TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF RESEARCH ON WOMEN FARMERS IN AFRICA: LESSONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS; WITH AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

dialog begun in 1992; the articles are designed to be
relevant to policymakers in the region.

Baksh, M., C.G. Neumann, M. Paolisso, R.M. Trostle, and
A. A. Jansen. 1994. The influence of reproductive status
on rural Kenyan women’s time use. Social Science
Medicine 39(3): 345-54.

This paper examines the effects of pregnancy and lactation
on Embu women’s productive and reproductive work. Time
allocation data were gathered from 169 households using
the spot observation technique from March 1985 through
February 1986. This data provides empirical information
on the changes in women’s commercial, agricultural, and
household activities during pregnancy and lactation. The
results indicate that the demands of pregnancy and lactation
cause women to devote less time to subsistence agriculture,
commercial activities, housework, and livestock husbandry.
Agricultural and economic activities are particularly limited
during the last trimester of pregnancy and the first three
months of lactation. The decrease of time spent on
subsistence agriculture, commercial activities, and
household work can have significant welfare effects on poor
smallholder households. Maize is the staple crop of the
region, and because the Embu have two agricultural
growing seasons per year, the six months of limited
agricultural activity will fall during at least one season of
peak activity. The decreased labor input of women at this
time might have significant effects on maize production,
especially in households where women provide much of the
labor.

Barnes, C. 1983. Differentiation by sex among small-scale
farming households in Kenya. Rural Africana 15/16:
41-63.

In this paper, the existing gender-based division of adult
labor of Kenya is analyzed and put in a historical
perspective. The number of female-headed households is
increasing, in part due to men migrating to supplement
farm income with urban employment. Three types of
households are discussed: those headed by married men,
those headed by married women, and those headed by
single women. Households headed by men are typically
larger and better off than married or single-women headed
households. Single-women headed households are typically
the poorest category. The well-being of a married woman
who heads a household may depend on remittances
provided by her husband. Despite these variations, no
significant difference was found between the output per
acre or in input utilization of female- and male-headed
households. On women-headed farms especially, the
division of labor for productive work has largely dissolved.
The social construction of gender concerning reproductive
work, however, has not changed; women continue to be
viewed as responsible for household and reproductive work.

Barrett, H.R., and A.W. Browne. 1994. Women’s time,
labour-saving devices and rural development in Africa.
Community Development Journal 29(3): 203-14.

Effective approaches to rural development in Africa require
saving women’s time. Using the Gambia as an example, this
article discusses the effects of the introduction of village cereal
mills on women. The paper focuses on women’s access to
milling technology, the technology’s welfare effects, and its
sustainability. The research shows that cereal mills positively
impact women’s welfare by reducing their workloads. The
energy saved by milling contributes more to this workload
alleviation than does the time gained. Unfortunately, due to
underutilization and high maintenance costs, cereal mills are
unsustainable.

Baser, H. 1988. Technology, Women, and Farming Systems.
Ottawa, Canada: Agriculture Canada.

This study evaluates three widely used extension systems
(contact farmer system, T & V, and RDP) and their
dissemination of technology to African smallholders. The
author claims that under each of these systems, women have
less access to technology than do men. Technology may have
an impact on production, consumption, and organization that
will be affected by gender. A strong division of labor underlies
a “conjugal contract” that values men’s work more than that of
women and gives men more control over household resources
and productive technology. The power relations within the
household refute the assumption that what is good for the
“household” will be equally good for all of its members,
particularly women. The social and political status of women
is examined and is linked to women’s ability to access
technology. This article provides a useful discussion of
women’s access to technology and extension services and
intrahousehold differences in decision-making power.

Baumann, H. 1928. The division of work according to sex in
African hoe culture. Journal of the International Institute
of African Languages and Cultures 1(3): 289-319.

This classic paper, written in 1928, discusses women farmers
in Africa. It distinguishes hoe cultures, in which women
dominate agriculture and matrilineal systems are prevalent,
from plow cultures, in which women and men work in
conjunction and patrilineal systems predominate. The author
says that in West Africa, maize is a woman’s crop, while in the
plow cultures of East Africa, maize is a man’s crop. This paper
is interesting for its historical significance; it set the stage for
many later discussions of gender in African agriculture.

Berio, A.-J. 1984. The analysis of time allocation and activity
patterns in nutrition and rural development planning.
Food and Nutrition Bulletin 6(1): 53-68.

This paper uses time allocation data from the Central Africa
Republic, Nepal, and Côte d’Ivoire to explore how activity
patterns may be affected by development projects. In the
Central Africa Republic, time allocation data for two villages

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