UNIT 7: Gender and Agricultural Production

Success Criteria

• Explain the meaning of the term ‘gender roles’ in agricultural production.
• Determine gender roles in agricultural production.
• Assess the impact of gender roles in agricultural production.
• Recognize the importance for both men and women to participate in agricultural production.
• Describe the role of women in making decisions in agricultural production.

Meanings of Gender and Gender Roles: A Professional Summary

Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, expressions, and identities of individuals, which are widely considered appropriate for males and females within a specific culture. It goes beyond biological sex to encompass the characteristics society attributes to men and women.

Gender role is defined as the set of responsibilities, tasks, and expectations assigned to either males or females within a particular society, often based on cultural norms and historical practices.

Gender Roles in Agricultural Production (Traditional Context)

Traditionally, men and women in agricultural settings have distinct and often complementary roles.

Roles Primarily Associated with Men:

• Decision-making on Resource Possession: Often control ownership and access to major agricultural resources (e.g., land, large equipment).
• Household Headship and Major Decisions: Often make overarching decisions about the home and significant financial matters without necessarily consulting women.
• Specific Agricultural Activities:
  • Fishing.
  • Producing cash crops (often high-value or extensive).
  • Raising large animals.
  • Constructing animal pens and grain stores.
• Economic Engagement:
  • Often the primary “breadwinners.”
  • Seeking employment in large estates.
  • Accessing formal loans and credit facilities.

Roles Primarily Associated with Women:

• Food Production and Processing:
  • Growing food crops (staples for household consumption).
  • Processing food (e.g., threshing, milling, drying).
  • Cooking food.
• Household Chores and Caregiving:
  • Drawing water.
  • Fetching firewood.
  • Caring for family members and nursing children.
• Economic Engagement (often informal/supportive):
  • Trading and marketing of farm produce (especially surplus from food crops).
  • Working for wages in farms (often casual labor).
  • Rearing small livestock (e.g., chickens, goats).

General Observations on Traditional Gender Roles:

Women typically undertake a significantly higher proportion of farm work (estimated at 80%) compared to men. However, men often retain sole decision-making power over the use of financial resources derived from farm produce. Furthermore, women in traditional settings frequently face limitations in accessing credit facilities and often lack control over land ownership, as customary laws may view them as unable to own property independently.

Factors that Hinder Women in Agricultural Production

Several systemic and cultural factors impede women’s full and equitable participation and benefit in agricultural production:

• Land Ownership: Under many customary laws, land ownership is primarily vested in men, limiting women’s ability to own or inherit land.
• Land Use Decisions: Major decisions regarding land use are predominantly made by men, often without significant input from women, even though women may be the primary cultivators.
• Access to Credit: Women are frequently denied access to formal credit facilities, sometimes by their husbands or due to a lack of collateral (as customary land cannot be used as security).
• Extension and Training Services: A disproportionately higher number of men access agricultural extension and training services, leading to a knowledge gap among women farmers regarding modern techniques, improved varieties, and market information.
• Control Over Farm Income: Decisions on when and how to sell farm products and how to utilize family finances are typically made by men, limiting women’s economic empowerment and their ability to reinvest in agricultural inputs.

Impact of Gender Imbalances on Agricultural Production

Gender disparities have significant negative consequences for overall agricultural productivity and household well-being:

• Limited Access to Credit Facilities for Women: Hampers women’s ability to invest in improved seeds, fertilizers, and equipment, thereby restricting productivity.
• Low Food Production: Women’s limited involvement in decision-making and resource control can lead to sub-optimal choices and practices, resulting in lower food output.
• Work-Life Imbalance for Women: Women often struggle to balance the demands of child-rearing and domestic responsibilities with extensive garden/farm work, impacting their productivity and well-being.
• Limited Land Ownership for Women: Disincentivizes long-term investments in land improvement and sustainable farming practices by women.
• Inappropriate Land Preparation: Lack of women’s input in decision-making can lead to less effective land preparation methods.
• Late Planting: Constraints on women’s access to resources or decision-making can result in delays in critical farming activities, such as planting.
• Low Yields and Quality Produce: All the above factors cumulatively contribute to lower yields and reduced quality of agricultural produce.
• Low Household Income: Reduced productivity and men’s unilateral control over income can lead to overall lower household income and less equitable distribution of resources.
• Low Adoption of Mechanized Agriculture: Women’s limited access to training, credit, and decision-making roles often hinders the adoption of modern, labor-saving agricultural technologies.

Importance of Gender Balance in Agriculture (Equal Division of Labour)

Promoting gender balance in agriculture is crucial for enhancing productivity, fostering cooperation, and improving livelihoods.

• Genuine Family Cooperation: Encourages men and women to work as a unified team, fostering mutual respect and shared responsibilities.
• Shared Ownership and Vision: Promotes a positive sense of ownership and shared responsibility for the farm enterprise, leading to greater commitment and investment from both partners.
• Shared Vision and Responsibility: When both men and women actively participate in decision-making and work distribution, it leads to a more coherent strategy and better outcomes for the farm.
• Fair Work Distribution: Ensures that farm tasks are equitably distributed, preventing burnout and maximizing the efficiency of labor.
• Joint Consultation: Encourages mutual consultation on all farm activities, leading to more informed and holistic decisions.

The Role of Women in Making Decisions in Agricultural Production

While traditionally marginalized in decision-making, women play a vital role in agricultural production, and their increased involvement in decisions is crucial for progress.

• Growing Cash Crops: Women are increasingly involved in the production of cash crops, contributing directly to household income.
• Ensuring Food Security: By actively participating in and making decisions about growing diverse food crops, women are instrumental in ensuring household and community food security.

Decisions that are ideally made by women and men together in the family include:

• Timing of Operations: When to start land preparation, plant, weed, and harvest.
• Input Application: When and how to apply fertilizer and other inputs.
• Crop Selection: What food crops to produce to meet household needs and market demands.
• Technology Adoption: What agricultural technologies (e.g., irrigation systems, improved tools) to use.
• Marketing and Income Use: What produce to sell, when to sell it, and, crucially, how to use the generated income for household welfare and reinvestment.

Empowering women in agricultural decision-making not only enhances gender equity but also leads to more sustainable, productive, and food-secure agricultural systems.