Tackling food and nutrition security: the importance of gender specific activities

By Brigitte BagnolThe International Rural Poultry Centre (IRPC), KYEEMA Foundation, Mozambique and

Australia, www.kyeemafoundation.org

Acknowledgements

• The author would like to acknowledge the support given to family poultry research and development by:

• the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), • the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), • the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),• The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), • The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), • The Wildlife Health Network, and• The University of Sydney. • My gratitude is extended to my colleagues at the KYEEMA Foundation

and the veterinarians, poultry specialists, extensionists, traders and farmers in many parts of the world who have given freely of their time and expertise over the years.

Why gender?

• Emerging consensus as well as increasing bulk of evidence that addressing gender inequality will alleviate hunger, poverty and unemployment.

• The 7th MDG aims to “Promote gender equality and empower women”.

Additionally, available data indicate that:

• Gender inequality and cultural issues have been inadequately addressed in most research linking agriculture and nutrition (Hawkes et al., 2012:11).

• While we aim at developing policy based on sound “evidence”, this “evidence” is often missing where food and agriculture is concerned in Africa (Sumberg et al, 2013).

What do we know?Women’s contribution to food production, food transformation and preparation of

meals

• In most parts of the world, although they do not have the ownership of the land, women living in rural areas make a major contribution to village poultry and traditional crop production, therefore assuming much of the responsibility for household food security.

• In Africa women provide between 60% to 80% of the labour for food production (FAO, 1995, 1996) and most of the post harvest management.

• While men are more likely to be involved in hunting, commercial crops, large livestock and formal employment, women are gathering wood, edible and medical plants, care for small livestock, produce subsistence food. Livestock, crops and natural resources such as water, which is essential for food production and food preparation, are thus “gendered”.

• As part of their reproductive role, women are also responsible for the nutrition and health of their households, especially when preparing daily meals and taking care of the children, the sick and the elderly.

What do we know? (2)

• Village poultry production is an activity mainly under the responsibility of women and they have significant control over the use and consumption of the chickens as well as on the money resulting from its sale (Alders et al. 2007; Bagnol, 2009).

• In Tanzania, data collected by the Regional Newcastle Disease (ND) control project (Lauchande, 2011) indicate that 60% of women take decisions on chickens’ vaccination against ND.

• Traditional crops are often under women’s control compared to cash crops (The World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development. 2009).

• Research indicates that resources under the control of women are more likely to be used to support the education and nutrition of children (Quisumbing et al., 1995).

• Thus, poultry and crop production improvement can have a beneficial impact on children’s overall nutritional status and health. It can also alter women’s status in the household and in community by increasing their bargaining power and their financial autonomy.

What is necessary?

• In a situation where women have little control over major household purchases, it is important to improve access to and productivity of those resources that they have some control over.

• A clear understanding of who has control over resources resulting from chicken and traditional crop production as opposed to other available resources is important to facilitate the development of effective policies.

Increased poultry and crop production under women’s responsibility can improve

children’s education and nutrition

It is fundamental when discussing food insecurity and nutrition to take into consideration the role of women

along the whole value chain:

• As farmers, • As livestock keepers, • As processors, • As store keepers, • As traders,• As providers of food and • As care givers of children and the sick.

Men’s and women’s roles and ownership are shaped by socio-economic situation

In addition to socio-economic factors, other factors such as:

• Socio-cultural attitudes,• Group and class-based obligations,• Religious and cultural beliefs and practices,• Institutional arrangements,• Age, race, marital status…

influence access to resources (land, cash crops, education, information, etc.) and the type of activities men and women can pursue, responsibilities, mobility, social contact …

Sorghumand

millet

Regarding crops, women make major contributions to crop production, especially

subsistence crops

• They often manage species-rich production systems adapted to drought and pests while male-dominated production tends to be oriented towards a single cash crop.

• Women have more restricted access than men to inputs and markets, affecting yield improvement.

• Patterns of ownership of land also limit yield improvement by women, as they do not have the final decision regarding the adoption of new crop production technologies.

Men and women have different access to resources and in consequence have different

knowledge and interest

Decision Making about purchases

Table 1: Percentage of persons who usually-take-decisions about purchases in the household and percentage of currently married women, aged 15 to 49, with cash earnings in the past 12 months by person-who-decides how the women’s cash earnings are used (Tanzania DHS, 2010; Zambia DHS, 2007)

Mainly wife Wife and husband jointly Mainly husband

Tanzania Zambia Tanzania Zambia Tanzania ZambiaMajor household purchases

6.9 13.7 31.9 41.8 57.7 43.7

Person who decides how women’s cash earnings are used

35.9 37.8 47.2 40.8 16.6 20.8

As a woman put it: “It is easier for a man to listen to woman when the money comes

from chickens because the decision-making is with women.” (Mtwara, Tanzania - 2005)

Women have limited access to inputs, innovation and information

• Women are benefiting less than men from aid in agriculture, forestry and fishery. Only 15% of the world’s extension agents are women. http://www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en/

• It is considered that only 10% of the aid goes to women. http://www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en/

• Women are benefiting only of 5% of extension services. Women have less access to inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizers and equipment as a result their yield is lower than those of men. http://www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en/

• Women have also less possibility to have access to markets (Njuki, 2012).

http://www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en/

Access to literacy and media

Tanzania Zambia

Women Men Women Men

Women and men aged 15 to 49 who cannot read (%) 27.4 17.6 36.1 18.3

Women and men aged 15 to 49 who are not regularly exposed to any media (TV, radio, or written press) at least once a week (%)

36.0 18.8 33.1 19.1

Table 2: Literacy and media access indicators related to gender issues (Tanzania DHS, 2010; Zambia DHS, 2007)

Improving women’s access to inputs and services

• Has the potential to increase women’s yields to the same level as those of men implying an improvement of 2.5/4% of total agricultural output. http://www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en/

• Could reduce the number of malnourished people in the world by 100 to 150 million or 12/17%. http://www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en/

Limiting agricultural opportunity for women is unfair

• Life chances should not be pre-determined at birth by the sex of the person or any other reason.

• In economic and nutritional terms this limitation reduces the welfare of the household.

• Thus it is both a human rights and a development issue.

Summary: Key elements for good practice

Objective Instruments

Assess gender roles and responsibilities in village chicken and crops along the whole value chain

• Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) carried out in same sex focus groups. PRA includes analysis of roles, access, control and benefit related to chicken and crops production and trading.

Develop effective communication material

• Training material should be pre-tested and reviewed to ensure gender awareness and that it is equally clear to both men and women

Involve male and female support staff

• 50% of staff should be women• Gender issues introduced in the training of all staff• Gender issues included in the terms of reference of all staff

Identify male and female vaccinators

• At least 50% of vaccinators are women

Ensure gender sensitive monitoring and evaluation of the ND control program

• Data collection by vaccinators in male and female headed households vaccinating against ND

• PRA carried out with same sex focus groups regularly • Participatory exercises carried out with same sex focus groups regularly• Regular random survey with 50% of women interviewees and 50% of

women interviewers

Male and female focus group discussion

References• Alders, R., Bagnol, B., Harun, M. And Young, M. 2007. Village poultry, food security and HIV/AIDS mitigation. LEISA Magazine, 23: 20-

21. • Bagnol, B. 2009. Improving Village Chicken Production by Employing Effective Gender Sensitive Methodologies. In: Alders, R.G.;

Spradbrow, P. B. and Young, M. P (eds). Village Chickens, Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Control of Newcastle Disease. Canberra: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. ACIAR Proceedings Nº 131: 35-42. http://www.aciar. gov.au/publication/PR131

• Central Statistical Office (CSO), Ministry of Health (MOH), Tropical Diseases Research Centre (TDRC), University of Zambia, and Macro International Inc. 2009. Zambia Demographic and Health Survey 2007. Calverton, Maryland, USA: CSO and Macro International Inc. http://www.measuredhs.com/Publications/Publication-Search.cfm?ctry_id=47&country=Zambia

• Hawkes, C., Turner R., and Waage, J. 2012. Current and Planned Research on Agriculture for Improved Nutrition: A Mapping and a Gap Analysis. Aberdeen: Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health (LCIRAH) and Centre for Sustainable International Development, University of Aberdeen.

• Lauchande, C. 2011. Newcastle Disease control project. Report. Maputo: KYEEMA Foundation.• National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [Tanzania] and ICF Macro. 2011. Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey 2010. Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania: NBS and ICF Macro. http://www.measuredhs.com/Publications/Publication-Search.cfm?ctry_id=39&country=Tanzania• Quisumbing, A.R., Brown, L.R., Feldstein, H.S., Haddad, L. and Pena, C. 1995. Women: The Key to Food Security. Food Policy

Statement No. 21, Aug. 1995. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC.• Sumberg, J., Awo, M., Thompson, J., Kwadzo, G. T. M. and Fiankor, D.D.D. 2013. The limits of ‘evidence’: Evidence-Based Policy-making

for African agriculture http://stepscentre-thecrossing.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/the-limits-of-evidence-evidence-based.html?m=1• The World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development. 2009. Gender in

Agriculture: Sourcebook. Washington, D.C.: World Bank Publications.

Website:• http://www.fao.org/gender/infographic/en/

Need to develop a sound dialogue with all stakeholders

Thank youMerci beaucoup

There is no substitute for community

dialogue