Gendered Framing of Agribusiness Under USAID’s Feed the Future Initiative in Liberia: A Colonial Sequel?

Abstract

Women’s contribution to food security in sub-Saharan Africa is acknowledged by international development agencies, resulting in efforts to empower women beyond peasant agriculture. However, the methodologies for mitigating the structural marginalization of women in the sector are sometimes overlooked. Using in-depth interviews, this study examines the gendered framing of agribusiness under USAID’s Feed the Future initiative in Liberia. Findings demonstrate that USAID program implementers’ approach to, and framing of agribusiness toward food security in Liberia was masculinized to achieve the program’s policy goals. This study contributes to critical research into the subtle, taken-for-granted ways that development agencies engage in policy framing to promote their interests above those of the local stakeholders they seek to empower. It makes recommendations for future critical research into the gendered framing of agribusiness in Africa by the international development industry as an archetype of colonialism.