Zuidberg, L. 1994. Burkina Faso. Integrated rural
development: For whom and with whom? In V.
Gianotten, V. Groverman, E.V. Walsum, and L. Zuidberg
(eds.), Assessing the Gender Impact of Development
Projects: Case Studies from Bolivia, Burkina Faso and
India. London: Intermediate Technology Publications.
Pp. 49-70.
This paper assesses the gender impacts of an ongoing
development project in Burkina Faso and presents results
from a detailed gender-focused analysis of the region. Many
proposals of the development effort were vague, so specific
gender impacts could not be determined. Plans aimed
directly at women focused exclusively on their reproductive
capacity and were not integrated into larger development
projects. A comparative analysis of three Mossi and three
Gourounsi villages shows that men and women farmers
operate under very different circumstances at the village and
household levels. The study examines the gender differences
in division of labor and workload; reproductive and
communal activities; access to, and control over, resources,
income, and expenditures; participation in decision-
making; and organizational capacity. Mossi women are
strongly involved in cereal production and grow maize
along with their husbands. Gourounsi women help only
with sowing and transporting the harvest. The need for
clear analysis and thought concerning gender issues is
critical to development efforts of any crop. The author
concludes that development projects need to do more than
pay lip service to gender issues; they are critical to the
mainstream development project and must be analyzed and
considered closely.
Zwarteveen, M.Z. 1996. A Plot of One’s Own: Gender
Relations and Irrigated Land Allocation Policies in
Burkina Faso. Washington, D.C.: CGIAR Secretariat.
The Dakiri irrigation system in Burkina Faso is one of the
few irrigation projects where women were allocated their
own irrigated plots. Sixty women (about 9% of the total
number of plot holders) were allocated plots. Most of their
husbands also received plots. Households in which both
women and men had irrigated plots were compared with
households in which only men had irrigated plots. The
productivity of land and labor was higher in households in
which both held plots. The author notes that these
households did have a higher total amount of irrigated land,
but does not address the issue of which women received
irrigated plots.
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