FAO pub. Research paper on the economic role of rural women in food production in Africa - looks at food shortages and FAO's mandate to support women farmers; examines the sexual division of labour in the household and obstacles met by women in increasing their crop and animal production, in fisherys and food processing, etc.; discusses the major issues in promoting secure food security, and future agricultural policy measures. Bibliography, statistical tables.
In this volume, case studies reveal that farm women in Africa, Asia and Latin America are rapidly becoming more than subsistence producers. It explores the societal and domestic changes brought about as women move to positions as wage labourers, contract growers and farm owners.
This book examines gender relations to land relations that are crucial to formulating policies through which African women's food producing capabilities can be advanced. It addresses the need to document historical changes in land tenure practices that have influenced women's household production.
This paper reviews the major aspects of African women's contribution to food and cash crop production and offers some suggestions to improve their participation in intensification in the smallholder sector. An examination of the sexual division of labor shows that so-called "traditional" patterns have given way to expediency with women involved in all aspects of production either routinely or when male labor is unavailable due to a change in marital status or to out-migration. The semi-autonomous nature of women within the household and the diverse types of households are detailed in order to show the diverse responsibilities of men and women for the procurement of food and other commodities. Although some women earn a good living from agriculture and can assure family food security and/or generate surplus sales, most women tend to be among the lower resource farmers. This is not because they are deficient in farming skills, but because they lack access to labor, land, credit, training, and mechanization, especially in years of agricultural intensification. Stereotypes about women's place often prevent planners and implementors of development projects from incorporating women into plans and programs. Furthermore, agricultural intensification may increase the time women have to spend in farming without providing adequate remuneration. In order to include women in agricultural intensification, certain solutions are given such as disaggregating data by gender, recognizing intrahoushold dynamics in farming research and extension, studying farming roles, reorienting training and extension programs, mainstreaming income generation projects, intensifying capitalization schemes, and researching the farming enterprises associated with women.
World Bank Discussion Paper 230. Based on four country studies and extensive household surveys, this paper documents the breakdown of traditional farming systems in Sub- Saharan Africa and its implications for the role of women in agriculture.
This edited volume “Food Security in Africa” is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters offering a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the field of food safety and availability, water issues, farming and nutrition. The book comprises single chapters authored by various researchers and edited by an expert active in the public health and food security research area. All chapters are complete in itself but united under a common research study topic. This publication aims at providing a thorough overview of the latest research efforts by international authors on Africa’s food security challenges, quality of water, small-scale farming as well as economic and social challenges that this continent is facing. Hopefully, this volume will open new possible research paths for further novel developments.
Improving household food security in Africa means focusing on the role of women because they play a critical role as food producers and income earners for their families. Unless the production and productivity of these women is increased, efforts to improve household food security in Africa will not succeed. In turn, increasing production and productivity of women farmers and entrepreneurs means removing the obstacles they face in doing their work, and improving their access to resources and information so that they can help themselves. In short, women must not be marginalized, but must be brought into the mainstream of economic and social life so that they can fully use their productive capacity and contribute more to the welfare of their families and the nation. In seeking to improve household food security in Africa, it is also important that consideration be given to increasing the benefits that women receive and improving their decision-making authority. However, care must be taken that new policies and programs do not add to women's already large burden of providing food and care for their households.
Knowledge of Africa’s complex farming systems, set in their socio-economic and environmental context, is an essential ingredient to developing effective strategies for improving food and nutrition security. This book systematically and comprehensively describes the characteristics, trends, drivers of change and strategic priorities for each of Africa’s fifteen farming systems and their main subsystems. It shows how a farming systems perspective can be used to identify pathways to household food security and poverty reduction, and how strategic interventions may need to differ from one farming system to another. In the analysis, emphasis is placed on understanding farming systems drivers of change, trends and strategic priorities for science and policy. Illustrated with full-colour maps and photographs throughout, the volume provides a comprehensive and insightful analysis of Africa’s farming systems and pathways for the future to improve food and nutrition security. The book is an essential follow-up to the seminal work Farming Systems and Poverty by Dixon and colleagues for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Bank, published in 2001.
