Gender and aquaculture:
Sharing the benefits from fish farming equitably
Gender disparities in aquaculture can result
in lower labor productivity within the sector
andinefficientallocationof laborathousehold
and national levels. In many developing
countries, customary beliefs, normsand laws,
and/or unfavorable regulatory structures of
the state reduce women’s access to land
and water resources, assets, technology and
decision-making (FAO, 2006; Porter, 2006;
Okali and Holvoet, 2007), confining them to
the lower end of supply chains within the
so-called “informal” sector (Guhathakurta,
2008). This implies that women (as in
agriculture, forestry and industry) are likely
to constitute a larger proportion of the poor
within this sector and are often excluded from
participating in fish farmer groups and other
aspects of aquaculture governance. Even
though they use aquatic resources, they are
rarely consulted in attempts to manage these
resources. The differential impacts of and
contribution to ecological degradation and
depletion of aquatic resources by women
and by men are often overlooked. These
disparities are likely to be exacerbated by
climate change (Brody et al., 2008).
livelihoods of even ultra poor households in
the Baor (Oxbow lake) areas of Bangladesh
(Nathan and Apu, 1998). Nevertheless,
important for sustainable change are
measures to improve governance, especially
enhanced voice and accountability, and
public sector capacity to be responsive to
gender-specific needs. There is increasing
evidence that those countries that have
performed well towards achieving gender
equity have also reached higher levels of
economic growth and/or social well-being
in general (World Economic Forum, 2006;
2007).
Research on gender and aquaculture at the
WorldFish Center identifies the following five
key themes for consideration:
Theme 1: Markets, trade and
migration
Globalization of fish supply chains and
markets combined with the depletion of wild
fish resources has an important influence on
the livelihoods of fish farming communities.
Analysis is beginning on the extent of this
change and how men and women are
differentially placed and/or made vulnerable
within labor markets in these supply chains
(Madanda, 2003; Kusakabe et al., 2006;
Tindall and Holvoet, 2008). Development
programs and policies have often overlooked
the post-harvest and trading activities of
women. The connection between aquaculture
production and trading is critical but many
interventions focus entirely on production
activities (fish seed, feed and disease) rather
than on improving processing and access to
markets.
While women bear the brunt of the costs of
gender inequities, these costs are distributed
widely and are a cause of persistent poverty
for all members of the society. Addressing
gender inequities by improving women’s
incomes and educational levels, along with
their access to information, technology
and decision making processes, not
only enhances human capabilities of the
household but also augments it at the societal
level. Organizing women into groups, along
with access to resources, technologies
and services, was successful in improving
