promoting gender equitable opportunities in agricultural ... - weman

ON-FARMPRODUCTIVITYIncreasing agricultural productivityamong smallholder farmers hasbeen the core of most national andmultinational development interventions,emphasizing improvedefficiency of labor, land, and otherinputs, including water, in the productionof marketable crops, suchas staple food grains, livestock,and high-value fruits and vegetablesfor domestic, regional, andexport markets. For many years,the focus was on men, who, aspresumed and predominant headsof households, were the targets ofdevelopment assistance. Gradually,appreciation for women’s rolesand responsibilities in agriculturalproduction led to better identificationof the gender differences thataffect the adoption and sustainabilityof agricultural innovationson smallholder farms and solutionsto address them. In recent years,as small farmers have become incorporatedinto global networks ofproduction, processing, and sales,a better understanding is emergingof how gender differences affectproductivity in global value chains.Increased productivity can beachieved in many ways. Theapplication of science andtechnology to breed higher-yieldingor pest- or drought-resistantvarieties improves the productivityof labor and of seed. Improving thetiming or sequencing of cultivationtasks and the application ofpesticides and fertilizers can alsoraise yields while reducing labor.Costs associated with the use offarm equipment can be recouped bygains from cultivating larger acreagewith fewer hands. Improvementsin postharvest storage by usingtemperature and humiditycontrolledunits can reduce lossesto harvested production.Improving women’s on-farmproductivity must address thetime-poverty they face in balancingboth domestic and agriculturalresponsibilities. Documenting howwomen’s work in caring for andreproducing the household makesvisible the way that value chain–related activities are embeddedin and shaped by intrahouseholddynamics. At the same time, GbCs toagriculture productivity are not onlythe product of the intrahouseholdrelations that govern householdpractices but are also a reflection ofthe inadequacies of public policiesthat affect how women and men aredifferentially able to access assetsand markets.Shehzad Noorani/The World Bank27