Women in Agriculture

In Africa and large parts of Asia, the majority of the agricultural labour force in small-scale and subsistence farming is comprised of women. The IAASTD describes this as 'the feminisation of agriculture'. The feminization of agriculture model in East and South Asia and the Pacific is de­termined by two major factors. First, compared to men, women have much poorer access to and control over pro­ductive resources and they have inadequate access to public services, such as training, extension and credit. Technolo­gies are often designed for irrigated land in favorable areas where male farmers predominate, with poor farmers, mainly women, lacking access to credit and appropriate technolo­gies. Second, rural society structure makes it difficult for all members of the household to migrate, since cities have even more limited resources for masses of asset-poor, who lack not only income but production-related assets, human capabilities, social capital and physical assets. Women con­stitute the majority of this group and when men leave to become temporary laborers in cities, they are left behind to take care of the land, children and elderly. Thus, they have the compounded burden of productive and reproduc­tive work. (East and South Asia and the Pacific, p. 180) However, in many countries in the global South, women’s rights remain severely restricted. Cultural barriers frequently prevent women from exercising their right to own property, or their right to access water, livestock and machinery. Access to education, information and political participation is also restricted, whilst opening a personal bank account or taking out a loan is often not possible. According to the IAASTD, women can become empowered in small-scale agriculture and regional development systems oriented towards local markets and supply, thus disproportionately increasing their chances of escaping hunger and misery.  >>more

Most women in sub-Saharan Africa have multiple responsibilities. They produce food, harvest and weed on men’s fields, and process the harvest. They also provide firewood and water, and manage the household.
Research conducted in Kenya shows that, on average, households can experience a 68% decline in food production following the death of a male head of household - even though women are largely responsible for agriculture production.
In order to cope with the financial burden of AIDS for example, assets can be sold, loans go into default and household collateral decreases.
As a result, the affected households are no longer deemed creditworthy. Following the death of a male head of household, relatives of the deceased frequently seize property from the widow, causing a further decline in agricultural production (Sub-Saharan Africa, p. 51-52).