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The predominate Western approach applied to agricultural research and development in Vanuatu is to focus on sector-specific or crop-by crop basis that is universally applied rather than designing context-specific research objectives. The findings from a gender livelihoods analysis conducted with 45 households in East Coast Santo, Vanuatu show that this sectorial focus inherently excludes women. Female smallholder livelihood activities were found to be centred around activities within the informal economy (traditional economy) and agricultural input is focused on harvesting of Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and food crops for subsistence and local markets, while male smallholder farmers generally focus on cash crops and the formal commercial sector.

The strategies put forward by the Declaration of the International Forum for Agroecology, Nyeleni, Mali, 2007, recognise the central role of women in rural development, and align closely with the traditional economy and the political, economic and social foundations of Vanuatu. Therefore, it is recommended that research and development projects operating in this space consider the integration of agroecology and sustainable livelihoods into their project designs through frameworks such as the Agroecology and Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (ASRLF). The ASRLF approaches research through a critical lens that challenges and transforms structures of power in society and sees minority groups (such as women and youth) and their knowledge, values, vision and leadership as critical for moving forward. This chapter demonstrates the application of the ASRLF to a gender livelihoods analysis and the development of a strategy to engage and empower rural farming women.

For many communities of the South Pacific, traditional customary hierarchies favour men over other genders. In rural settings, where the majority of women have little agency or voice, and where land and resources are controlled by community leaders; there can be significant barriers for development initiatives to meaningfully progress gender objectives. For this reason, the intersections between gender and other factors that determine social position are important to consider in the South Pacific context if gender equality or equity is to be sustainably progressed. In this final book chapter, I refer to the applied learnings of the book’s six case studies and synthesis chapter to reflect upon the current theoretical framings of gender mainstreaming, women’s empowerment and intersectionality. I argue that in situations where funding is limited, or gender equality is one of the funding objectives often in combination with food security and poverty alleviation objectives, gender integration as a component of a gender mainstreaming process can lead to a transformation in gender norms and stereotypes. Given strong leadership and sustained funding and commitment, transformative projects that move towards alleviating gendered power structures are achievable in the South Pacific.