promoting gender equitable opportunities in agricultural ... - weman

Continued - PHASE ONE WORKSHEET: ORGANIZING GENDER-RELATED INFORMATION FROM INTERVIEWSACTOR IN THEVALUE CHAIN:PRODUCERSDATA ABOUTMENDATA ABOUTWOMENBELIEFS ABOUT MEN AND WOMEN RELATED TO DATAREPORTED IN PREVIOUS TWO COLUMNSHow do you findlabor?Hires casuallaborers forclearing andplowing. Menare hired forboth tasks.Initially hired boys, butnow employs womenexclusivelyWoman’s response: Boys have greater economic opportunitiesthan women. They are unwilling to receive lower wages.Man’s response: More men are looking for jobs. They feel pressureto be “breadwinners” for their family.2nd man’s response: Women are more willing to listen toinstructions and to be more reliable workers.How do youget reliableinformation onnew farmingpractices?Who makesdecisions aboutthe choiceof crops (orvarieties) toproduce?Who makesdecisions aboutthe technologyused?From theassociationand friends(1st man).He makesdecisionsaboutcrops andtechnology(2nd man).Her husband receivesinformation from theproducer association.She is not a memberof the association andis not able to attendmeetings/trainings.She and her husbandmake decisionstogether.Her husband. He hasgreater knowledge ofnew technologies andproduction techniques(2nd woman’sresponse).Man’s response: Men have many “outdoor” activities, so it’seasier for men to get information than women.How do you getyour product toyour buyer?Who negotiateswith buyers?He uses abike to takehis productsto market (1stman).He negotiateswith thebuyers (1stman).Her husband transportsthe products to market(1st woman).When she sells locally,she transports thevegetables in a basketon her head (3rdwomen).Woman’s response: Marketing is perceived as a man’s taskbecause it involves transporting and interacting with men.Man’s response: Negotiating with buyers is done by men.“Women might get cheated.”Women don’t have time to go to the market given theirhousehold responsibilities. Plus, most women in this areadon’t ride bikes. That is the primary way in which products aretransported to market.OBSERVATIONS OR OTHERDATA TO CONFIRM ORCONTRADICT REPORTED DATAWomen reported listening to theradio and talking with their friendsto get agricultural information.They were also aware of it beingavailable on their cell phones butfelt that it cost too much moneyto use. Many had access to cellphones and would use them to getmarket information if there wereno cost.Younger couples reported makingdecisions more collaboratively;older women deferred to theirhusbands.Observations in the village andtown markets showed that marketsellers of vegetables and smallerquantities of fruits were women.Sellers with larger quantities andthose who sold grains were mostlymen.ProcessPROMOTING GENDER EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES IN AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS 84