When agency is not enough: women’s agricultural decision-making and household food insecurity in rural North Cotabato, Philippine

Women’s empowerment in agriculture is widely positioned as a pathway to household food security, yet this relationship is not automatic. In contexts where women remain constrained by unequal resource access, domestic labour burdens and household power relations, decision-making agency may matter but may not be sufficient to protect households from food insecurity. This mixed-methods study examined the association between women’s agricultural decision-making empowerment and household food insecurity in rural North Cotabato, Philippines, an agriculturally dependent province in Mindanao shaped by agrarian vulnerability, conflict histories and climate-related stress. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 245 agriculturally involved respondents across nine sites. Empowerment was measured using five adapted decision-making indicators covering crop or livestock choices, agricultural inputs, produce use, agricultural income and household nutrition. Household food insecurity was assessed using an adapted five-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Quantitative analysis included descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, group comparisons and chi-square tests; qualitative open-ended responses were analysed thematically. Higher decision-making empowerment was significantly associated with lower food insecurity scores among female respondents, and severe food insecurity was concentrated in low-empowerment groups. However, gendered gaps in land, agricultural training and input access, together with qualitative themes of unpaid domestic responsibilities, male dominance and lack of community recognition, showed that agency remained structurally constrained. The findings suggest that women’s agricultural decision-making agency can support food security, but only under enabling conditions that provide resources, time, recognition and equitable household relations.