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

de Groot, J. 1991. Conceptions and misconceptions: The
historical and cultural context of discussion on women
and development. In H. Afshar (ed.), Women,
Development, and Survival in the Third World. White
Plains, New York: Longman Publishing Group. Pp.
107-35.

This paper discusses how historical and cultural issues have
shaped attitudes towards women in developing-country
societies and the conception and application of
development policies. Western scholars have tended to
impose “outsider” interpretations on both women and
developing nations and to misinterpret and marginalize
women’s lives. The construct of the non-European other
emphasizes difference and discourages comparative and
critical analysis of women’s resources. It has tended to
obscure women’s productive roles and has led many social
scientists and policymakers to ignore gender differences.
Any research, analysis, or policy-making on women in
developing nations should consider the inequalities in
power, resources, and influence that women face. This
paper is most useful for its discussion of the historical roots
of women’s marginalization and its suggestion of a critical
and comparative approach to examining the lives of
developing-country women. The marginalization of
women’s productive role in agriculture is mentioned,
although not specifically in regards to maize production.

Dei, G.S. 1991. The dietary habits of a Ghanaian farming
community. Ecology of Food and Nutrition 25: 29-49.

This paper provides detailed ethnographic data on the
methods used by households to process food and prepare
meals in southeastern Ghana. Maize is one of the staple
crops of this area. Patterns of food distribution and
consumption are also noted, with the conclusion that
monetary income and agricultural production have some
relationship with nutrition status, but that poor households
successfully supplement their diets with wild food plants
and bush meat.

Delgado, C.L., and C.G. Ranade. 1987. Technological
change and agricultural labor use. In J.W. Mellor, C.L.
Delgado, and M.J. Blackie (eds.), Accelerating Food
Production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Baltimore,
Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Understanding patterns of labor use in sub-Saharan African
agriculture is critical to the design and adoption of
improved technology. Average and marginal labor
productivity are generally low; labor productivity varies
significantly across even small areas; and labor inputs are
subject to high seasonal variability. Where arable land is
abundant, the factor share of labor in African agriculture
tends to be relatively high. Cobb-Douglass production
functions for sub-Saharan Africa are close to unity, which
indicates constant returns to scale. In Africa, low population
density has kept the marginal product of labor high while
the lack of technological change has kept the average
product of labor low. Seasonal labor bottlenecks limit the
types of technology that can be adopted. The abundance of
land heightens the labor shortage because potential laborers
can usually farm their own land rather than someone else’s.
New food production technologies should aim to raise
returns per labor hour in the peak season and to raise
returns per worker over the agricultural year. This might be
accomplished by decreasing the labor input needed to
produce a given output, shifting a labor input from peak
season to a noncritical period, or raising peak season returns
faster than labor requirements.

Dibley, D., D. Boughton, and T. Reardon. 1994. Processing
and Preparation Costs for Rice and Coarse Grains in
Urban Mali. Staff Paper No. 94-34. East Lansing,
Michigan: Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Michigan
State University.

In Mali, urban households have been shifting consumption
from traditional coarse grains, including maize, millet, and
sorghum, to rice. This paper examines the differences in
total costs between the two types of meals to understand
their substitutability. Total costs include the costs of the
cereal, processing costs, preparation costs, and the cost of
the sauce to accompany the grains. Although the processing
costs of the coarse grains are higher than those of rice, the
total cost of coarse grain meals is less. However, as the
opportunity cost of women’s time increases, the full costs of
coarse grain meals will rise, since processing time is
significantly higher. Decreases in the processing costs of
coarse grains through improved technology will be needed
to reduce the shifts to rice, which must be imported.

Donhauser, F., H. Bauer, and A. Langyintuo. 1994.
Smallholder Agriculture in Western Dagbon A Farming
System in Northern Ghana. Nyankpala Agricultural
Research Report 10. Tamale, Ghana: Nyankpala
Agricultural Research Station.

A description of smallholder farming systems in Western
Dagbon, Ghana, is developed based on on-farm
experiments and an intensive farm management survey of
19 households in 1988. It provides details on the farming
systems in the area. Maize is grown on much of the land,
often intercropped with millet or sorghum, and
groundnuts. Gross margins analyses were done and the
highest remuneration per person day of labor was for maize,
sorghum, and groundnuts in that particular year. However,
1988 was a favorable year for cereals and a poor year for
yams. The paper develops a model farm, and discusses the
labor requirements, by seasons, for men and women. The
authors conclude that researchers should focus on
increasing labor productivity.

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