Women in Agriculture - Farmsecure

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Women in Agriculture Written by Elvera Strydom The 9th of August is Women’s Day, a day were we herald the challenges and triumphs that women have come through. With this mind we thought it relevant to focus this edition of our newsletter on Women in Agriculture. Agriculture is a major component of rural incomes, especially in developing nations where water, land, livestock, crops, and knowledge are essential for their livelihood. Access to, control over, and management of these resources determines which activities are pursued, which goods may be produced, and whether the lives of rural families are enhanced or diminished. Gender determines who has access to these resources and what kind of access they have. Although women in developing nations work in the fields, the homes, outside of the farm, and at the markets, their male counterparts often dictate decisions over the household and its economy. Much of the agricultural work done by women of the developing world is subsistence agriculture. While their husbands often go to the cities or large-scale farms to find work, women are often left to produce and raise food for their children. Agriculture, especially subsistence agriculture, is a way of survival for many women. Their work, however, is often unrecognised. Despite a growing recognition of women’s work and contributions to agriculture, women continue to have unequal access to necessities such as land, water, credit, supportive networks, and capital. The United Nations declared a decade for women between 1970 and 1980. Despite development efforts during this decade, Sen and Grown (1987) found that the conditions in which women live and work did not improve. Since these findings surfaced in the late 1980s, researchers have re-focused on the question of why and found that there were several underlying structures that prevent women from gaining equal social status to men. The following researchers have contributed to understanding women’s role in agriculture, how gender discrimination impedes access to necessary resources, and how women demand social change. Chief Editor Chantal Yazbek, Elvera Strydom Sub-editor & Writer, Layout & Design Dieter Strumpher, Published by Farmsecure Holdings (PTY) LTD.
Women’s Work in Agriculture, Globalisation, and Economics Written by Elvera Strydom marilyn Waring is a feminist economist, a former member of the New Zealand Parliament, and a farmer. In her documentary fi lm, Who’s Counting?, Waring discusses the invisibility of women’s work, stressing how women’s work remains unvalued, underpaid, and unrecognised. In Who’s Counting? Waring discusses the United Nation’s defi nition of productivity and work. The United Nations System of National Accounts states, “Subsistence producers and the consumption of their own produce by non-primary producers is of little or no importance.” Waring tells us what this language means: that the work of non-primary producers (such as housewives) and much of the work that women do is considered unimportant in the economic world. Waring states how women are often invisible in the market economy because much of what they produce does not go through the market. The value of childcare and household work is not included in national accounts. Waring further describes the language of economics and how it aff ects women’s work and status. Mariyn Waring’s documentary is humorous and poignant, and well worth watching. Christa Wichterich is a journalist and author of The Globalized Woman. In The Globalized Woman, Wichterich critiques how the globalisation of agriculture negatively aff ects women’s lives, specifi cally how globalised agriculture industries aff ect the means of survival for women. In her chapter entitled “Means of Living: Land for Men, Work for Women,” Wichterich describes women agriculturalists and land ownership in Kenya. As in many other places in the world, women in Kenya do not have access to resources such as machines, land, credit, and advice that are necessary to be as productive as men. A study for the International Food Policy Research Institute points out, “If women were given the same resources as men, developing countries would see signifi cant increases in agricultural productivity.” Despite the fact that women do not own the land, they are still responsible for most of the labour done on the land. It is estimated that “75% of all agricultural labour in Africa is performed by women.” Men are doing less of the labour on the land that they own because they are seeking seasonal employment in cities. The result is a “feminisation of agriculture,” where women are now responsible for producing market produce and tending the cattle, in addition to producing food for consumption by the family. Yet because the husbands own the soil and the land, the income the women earn from their hard work is allocated to the men. This has left Kenyan women in a situation with few options for improvement. Chief Editor Chantal Yazbek, Elvera Strydom Sub-editor & Writer, Layout & Design Dieter Strumpher, Published by Farmsecure Holdings (PTY) LTD.
Page 1: Farmsecure Newsletter, Edition 15,
Page 5 and 6: Microcredit Projects The word “mi
Page 7 and 8: Women within our Company With this
Page 9 and 10: Nog een van ons dames Nettie Greyli
Page 11 and 12: WHO’S WHO CHARLENE BOTMA My name
Page 13 and 14: WHO’S WHO NADA NEL Ek is Nada Nel
Page 15 and 16: Baie Geluk!!! Vanaf almal hier by F
Page 17 and 18: Hier is ‘n foto van die dames van
Page 19 and 20: Margaret Africa Hi, Margaret Africa
Page 21 and 22: Events National Women’s Day, 9 Au
Page 23: Agriculture in the Media Enter Temr

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