The role of women in agriculture in Africa
Why women are key for sustainable development in agriculture?
8th December 2021
Over the world, women make important contributions to the agricultural and rural economies in all developing countries. Their roles can vary drastically between and within regions and are evolving rapidly in many parts of the world, where social and economic factors are shaping the agricultural sector. Millions of women around the world work as farmers, farmworkers and natural resource managers. Undoubtedly, this women workforce is one of the main supports for sustainable food production, which has become the first pillar of food security (Odurukwe et al, 2006).
Across cultures, food is a way to bring togetherness to the table and celebrate our shared humanity. On Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, food, water, shelter and rest are foundations for a healthy human. Without these fundamental pieces in place, it’s difficult to advance to thinking about safety, community, our future or our potential. Food security is at the baseline of human need. Without it, we cannot thrive, let alone survive. World Vision (article here)
Women in agriculture globally
Rural women manage complex households and pursue diverse livelihood strategies that often include producing agricultural crops, tending animals, processing, and preparing food, working for wages in agricultural or other rural enterprises, collecting fuel and water, engaging in trade and marketing, caring for family members, and maintaining their homes. Nevertheless, most of these roles are not considered as “economically active employment” in national accounts even though they are an essential to support to maintain the rural households (Doss, 2011). However, despite the importance of women’s participation in agriculture, due to social barriers such as gender inequalities, the role they play to achieve food security has not been recognized yet (Doss, 2011).
What is the relationship between gender, development, and globalization in the agricultural sector in Africa?
Nowadays, the agricultural sector in Africa is facing the most unprecedented and severe social and ecological challenges such as environmental crisis, population explosion, world poverty and malnutrition, and international cooperation to promote stability within and between countries (Njobe, 2015; Shaver, 2020). For this reason, there is an urgent need to adopt new innovative approaches for regional and national responses founded on gender equality, inclusivity, sustainability, and good governance (Njobe, 2015).
As a matter of fact, African women are an integral part of the agriculture sector, they represent up to 50% of the total population in the sector and are responsible for approximately 50% of the agricultural labour on farms, spending up to 60% of their time working on agricultural activities (Njobe, 2015; FAO, 2014). Furthermore, women are the core of African agriculture: while participation in agriculture varies greatly from community to community depending on the region, women produce around 50% and 70% of the workforce in agriculture, producing approximately 80% of the agricultural goods (Doss, 2011; Njobe, 2015).
Additionally, the role women play in agriculture and rural society in Africa is fundamental to agricultural and rural development (Otieno, 2019). Besides, women’s role in agricultural production is also linked to household food security, as household overall access to food relies to a great extent on the work of rural women on farms (FAO, 2011). Nonetheless, rural poverty tends to be associated with vulnerable employment status. Rural labour markets present high levels of informality, multiple job-holding and casual work arrangements, and pervasive gender-and-age-based inequalities (Njobe, 2015). Thus, most of the vulnerable employment in developing countries is found in the informal economy, mostly in the rural settings and in agriculture, with rural women, especially the young, most likely to be affected by it (ILO, 2014).
Nevertheless, despite women’s important role in the African agricultural sector, there is evidence that shows they face several constraints and lag behind men regarding agricultural productivity due to gender inequalities that persist regarding access to, control over and utilization of productive resources such as land, livestock, labour, education, extension and financial services, and technology (Slavchevska, 2015).
How to be part of the solution?
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IDAD), “it is clearly necessary to have food systems that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable if we are to feed a growing world population at a time when the Earth’s ecosystems are becoming more stressed” (Nwanze, 2018). To achieve this, women’s empowerment has been recently perceived as a key factor in closing gender gaps in agricultural productivity in Africa (Otieno, 2019). Therefore, the integration of women in extension is essential for the achievement of some goals such as increased food production, food self-sufficiency and sustained reduction of poverty and malnutrition (Doss, 2011).
GlocAllia is launching its first innovation program focusing on Food Systems. We aim to co-create together respecting our differences and using them to co-design a system that can fit well with the people without distorting the long-term traditional food production system but using different methods while addressing the existing malnutrition and ecological challenges. You can apply or find more information here.
East Africa is one of those regions with a lot of women in the agriculture sector, this will enable us to collaborate with the different women groups, associations, and organizations to frame the potential solutions, channel them to available markets, potential partners and quality resources. Engaging women in the different activities in the agriculture sector puts us in a position where more can be achieved in the food systems since they are at the heart of the system.
All organisations and individuals are welcome to join the GlocAllia community and specific programs to empower women in agriculture (but not only), helping them address their challenges with potential solutions and access markets across all borders for their products to ensure growth and expansion in the agribusiness.
REFERENCES
Doss, C. (2011). The Role of Women in Agriculture. Agriculture Development Economics Division, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/am307e/am307e00.pdf
FAO (2011). The State of Food and Agriculture 2010–11. Women in Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Development. Rome: FAO.
FAO (2014). The State of Food and Agriculture - Innovation in family farming. Retrieved from: https://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/2014/en/
Njobe, B. (2015). Women and Agriculture: The Untapped Opportunity in the Wave of Transformation. African Development Bank Group- United Nations. Retrieved from: https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Events/DakAgri2015/Women_and_Agriculture_The_Untapped_Opportunity_in_the_Wave_of_Transformation.pdf
Nwanze , K. F. (2018). FOOD SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ROLE OF SMALLHOLDER FARMERS. Food Sustainability Index, The Economist Intelligence Unit . Retrieved from http://foodsustainability.eiu.com/food-sustainability-and-the-role-of-smallholder-farmers/
Odurukwe, S.N., Matthews-Njoku, E.C., & Ejiogu-Okereke, N. (2006). Impacts of women-in-agriculture (WIA) extension programme on women’s lives; implications for subsistence agricultural production of women in Imo State, Nigeria. Livestock Research for Rural Development, 18(2), 47-61.
Otieno, P. O. (2019). Women and agriculture in rural Kenya: role in agricultural production. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(4), 1-10.
Shaver, M. (2020). The Gendered Political Economy of Africa: How the Empowerment of Women in Smallholder Farms Can Spearhead Economic Growth. WWU Honors Program Senior Projects. 353. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwu_honors/353
Slavchevska V. (2015).Gender differences in agricultural productivity: The case of Tanzania. Agricultural Economics; 46(3): 335±55.