Women’s Roles in Agriculture

Women’s participation in agriculture Produce 60-80% of food supply in most developing countries 54% of those economically active in agriculture are women Women produce half of the world’s food overall

In Southeast Asia, women provide up to 90% of labor for rice cultivation In sub-Saharan Africa, women produce up to 80% of basic foodstuffs for consumption and sale Women perform 25-45% of agricultural work in Colombia and Peru Women make up 53% of agricultural workers in Egypt

FAO official in 1998 “Despite the fact that women are the world’s principal food producers and providers, they remain ‘invisible’ partners in development. A lack of available gender disaggregated data means that women’s contribution to agriculture is poorly understood and their specific needs ignored in development planning.”

Harvesting grain in India

Harvesting rice in Myanmar

Planting potatoes in Bolivia

Harvesting rice in Tanzania

Processing cassava in Ghana

Yemeni agricultural workers

Maize in Malawi

India, wet rice

Women participate in agriculture as…. Unpaid family workers “Own-account” workers or entrepreneurs Wage workers

While families sometimes work together, there is usually a gender division of labor in agriculture Male farming systems tend to be based on plow technology Female farming systems tend to be based on hoe technology Men and women often produce different crops Women often grow “home gardens”

Home gardens: Are exclusively for household consumption Contain complex combinations of crops Provide variety for diet Are easily accessible for work and harvesting

Garden plots in Sri Lanka

Home gardens in Mauritania

How do women’s agricultural activities differ from men’s? Women produce a larger proportion of staple crops (wheat, corn, millet) than non- staples (like tobacco, coffee, sugar) More of the crops that women produce are consumed by the family and not marketed Therefore, women’s agricultural production has a more direct effect on family nutrition

How does women’s agricultural production affect child well-being? Studies have shown that women are more likely to use scarce resources to feed children than men are (Haddad, Hoddinott and Alderman 1997, Smith and Chavas 1997).

Women as conservators of agricultural knowledge and biodiversity Because women grow more “traditional” crops, they may have specialized knowledge of local plant varieties (rather than using imported seeds) Because women grow a greater variety of crops, they become managers of seed stocks and agricultural bio-diversity In home gardens, women grow and experiment with specialized plants for medicinal purposes, spices, etc.

Sorting cabbage seed in Bangladesh

Rwandan beans

How would you expect modernization and technological change to affect women’s roles in agriculture?

Researchers of the 1970s and 80s argued that as agriculture modernized, women’s role would decrease Because introducing plows in order to increase production would shift responsibility to men Because gender rules in many societies would make new technologies, credit, and inputs more easily available to men Because Western development agencies tend to target male farmers

Problems women face in upgrading their agricultural practices Difficulties obtaining land titles or secure tenure A study of five African countries found that women receive less than 10% of available agricultural credit Only 15% of the world’s agricultural extension agents are women, and most extension services are focused on cash crops FAO has found that most new farm tools are designed for men

Feminization of Agriculture, FAO document FAO document

Some factors leading to “feminization of agriculture” Male out-migration from rural areas Warfare Male mortality from HIV/AIDS

Some effects of feminization of agriculture Women are taking over crops and chores formerly done by men as well as their own tasks, leading to vastly increased workload Increased workload may make it necessary to adjust cropping patterns and farming systems Increases in workload may make it difficult to maintain farming infrastructure

One woman’s day in Sierra Leone

What kinds of support do women farmers need? Secure access to land and titling Labor saving technologies, new and appropriate tools Access to credit and inputs Rural organizations that can help them obtain resources and represent their interests

Receiving credit in Bangladesh

Agricultural extension work in Indonesia

Rural Organization in India Women’s farming organization in India

In the fruit-picking sector, 75% of women work more than 60 hours a week in season, on temporary contracts.

São Francisco Valley, Brazil

Women Agricultural Worker’s Activism Food Sovereignty Movements Anti-Pesticide Movements Fair Trade and Labor Rights Groups