gender and vulnerability in the cut flower and vegetable value chains in kenya

Gender and vulnerability in

the cut flower and vegetable

value chains in Kenya

Maggie Opondo

University of Nairobi

Advancing Agri-practice: Adding

value for women in agriculture

Workshop

KARI, Nairobi Kenya

23-24 May 2010

Overview•Satisfying the ever-demanding tastes of global consumers has led supermarkets

and department stores to source products from farms and factories scattered

across the globe

•Today global value chains carrying fresh (cut flowers and vegetables) products

are a defining characteristic of production spaces, particularly in developing

countries where such chains provide important opportunities for income and

economic growth

•Export horticulture (vegetables & cut flowers) has expanded exponentially in

Kenya in the last two decades

•For instance, in the last seven years alone, horticulture has overtaken tea as the

principal foreign exchange earner

70% of quality green beans produced in

Kenya come to the UK

Gender and employment

• This has lead to an expansion of paid work in commercial agriculture

• The labor force includes a significant proportion of women

• This female employment is often temporary, low paid, informal and

insecure (i.e. vulnerable)

• This presentation mainly refers to the temporary (seasonal and

casual) workers who account for between 30-45% of labor in

horticulture


•It draws on research on gender issues in the Kenyan-Europe

horticultural value chain

•Insecure workers are highly vulnerable to poverty, which is

compounded in the case of women who have to juggle their

reproductive roles with that of their productive ones

•The shift towards year-round sales of fresh produce has stimulated a

market for Kenyan horticultural products


• Packing and preparation of fresh produce requires investment in pack

houses and food processing plants, posing challenges to the small

producers

• Small producers also generally lack access to sufficient funds to meet these

requirements

• Despite modernization of production, horticulture remains a labor

intensive sector, with labor accounting for 50-60% of farm costs

• Gender segregation is common with men occupying the more senior

permanent positions and women concentrated in more insecure positions

• This includes seasonal employment of 1-6 months and casual work

Flowers in a greenhouse

Washing and packing plant for fresh produce


• Seasonality of production has always been an important factor in

determining demand for agricultural labor

• However, with economic upgrading in horticultural value chains the

seasons have been extended and demand for labor is mostly all year

round

• Although there has been a trend towards permanent employment

seasonal and casual workers expressed considerable feelings of job

insecurity


• They are most exposed to potential dismissal and do not

benefit from the security and legislated entitlements of

permanent employment

• This insecurity has specific gender implications related in

some cases to women’s exclusion from benefits such as

maternity leave and sick pay, as well as the fact that many

workers leave their children behind in rural areas due to job

insecurity


• Flexibility of employment is another key element behind

the large temporary employment in horticultural value

chains – women are often seen as more ‘flexible’ than male

workers

• Intense competition, falling prices and other macro-

economic factors (economic downturn, volcanic ash) have

created pressure on producers leading to minimization of

labor costs


• Flexible employment allows employers to minimize the labor they retain by

varying the length of the working

• The need for flexibility is also driven by the northern buyers sourcing patterns

• Producers have to meet tight buyer schedules and often have to supply

additional products at short notice or if consumer demand changes

• High levels of female employment relate partly to the perceived ‘skill’ and

‘dexterity’ of women in handling delicate produce, which is key to

maintaining the quality demanded by northern buyers


• But these skills have been largely socially instilled as girls are prepared for a

domestic role within society

• Despite undertaking tasks that add significant value, women can be

employed on low wages with little training

• They are seen as docile, compliant and accepting of poor employment

conditions often because they are ill-informed about their rights

Vulnerability of horticultural

workers• Temporary women workers are entangled in a poverty trap

• Female workers generally work long hours for low pay and rarely have

access to benefits such as sick pay, medical care and maternity leave

• Poverty is compounded by their productive and reproductive roles

• Benefits (such as maternity leave, childcare provision and transport) which

enable women to balance unpaid caring work with paid work are often not

extended to temporary women workers

• The vulnerability is made worse by lack of employment insecurity and

involuntary periods out of work


workers• Seasonal migrant and contract workers who are removed from their social

networks, or live in peri-urban shanty towns, lack basic forms of social

protection that traditionally constitute an important form of support

• For instance, the majority of rickets cases in Naivasha (the cut flower hub in

Kenya) come from flower farm workers’ children

• This is partly attributed to lack of provision of day care centers in Naivasha

• Redundant horticultural workers often turn to prostitution leading to an

increased incidence of HIV/Aids in Naivasha


workers• Vulnerability also has a gender dimension

• Women temporary and contract workers are more likely to work for

shorter periods in the year than men and often earn lower wages for

comparable work than male colleagues

• Women are more likely to be juggling paid work with childcare and family

responsibilities

• They not only carry the risks arising from insecure and often informal work,

they also carry the risks of illness, accident and old age among family

dependents


workers• If a child is sick and a temporary or contract worker has to take time off,

she may not only lose income but possibly her job

• The HIV/AIDS pandemic coupled with cost-sharing in the health service has

invariably increased the burden of health care on women

• Women who become pregnant also risk losing their jobs if they have no

formal right to maternity leave and often hide their pregnancy as a result

• This has health implications both for the expectant mother and unborn

child ( such as exposure to pesticides and physical stress)

• Thus for women workers caught between productive and reproductive

roles, their exposure to risk and vulnerability is magnified

Addressing vulnerability

• Legislation covering female temporary workers in agriculture is often

weak, particularly with regard to laws designed to protect women workers

from discrimination and guarantee them equal opportunities in the

workplace

• The Employment Act (2007) attempts to address the plight of casual and

female workers (casual employees for 90 days should be made permanent

and 4 month maternity leave)

• Nonetheless, implementation has been varied and some employers have

been reluctant to implement this

• It has also led to discrimination of employment of potential female workers


• Horticultural value chains have provided a potential route for addressing

vulnerability of workers through codes of labor practice

• These codes which set out minimum rights for workers ( such as health

and safety, pay and hours of work) have to be upheld by suppliers

• However while codes may benefit permanent workers they often fail to

reach temporary, migrant and contract workers and are weak at

addressing gender issues

• Most horticultural producers also pursue policies around corporate social

responsibility which can extend to include labor issues (KFC, FPEAK)


• The growth of fairtrade horticultural products (flowers and now

vegetables) also acts to support local producers and workers

• Fairtrade labelled goods guarantee the producers a minimum price and

offer a 15% social premium which is returned for social projects (schools,

clinics)

• Fairtrade covers small producers and also larger commercial farms where

social principles are met


• Where workers are employed, Fairtrade also has a code of practice

aimed at ensuring minimum employment standards

• However, global processes that are further reinforcing top-down and

technical interpretations of standards is epitomized in labour rights

with the emergence of the Global Social Compliance Programme,

GSCP

• Such global processes could threaten the gains made by labor codes

of conduct

Gender-specific improvements from codes

• Maternity leave

• Equal opportunities policy

• Gender Committees

• Gender friendly workplaces

General social improvements from codes

• Sanitation

• Drinking water

• Gender toilets and showers

• Permanent contracts

• Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs)

• Social Infrastructure

gender and vulnerability in the cut flower and vegetable value chains in kenya

Documents