop but also a critical source of income, especially for smallholder farmers¹¹. Women and men contribute differently across the value chain, shaped by deep-rooted cultural norms, resource access, and decision-making structures¹². While women are heavily involved in labor-intensive activities, such as planting, weeding, harvesting, and small-scale processing, they often encounter structural disadvantages that limit their economic gains compared to men. This chapter explores the specific gendered patterns in roles and responsibilities, analyzes how power dynamics influence participation and benefits, and discusses the implications of designing more equitable sweet potato value chains.

Production

Sweet potato farming in Malawi is primarily undertaken by smallholder farmers, with women constituting a significant proportion of the producers¹³. Women actively engage in land preparation, planting, weeding, and harvesting, providing the backbone of sweet potato production labor¹⁴. However, men typically control access to land, ownership rights, and major production resources such as plows, fertilizers, and irrigation tools¹⁵. Despite their critical involvement, women often have limited decision-making power regarding farm management. It has been observed that even in cases where women formally own land or inherit plots, decisions regarding how the land is utilized often remain in the hands of male relatives such as uncles or brothers¹⁶.

This arrangement heavily disadvantaged women, stripping them of autonomy in choosing which crops to prioritize. As a result, women are frequently unable to dedicate land to sweet potato cultivation, even when it is more beneficial for household food security or income generation. Such restrictions have several effects, not only on the levels of sweet potato production, but also on women's ability to engage with value-adding activities and access emerging market opportunities¹⁷. Furthermore, when women are excluded from land-use decisions, investments in improved farming techniques and varieties tend to be lower, ultimately affecting productivity and innovation in the sweet potato sector¹⁸. Therefore, addressing gendered control over land use is a critical step toward enhancing both the efficiency and equity of sweet potato value chains in Malawi and other countries in Africa that produce large quantities of sweet potatoes.

Processing and value addition

Processing and value addition are critical steps in the sweet potato value chain, in which gender disparities are more visible. Women dominate small-scale processing and produce products such as dried chips, flour, and confectionery¹⁹. However, they face barriers such as limited access to capital, inadequate processing technologies, and a lack of formal training²⁰. Governments and development partners in many African countries, including Malawi, have emphasized the need to fund women’s groups that promote sweet potato production and processing at all levels²¹. Despite these efforts, gender inequities continue to exist because current agricultural and economic systems continue to favor men. Studies have indicated that access to agricultural loans is often tied to land ownership, and women who historically and legally have less control over land are often disadvantaged when financial institutions require land as collateral²².

In addition, many high-level and large-scale food processing machines are designed with male users in mind, creating physical barriers for female processors²³. This technological mismatch reduces women’s efficiency and increases the risk of injury or abandonment of mechanized options. Moreover, more advanced machinery tends to be expensive, and women who are already at a disadvantage economically may not access them. This systematic review found that efforts put in place to address these challenges require a gender-responsive approach to technology development, improved financial services tailored for women, and systemic reforms to land rights and inheritance laws to empower women along the sweet potato value chain²⁴.

Marketing and commercialization

The authors also found that women are mostly engaged in informal sweet potato markets, where they sell raw tubers and processed products of low market value, such as sweet potato flour. However, men tend to dominate high-value markets, access larger buyers, and have export opportunities²⁵. Gender norms restrict women’s mobility and bargaining power, thus limiting their ability to negotiate better prices. Gender norms that regard women as primary caregivers for children and caretakers in homes often restrict women’s mobility and bargaining power when they put products on the market. Women are more likely to sell products to raise enough money for the household’s daily needs, which limits their ability to negotiate better prices for their produce²¹. Beyond market access, women face challenges related to ownership and control over the income generated from sweet potato sales. Studies have indicated that even when women actively participate in marketing, decision-making regarding the use of proceeds often rests with male household members¹⁴. This in turn reduces women’s incentives to invest in expanding their enterprises or adopting improved processing and storage technologies that could enhance profitability. Consequently, women’s businesses remain small-scale and vulnerable to price fluctuations and seasonal supply variations.

Moreover, access to market information, credit facilities, and extension services is often skewed in favor of men, further deepening gender disparities in commercialization²⁶. Therefore, programs aimed at strengthening women’s participation in sweet potato value chains must address structural barriers, including providing targeted training, improving access to financial services, and supporting the formation of women-led producer groups to enhance collective bargaining power.

Access to resources and decision-making power

Women’s access to key resources including land, credit, and extension services remains constrained. Customary land tenure systems often marginalize women in land ownership, limiting their ability to expand production and meaningfully participate in commercial sweet potato activities²⁷. Without secure land rights, women face challenges not only in farming but also in accessing collateral for credit facilities, which limits their ability to invest in improved inputs, irrigation systems, and value addition technologies²⁸.

Financial constraints are compounded by institutional biases within agricultural extension and advisory services, which often prioritize male farmers for training and resource distribution¹⁷. Consequently, women have limited exposure to improved sweet potato varieties, processing techniques, and market opportunities. Furthermore, men frequently control household income derived from sweet potato sales, even when women contribute significantly to production and marketing¹⁴. This undermines women’s economic autonomy and decision-making power, thereby perpetuating gender inequality across the sweet potato value chain.

In addition to structural barriers, sociocultural norms play a major role in shaping women’s access to resources and decision-making capacity. In many Malawian communities, gender roles designate men as the primary decision-makers in agriculture and household finances, whereas women’s contributions are often undervalued or considered secondary²⁹. Such norms discourage women from independently pursuing agricultural investments or leadership roles in producer organizations. Addressing these deep-rooted gender dynamics requires community-based approaches that engage both men and women in dialogues about equitable resource control, foster joint decision-making within households, and support women’s leadership in agricultural cooperatives and value chain governance structures³⁰.

This review indicates that efforts to strengthen women’s access to productive resources must include legal reforms to land tenure, gender-sensitive financial products, and targeted extension programs that recognize and empower women as key actors in the sweet potato economy.

Policy and institutional frameworks

Gender-sensitive agricultural policies and programs are critical to address disparities within the sweet potato value chain. While Malawi’s National Agriculture Policy³¹ and Gender Equality Act³² advocate for gender inclusion, significant implementation gaps remain. Strengthening women’s access to credit, training, and cooperative membership can enhance their participation in high value markets. However, despite progressive policies, many interventions lack sex-specific budgeting and clear accountability mechanisms. Consequently, resources intended to support women’s economic empowerment are often diverted or inadequately monitored³³. Moreover, national and district-level agricultural institutions frequently have limited technical capacity for mainstream gender, leading to the perpetuation of male-dominated programming and decision-making structures. Strengthening institutional frameworks requires not only policy reform, but also investment in gender training for agricultural officers, extension workers, and cooperative leaders to ensure that programs are designed and delivered in an inclusive manner³⁴.

Furthermore, there is a critical need to integrate women’s voices into policymaking spaces³⁵. Women involved in sweet potato production and processing are rarely consulted during the formulation of agricultural strategies or value-chain development programs³⁶. Establishing participatory platforms where female farmers and processors can articulate their priorities would ensure that interventions are responsive to their real needs and aspirations. Such platforms can also foster peer learning, mentorship, and leadership development among women in agriculture. Finally, multi-sectoral collaboration between ministries of agriculture, gender, finance, and education is essential for the creation of holistic programs that address the multiple dimensions of gender inequality in agriculture³⁷. Programs that combine agricultural training with literacy, numeracy, financial management, and leadership development have proven to be more effective in empowering women economically²⁶. To achieve a meaningful gender transformation in the sweet potato value chain, Malawi must move beyond gender-aware rhetoric to implement integrated, well-funded, and well-coordinated interventions at all levels.

Policy implications

This systematic review ignited interesting thoughts. This type of gender analysis, specifically focusing on the processing aspect of the sweet potato value chain in Malawi and Africa in general, presents very important dimensions for policy, economic empowerment, value chain efficiency, community well-being, and future research. The authors realized that finding deeper insights into gender disparities in access to resources, decision-making power, and market opportunities can inform policies that promote gender-inclusive agricultural value chains³⁸. We also note that economic empowerment is another critical aspect, as small-scale female processors often face limited access to capital and market linkages, affecting their competitiveness and financial stability²⁶.

In addition, this review provides strong evidence that addressing gender gaps in the processing of sweet potatoes can enhance the efficiency of the value chain by ensuring that both men and women contribute optimally to production, leading to increased productivity and food security³⁹. Moreover, gender-sensitive interventions that focus on sweet potatoes and other value chains can improve household well-being by promoting equitable income distribution and enhancing women’s decision-making roles, which has been linked to better nutritional and educational outcomes for children¹⁶. Finally, the findings of this systematic review of gender analysis in the sweet potato value chain in Africa could serve as a foundation for further research and targeted interventions aimed at fostering gender equity within the agricultural sector in Malawi and beyond.

Limitations of the review process

The authors indicate limited access to other search engines as apart from google scholar as a limitation.

Final remarks

Understanding the gender dynamics in the sweet potato value chain in Africa is important, as it helps countries come up with interventions that help to reduce the inequalities that exist in such spaces and also help to improve the livelihoods of women by exposing them to more profitable nodes of the sweet potato value chain. This in the long run will translate into more viable and profitable food systems that are resilient to frequent shocks, as presented by climate change in most parts of Africa. By understanding these gender dynamics, policymakers can be better placed to make informed decisions that respond to the current trend of women’s involvement in the sweet potato value chain. Research that focuses on specific countries and regions would be ideal for providing relevant information tailored to localities, so that localized climate change interventions can be made.