what is the role of gender in smallholder...

Economic and Social Development Department

The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11

Food and Agriculture

Organization of the

United Nations

What is the role of gender in smallholder farming?

Libor Stloukal

FAO, Rome, Italy

ICRISAT’s 40th Science Symposium

Patancheru, 24-25 September 2012


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Key messages

1) Significant gender disparities continue

to exist in smallholder farming.

2) Reducing those disparities would

strengthen the smallholder sector – and

generate broader welfare benefits.

3) Gender transformative development is

possible and needs to be supported.


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Key dimensions of gender disparities in

smallholder agriculture:

HH decision-making, domestic work

access to land and other resources

credit and insurance markets

labour markets

support/protection systems

institutions and organizations


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Fem

ale

share

of agricultura

l la

bor

forc

e (%

)

East and Southeast Asia Latin America and the Caribbean

Near East and North Africa South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Source. FAOSTAT.

Female share of the agricultural labour force


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Zambia

Guatemala

Bangladesh Mali

Saudi-Arabia

Malaw i

Chile

Thailand

Senegal

Lebanon

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

Eastern and

Southern Africa

Latin America Asia Western and

Central Africa

Near East and

North Africa

Women as a share of individual holders of

agricultural land

Source: FAO Gender and Land Rights Database

Regional differences are indicative given the few country data available.


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Sources: World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2011

OECD 2012 Gender, Institutions and Development Database


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Potential gains from closing the

gender gap in agriculture

Productivity gains

• 20 to 30 percent on women’s farms

• 2.5 to 4 percent at national level

Food security gains

• significant reduction in the number of

hungry

Broader economic and social gains

• better health, nutrition and education

outcomes for children

• improved human capital, which promotes

economic growth


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Meet Valiben of Gujarat, India


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Organizing (social capital)


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Building natural assets (land, livestock)


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Accessing financial services

(savings, credit and insurance)


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Building physical assets and accessing

technologies


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Accessing information and services


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Adding value and increasing

employment


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Accessing markets


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Valiben’s story shows that:

•The 5 capitals matter:

• natural

• physical

• financial

• human

• social

•Rural women are part of the solution

•Organizations enable small producers


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

What needs to be done?

End gender discrimination under the law

Free rural women for lucrative activities

Build human capital of women and girls

Strengthen rural organizations

Improve analytical concepts, evidence

Make gender-aware agric. policies

Bundle interventions


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Towards a social relations approach

From: Towards:

static → dynamic

formulaic nunaced

Remember:

• gender is about social structure

• gender relations are dynamic and negotiable

• men and women have multiple identities

• people have not only individual interests

• gender relations are intrinsically ambiguous

Avoid:

• cataloguing differences, seeking gap-filing solutions

• recycling orthodox generalizations about men and women


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Thank you

http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/en/


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

Developing

countries

Sub-

Saharan

Africa

Latin

America

and the

East and

Southeast

Asia

Near East

and North

Africa

South Asia

% o

f to

tal m

ale

and fem

ale

popula

tion

Agriculture Industry Services

Female employment rates vary by

region but are always lower than men’s

Source: ILO, Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM, 6th Edition).

Note: The ILO, KILM data covers only a subset of the countries in each region. Definitions of adult labour force differ by

country, but usually refers to the population aged 15 and above. Employed includes self-employed, employed, employers as

well as contributing family members. There is no distinction between formal sector employment and informal sector

employment.


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Women are more likely to be

employed in agriculture than men

Source: ILO, Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM, 6th Edition). Share of employed population by sector and gender

Note: The ILO, KILM data covers only a subset of the countries in each region. Definitions of adult labour force differ by

country, but usually refers to the population aged 15 and above. Employed includes self-employed, employed, employers as

well as contributing family members. There is no distinction between formal sector employment and informal sector

employment.


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Women are less likely to participate in rural

wage employment than men

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Ghana Malawi

Nigeria

Bangladesh Indonesia

Nepal Tajikistan

Viet Nam

Ecuador GuatemalaNicaragua

Panama

Men Women

Note: Refers to percentage of the adult population working for a wage.

Source. FAO RIGA database


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Ghana Malawi

Nigeria

Bangladesh

IndonesiaNepal

Tajikistan Viet Nam

Ecuador Guatemala

Nicaragua Panama

Men Women

but are more likely to be in part-time work

Source: FAO RIGA database


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Malawi

Bangladesh

Indonesia

Nepal

Tajikistan

Viet Nam

Ecuador

Guatemala

Nicaragua

Panama

Men Women

or seasonal employment



The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Ghana

Malawi

Nigeria

Bangladesh

Indonesia

Nepal

Tajikistan

Viet Nam

Ecuador

Guatemala

Nicaragua

Panama

Men Women


*Low-wage jobs are defined as those that pay less than the median agricultural wage

and more likely to hold low-wage jobs*


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Country Commodity Year of survey

No. employees in ag-industry

Share of female workers

Cameroon Banana 2003 10,000

Côte d'lvoire Banana and pineapple 2002 35,000

Kenya Flowers 2002 40,000 – 70,000 75%

Senegal French beans 2005 12,000 90%

Cherry tomatoes 2006 3,000 60%

Uganda Flowers 1998 3,300 75%

Zambia Vegetables 2002/3 7,500 65%

Flowers 2002/3 2,500 35%

South Africa Deciduous fruit 1994 283,000 53%

Mexico Vegetables 1990s 950,000 90%

Colombia Flowers mid-90s 75,000 60-80%

Chile Fruits 1990s 300,000 ca 46%

Dom. Republic

Fruits, veg., flowers 1989-90 16,955 ca 41%

Sources: Maertens and Swinnen (2009), Deere (2005)

Women dominate employment in many of

the high-value agro-industries


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Bangladesh

Mali

Egypt

Guatemala

Burkina Faso

Zambia

Mozambique

Thailand

Chile

Malawi

Female Male

Individual holders of agricultural land in selected

countries, by gender



The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Zambia

Guatemala

Bangladesh Mali

Saudi-Arabia

Malaw i

Chile

Thailand

Senegal

Lebanon

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

Eastern and

Southern Africa

Latin America Asia Western and

Central Africa

Near East and

North Africa

Women as a share of individual holders of

agricultural land


Regional differences are indicative given the few country data available.


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

Women control less land

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Malawi

MadagascGhana

Viet NamTajikistan

Pakistan Nepal

Indonesia Banglades

Panama Nicaragua

Guatemala Ecuador

Bolivia

Average farm size (ha)

Male-headed households Female-headed households


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

and produce less per unit of land...

-41

-21-18

-45

-40

-35

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

Sorghum Vegetables All cropsPercentage

Gap between yields on male- and female-controlled plots in Burkina Faso


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations

…because they use fewer inputs (e.g. fertilizer)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Nigeria Malawi

Madagascar Ghana

Viet NamTajikistan

PakistanNepal

Bangladesh

Panama Nicaragua Guatemala

Ecuador Bolivia

Percentage of households using fertilizers

Male-headed households Female-headed households


The State of

Food and

Agriculture

2010-11


Organization of the

United Nations -1

.5-1

-.5

0.5

% C

han

ge

in W

elfare

(F

HH

-MH

H)

Bangladesh Ghana Guatemala Malawi Nicaragua Pakistan Vietnam

Rural Urban

National

Female-headed households are hit

harder by high food prices

Note: The graph shows the differential change in welfare between FHH (female-headed households) and MHH (male-headed

households).

what is the role of gender in smallholder...

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