Gender and agriculture in Siaya district: Issues and strategies for Policy analysis and reforms

Abstract

This study describes the significant and critical contribution made by rural women in Africa to the food security and economies of their countries through their work in the agricultural sector. The main concern of this study was to analyse and document the gender division oflabour in agriculture, the male and female differentials in access to and control of key productive resources, and the specific strategies that can be employed to develop gender-responsive agricultural policies. The study is based on qualitative data which was collected through focused group discussions and in-depth interviews with key informants, heads of households and respondents selected through purposive sampling. Respondents included female and male members of farming households in Ramunde sub-location of Siaya District in Nyanza province of Kenya. Library research was also used to collect data. Findings confirm the fact that as in many other parts of the world today, in Ramunde sublocation, there is an increasing trend towards what has been termed the 'feminization of agriculture'. As men's participation in agriculture declines, the role of women in agricultural production becomes ever more dominant. Sickness and death from HIV/AIDS have reduced rural male populations. Another major cause of this phenomenon is the migration of men from rural areas to towns and cities, in their own " .. countries or abroad, in search of paid employment. -. Further, data obtained illustrates that despite their contribution to global food security, women farmers are frequently underestimated and overlooked in development strategies. A lack of available gender disaggregated data means that women's contribution to agriculture in particular is poorly understood and their specific needs ignored In development planning. This is because much of women's work in crop production consists of unpaid labour in fields that produce for the househo ld rather than the market. As a result, women's work goes unrecorded in statistics. Because of this scarcity or - in most cases - sheer lack of available information, there has been little effective recognition of women's labour in agriculture. Gender-disaggregated data is needed to help IX technicians, planners and policy makers identify the role differences in food and cash crop production as well as men's and women's different managerial and financial control over the production, storage and marketing of agricultural products. Only by the collection and analysis of such gender. disaggregated data will development strategies target women as active and equal partners in agricultural development. Women's full potential in agriculture must be realized if the goal of the 1996 World Food Summit - to halve the number of hungry people in the world by 2015 - is to be achieved. The empowerment of women is key to raising levels of nutrition, improving the production and distribution of food and agricultural products and enhancing the living conditions of rural populations. Therefore, this study recommends that: Legislative, administrative, socio-economic and attitudinal barriers to rural women's access to the factors of production should be eliminated through changes in legislation and proactive economic and social policy; the level of skills and productivity of rural women workers should be raised through public and private investment in basic education, literacy as well as special skills programmes and vocational training; Women's organisations should be empowered to enhance their participation in mainstream policy- and decision-making bodies; and strategies should be developed to change the mind-sets and operational procedures of rural institutions, both public and private, to increase their responsivegessto rural women's needs. -. x