Public finance experts, civil society organisations, development partners, researchers, farmers' organisations, and media practitioners have called for stronger integration of gender considerations into Tanzania's public financial management system to ensure public resources contribute to equitable and inclusive development.
The call was made during a Policy Forum Breakfast Debate, organised in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Equanomics Initiative, under the theme "Making Public Financial Management Work for Gender Equality: The Case of the Agriculture Sector."
The dialogue examined how Gender-Responsive Public Financial Management (GRPFM) can help address persistent gender inequalities in the agriculture sector, where women play a central role in food production but continue to face barriers in accessing productive resources, agricultural inputs, extension services, finance, markets, technology, and decision-making opportunities.
Presenting the keynote paper, Werner Hillary of ANSAF highlighted that while Tanzania has made significant progress in strengthening Public Financial Management through the Public Financial Management Reform Programme (PFMRP VI), gender disparities remain a major challenge. She emphasised that public finance systems should intentionally integrate gender considerations throughout the planning, budgeting, expenditure, monitoring, and accountability processes to ensure public investments respond to the different needs of women and men.
The discussion further noted that Tanzania has established several policy and institutional frameworks to support gender-responsive budgeting. However, challenges such as delayed budget disbursements, inadequate use of sex-disaggregated data, and weak monitoring of gender commitments continue to limit the impact of public spending on achieving gender equality.
Participants engaged in discussions on how public finance reforms can better support inclusive agricultural development. The debate underscored the importance of strengthening gender-responsive budgeting, improving transparency and accountability in budget implementation, ensuring timely release of development funds, and expanding investments that increase women's access to finance, agricultural technologies, extension services, and markets.
The dialogue also highlighted the value of collaboration between government, civil society organisations, development partners, academia, farmers' organisations, and the private sector in advancing reforms that make public finance systems more responsive to the needs of all citizens.
Speaking during the event, Policy Forum reaffirmed its commitment to creating spaces for evidence-based policy dialogue that promote transparency, accountability, and inclusive governance. Through its partnership with UNDP, the organisation continues to facilitate conversations that connect public finance reforms with broader national development priorities, including gender equality and sustainable agricultural transformation.
The Breakfast Debate concluded with a shared commitment among participants to strengthen Gender-Responsive Public Financial Management by improving the use of gender-disaggregated data, institutionalising gender-responsive budgeting, enhancing oversight of public expenditure, and fostering stronger collaboration among stakeholders. Participants agreed that more inclusive and accountable public finance systems are essential to delivering equitable development outcomes and ensuring that women and men benefit equally from public investments in the agriculture sector.