Levelling the field : improving opportunities for women farmers in Africa (original) (raw)
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Gender equality in agriculture: What are really the benefits for sub-Saharan Africa?
2016
Empowering women and ensuring gender equality have become a much-discussed subject among many political leaders, civil rights activists, and women’s associations. In agriculture particularly, women face daunting constraints that significantly limit their potential and enmesh them into a gender productivity trap. The aim of this brief is to untangle the potential benefits African countries could get if they would strive for greater gender equality in their agricultural sector. Drawing on Mukasa and Salami (2016) who found that gender productivity gaps in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda were respectively of 18.6, 27.4, and 30.6%, closing gender productivity differentials is estimated to yield production gains of 2.8% in Nigeria, 8.1% in Tanzania, and 10.3% in Uganda. These production gains would subsequently raise monthly consumption per adult equivalent by 2.9%, 1.4%, and 10.7% in Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, respectively; and would help around 1.2%, 4.9%, and 13% households with fem...
Women are still the key in agriculture and food security in Africa
South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2005
The laws governing women's rights to land differ widely in various parts of the world. Some religious laws forbid female land ownership. Even when civil law gives women the right to inherit land, local custom may rule otherwise. In sub-Saharan Africa, where women have prime responsibility for food production, they are generally limited to user (or usufruct) rights to land, and then only with the consent of a male relative. Some resettlement and irrigation projects have actually worsened women's rights to land by providing formal titles only to men. This insecurity of tenure reduces the likelihood that women will invest much time and resources in usufruct land or adopt environmentally sustainable farming practices such as tree planting (see Dey 6 and von Braun and Webb 7).
UN Women Nairobi Regional Policy Brief, 2019
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, women farmers have substantially lower rates of productivity than men — a phenomenon which has been noted, documented and measured in studies stretching back to the 1990s (e.g. Saito, Mekonnen and Spurling, 1994). These gender gaps in agricultural productivity have arisen not because women inequitable access to land and to agricultural inputs. Such unbalanced distribution frequently stems from and is bolstered by deeply entrenched sociocultural norms and traditional expectations of gender roles. This structure of constraints is multifaceted. For example, women are more income- and time-constrained than men, which has repercussions on their ability to access credit, land and appropriate levels of inputs. These constraints thus lead to sizeable gender gaps in the adoption of high-value crops and in the use of agricultural implements, male family labour, pesticides and fertilizer, among other elements.
The gender gap in agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa: causes, costs and solutions
UN Women Policy Brief, 2019
Across sub-Saharan Africa, the agricultural sector remains critical to local and regional economies. It is the basis for food security and an important source of employment, particularly for women. Yet, studies consistently find that female farmers have lower rates of agricultural productivity than male farmers. Based on original research in five countries (Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania), this policy brief shows that gender gaps in agricultural productivity do not arise because women are less efficient farmers but because they experience inequitable access to agricultural inputs, including family labour, high-yield crops, pesticides and fertilizer. Equalizing women's access to agricultural inputs, including time-saving equipment, and increasing the return to these inputs is therefore critical to close gender gaps in agricultural productivity. It also promises to yield important economic and social gains. Across the five countries, it could raise crop production by up to 19 per cent, boost agricultural and overall GDP and lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty.
Gender Disparities and the Role of Women in Smallholder Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa
International Journal of Science and Research, 2016
Gender equality is a basic human right that requires that men and women be treated equally with respect to resources, legislation and policies. Gender-based discrimination results in serious gaps in political, social and economic participation. In sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is the livelihood of nearly 70% of the economically active population. For the rural poor, agriculture is the main source of employment and income, although the income generated is low. A host of factors leading to low yields means that many households continue to be food insecure. High rates of hunger are strongly linked to gender inequality. The agricultural sector is underperforming in many sub-Saharan African countries, in part because women do not have equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to become more productive. Women smallholder farmers in the sub-Saharan African region face numerous constraints. They may have access to land but very few actually own or have title to it; their plots tend to be less fertile than those belonging to men; they have fewer farm tools and equipment; and limited access to farm credit, inputs, technologies and information. In addition, women farmers lack access to improved seeds, reliable water supplies, markets, financing and insurance options, and moreover, suffer from unsupportive public policies. Furthermore, smallholder African women farmers often do not get paid for the farm work that they do, nor do they always earn and control the income from sales, a factor that may affect their incentives to effectively participate in agricultural production. Research also shows that development policies and practices often exacerbate the situation as they do not offer women farmers equal access to development resources, training and information, thereby limiting their opportunities and ability to contribute to agricultural development, food security and poverty reduction. The household and societal pay-offs to reducing women's constraints in productive activities are significant. Closing the agricultural gender gap would result in significant gains for the agricultural sector as well as society as a whole. Increasing the opportunities for women can have a powerful impact on productivity and agricultural-led growth. Women are just as efficient agricultural producers as men and can achieve similar yields when given access to resources, including training and services.
IOSR journal of humanities and social science, 2014
Women, face a number of interlinked constraints that reduce their agricultural productivity and their ability to use natural resources and sustainably contribute to food production. As a result of this scenario, enhancing food production through gender equality and equity as a means of promoting food security and reduce poverty has been a challenge in Africa. This discussion attempt to explore ways in which gender equality and equity can be achieved in food production.The role of education and training for women, and access to appropriate technology by women in food production are discussed and challenges highlighted as means of promoting food security and reduce poverty. Planning for women's education and training does, in fact, improve the likelihood that women contribute fully to food production, as a result improving households standard of living. Technology may be quite useful in increasing productivity, however access to technology depends on availability and women's resources to purchase such technologies. As women generally have less access to cash and credit, they are less likely to purchase new technologies. Overall, some of the issues of concern to women as food producers are the lack of access to technical training and appropriate technology, in addition to lack of access and control over land, financial resources and cash income. Assisting women in acquiring and use of new technologies in food production is fundamental to agricultural and rural development in Africa. Therefore, with a view to highlighting some of the constraints and enhancing women's capacities in food production , this review will look at lack of education, training and technology as some of the major factors and constraints affecting women's roles in food production.
The cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity: five African countries
UN Women Policy Report, 2018
A growing body of evidence points to a salient feature of the agricultural sector across Sub-Saharan Africa: lower rates of agricultural productivity for female cultivators than for male cultivators. Substantial gender gaps in productivity have arisen not because women are less efficient farmers, but because women experience inequitable access to land and to agricultural inputs. Such unbalanced distribution frequently stems from and is bolstered by deeply entrenched sociocultural norms and traditional expectations of gender roles. This structure of constraints is multifaceted. For example, women are more income- and time-constrained than men, which has repercussions on their ability to access credit, land and appropriate levels of inputs. These constraints thus lead to sizeable gender gaps in the adoption of high-value crops and in the use of agricultural implements, male family labour, pesticides and fertilizer, among other elements.
Women in Agriculture in Contemporary Africa
The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies
Agriculture remains one of the most important livelihood options for women across Africa, yet there are multiple challenges which include lack of access to land and productive assets, credit, and markets. In this chapter, we use a systematic review of the literature to analyze how women intersect and participate in the agriculture space in Africa. The chapter draws from multiple studies on women in agriculture across Africa and focuses on important thematic areas including land access, labor, agricultural policy, decision-making, livestock, and horticulture. Throughout the analysis, it is clear that women are largely marginalized and excluded from the lucrative parts of the agricultural value chain. Agriculture is thus largely constructed as a patriarchal system in which women play subordinate roles. Such a state of affairs poses serious challenges given that the vast majority
Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy (The), 1970
This article examines why, in most African countries, women farmers achieve lower productivity in agriculture than men. It contributes to this debate by interrogating whether or not addressing gender gaps in agricultural production significantly contributes to socio-economic well-being (resilience) of women as well as the gross domestic product (GDP). The Living Standards Measurement Studies-Integrated Survey for Agriculture projects was adopted to produce estimates for three countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda). The article draws from a research report and collaborative study by UN Women with UNEP and World Bank. The result shows that although female farmers individually manage slightly more than 25 per cent of all plots in Malawi and Uganda and about 20 per cent of all plots in Tanzania, Malawi shows the largest difference in mean productivity where women’s plots are, on average, 28 per cent less productive than men’s while Tanzania and Uganda reported 16 ...