Abstract : The discourse on gender-based discrimination and imbalances is gaining tractions among policy and development experts because gender equality is central to achieving the vision of zero hunger for all. Despite the important roles of women in the food systems, they face systemic disadvantage in accessing productive resources, services and information. Therefore, this study examined the effect of gender inequality on the arable crop farmers’ food security status in Osun State, Nigeria. Cross-sectional data were elicited from a sample of 252 arable crop farmers selected through multistage sampling processes. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics to describe the farmers’ socio-economic characteristics; while principal component analysis and composite score technique were used to generate the women empowerment index, and categorize the farmers into levels of empowerment, respectively. Cross-tabulation technique was applied to achieve gender disaggregation of the empowerment status, and food security categories, while the World Food Programme approach was applied to estimate and categorize the farmers into the different continuums of food security status. Ordered logistic regression was also used to examine the effect of gender inequality on the farmers’ food security status. The results also indicated that both male and female farmers are disproportionately lacking in the empowerment indicators, while majority of the farmers were in the chronic food insecurity category. The ordered logistic regression estimates indicated that gender of the farmers, years of formal education, number of employed household members, primary occupation, years of farming experience, institutional engagements, and importantly, women empowerment status were significant factors influencing the probability of arable farmers falling into each of the food security categories. The study concluded that most of the farmers were in the chronic food insecurity category. Therefore, the study recommended integration of gender-just policy in the national food security strategies and policy framework by the government. Equally, the study advocated for revitalization of agricultural extension service delivery system in Osun state, Nigeria.