The war in Ukraine has had devasting impact on women and girls worldwide, widening gender gaps, and increasing rates of food insecurity, malnutrition and energy poverty. The ensuing cost-of-living crisis has acutely threatened women’s livelihoods, health, and wellbeing and stymied progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.

The study elaborates why mainstreaming gender and application of gender-responsive budgeting to the sector of agriculture and rural development is important for recognising the different needs of women and men. It uses a behavioral and experimental economics framework through the abbreviated - women’s empowerment index in agriculture to measure empowerment in five domains, providing recommendations to address gender aspects in policy documents and related budgets.