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

Doss, C.R. 1996. Testing among Models of Intrahousehold
Resource Allocation. World Development 24(10): 1597-
1609.

Five categories of models of intrahousehold resource
allocation are presented. They differ based on their
assumptions regarding whether all individuals make a
unified production and consumption decision and whether
the outcome of household decisions is Pareto efficient. Each
of the models has predictions that can be tested using
household survey data. The empirical literature on
intrahousehold resource allocation, much of which
examines African households, is analyzed to determine how
the results are related to the different models.

Doss, C.R. 1997. The effects of women’s bargaining power
on household health and education outcomes: Evidence
from Ghana. Paper presented at the Population
Association of America Meeting, 1997, Washington,
D.C.

Women’s bargaining power within the household, measured
by the share of assets within the household owned by
women, is shown to affect household decisions, including
household expenditure patterns, and health and education
outcomes for children.

Due, J., and R. Summary. 1982. Constraints to women and
development in Africa. Journal of Modern African
Studies 20(1): 155-66.

Although this article is primarily about the constraints
limiting African women’s movement into formal wage
sectors, it makes several points that are relevant to women
farmers. In particular, it argues that the two most important
constraints facing women are the lack of access to formal
education and capital.

Due, J.M., and M. White. 1986. Contrasts between joint
and female-headed farm households in Zambia. Eastern
Africa Economic Review 2(1): 94-98.

Using survey data collected on 112 farm women in Zambia,
comparisons are made between female-headed households
and joint households. Women are farmers in both types of
households. Maize area is significantly smaller for female-
headed households. However, female-headed households
plant a significantly larger portion of their total area to
maize than the joint families. In general, female-headed
households are smaller, poorer, receive fewer extension
visits, have less access to new technologies and credit, and
have greater need for labor-saving devices.

Due, J.M., E. Sikapande, and F. Magayans. 1991. Does the
T&V extension assist female headed-families? Some
recent evidence from Zambia. East Africa Economic
Review 7(1): 69-75.

Initial successes with the Training and Visit (T&V) extension
system prompted the World Bank to encourage African
governments to replace their existing systems with T&V. This
paper evaluates the results of a pilot test of T&V in Zambia
in 1983/4. Contact farmers benefited the most, while female-
headed households (which constitute 30% of farm
households) were largely ignored. This article offers
interesting insights into farmers’ views of T&V, including
differences between male and female heads of households.

Maize is not specifically mentioned, but the ineffectiveness of
T&V in reaching female farmers has relevance to any
extension project. The paper concludes by suggesting some
policy changes which would make T&V more effective under
Zambian conditions, especially for female-headed
households.

Eicher, C.K. 1995. Zimbabwe’s maize-based green
revolution: Preconditions for replication. World
Development 23(5): 805-18.

Zimbabwe provides an example of how a maize-based green
revolution may occur in Africa. Zimbabwe’s first green
revolution was led by politically active commercial farmers
who wanted institutional innovations, public investments in
agricultural research and infrastructure, guaranteed farm
prices, and export marketing schemes. The second green
revolution was led by smallholders who were able to take
advantage of the infrastructure created earlier. The paper
details the conditions necessary to replicate Zimbabwe’s
experiences and provides caution regarding the problems of
sustainability.

Ezumah, N.N., and C.M.D. Domenico. 1995. Enhancing the
role of women in crop production: A case study of Igbo
women in Nigeria. World Development 23(10): 1731-44.

Among the Igbo of Nigeria, yams are considered a male crop,
while female crops include cocoyams, cassava, beans, maize,
and vegetables. However, the patterns of cropping by gender
are changing, particularly in areas where people have
migrated to become tenant farmers. Men may grow women’s
crops as cash crops and women have taken over many
traditionally male tasks.

Feldstein, H.S., and S.V. Poats. 1989. Working Together:
Gender Analysis in Agriculture. West Hartford,
Connecticut: Kumarian Press.

This two volume series contains a set of case studies of
agricultural development projects and teaching notes to guide
discussions. Three of the case studies are of farming systems
research projects in Africa, including projects in Botswana,
Burkina Faso, and Zambia. In addition, there is a case study
of an agroforestry project in Kenya.

<<   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   >>

More intriguing information