The African Social Development Review - United Nations Economic ...

BOX 1: Research Findings (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2000)1. Increase in productivity through giving women the same input as menIn sub-Saharan Africa women have less access to education and to labor, fertilizer and other inputs than men.When women obtain the same levels of education, experience, and farm inputs that currently benefit theaverage male farmer, they increase their yields for maize, beans and cowpeas by 22%. In Kenya where theamount of education women receive is extremely low, a year of primary education provided to all womenfarmers would boost maize yields by 24%.2. Increasing women capital as one of the most effective ways to reduce povertyStudies in Egypt and Mozambique have shown that mother’s education is crucial to poverty reduction. InEgypt increasing the education level of mothers from none or less than primary to completion of primaryschool reduces the proportion of the population below the poverty line by 33.7%. Similarly in Mozambique,increasing the number of adult females that have completed primary school in each household by one led toa 23.2% decrease in the proportion of the population living below the poverty line. In both of these studies,female education had a much larger impact on poverty than other factors, including male education.3. Increasing Women’s Assets Raises Investments in Girls’ Education and HealthIFPRI research in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and South Africa indicates that although women bring farfewer assets to marriage, these assets play a significant role in household expenditures to education and children’sclothing. In all four countries, assets in the hands of women increase the share that households spendon education. Even in patriarchal societies where husbands control most of resources, wives and husbands’assets lead to different outcomes in household welfare. Women’s assets increase expenditures on children’sclothing and education to reduce the rate of illness among children.4. Contribution of Women’s Education and Status within the Household to reduction of ChildMalnutritionIFPRI recently examined factors that helped reduce child malnutrition by 15% in developing countries between1970 and 1995. The evidence shows that increases in women’s status accounted for 43% of the totalreduction in child malnutrition the largest contribution. Improvements in women’s status accounted foranother 12 %. Improvements in food availability came second to women’s education, contributing 26% to therate of reduction.ConclusionsAFRICA IS LAGGING behind in tackling food insecuritybecause the continent has failed to acknowledge women’sstrong direct and indirect influences (a) directly in thefood system in terms of food production; processing, preservationand preparation; household nutrition dependenton women’s education, the decision to spend money onfood); (b) indirectly in the spread of HIV, the main developmentchallenge; either in terms of being victims ofGBV, getting infected and infecting others or themselvesbeing forced by poverty to engage in commercial sex work.High vulnerability could induce taking risks to survivewhich increases their likelihood of contracting or passingon the HIV virus.The lack of acknowledgement of women’s contributionto agricultural productivity has resulted in inadequatelyinvesting on them, which is a major constraining factor.Overemphasis on productivity and not giving the requiredattention to post-harvest handling of foods, where predominantlyrural women engage using age-old technologiesthat are taxing on the women, impacting negatively onthe food quality and quantity, as well as natural resources,is another serious problem. Labor-saving technologiesfor improved quality of food processing, packaging andmarketing would have greatly assisted women’s well-beingand increased food availability in quantity and quality.64 Africa’ Social Development Review 2010