Women and Agricultural Production in Same District

Statistics from the recent Integrated Labour Force Survey, 2000/01, show that women dominate among the economically active population, both in rural (51.7%), and urban (50.8%), settings. While there is an observed decrease in the number of people working in the rural areas by about 3%, there is a strong increase in those working in urban areas by 14.3%.  This implies that there has been a drain of human resources from the rural areas. As a matter of fact, most of the migration was by women. Women make up 51% of the total population and 48% of the total labour force. Women also constitute 85% of labour used in agricultural production, 5% of labour needed in industry and 6% of labour in services.

Overall the statistics show that there are 11’561’146 women (compared to 10’823’942 males), among the usually active population above 10 years of age. Agriculture is the mainstay for 84% of females as well as 74% of the males in the above categories. Nevertheless, traditional agriculture employs more than 13’694’935 inhabitants. Domestic help cleaner work, farm hands and labourers are the other occupations for most women (4.7%), and men (7.5%). Personal service work is the third main occupation for women, and poultry farming for men. Looking at the active employed population, it is evident that 88% of the women and 83% of the men are engaged in agriculture, followed by industry, trade and personal service.  Women dominate in housework related duties (66.5% of its workforce), and in subsistence agriculture (52.3%). Men on the other hand dominated almost entirely in parastatal organisations (81.4%), NGO/party or religious organisations (76%), central and local government work (67%), and the private informal sector (59.3%).

On employment status, the survey showed that women had an upper hand as regards unpaid family helper (61.4%), and in working on own farm or shamba (52.3%). Men on the contrary were dominant in paid employees, self employed (70.7%), with employees (70.2%), and self employed without employees (56.6%). This proves that women were considered as unpaid family helpers, and men were favoured as regards work which carried financial remuneration. The overall mean income for women was 38’888 shillings as compared to 54’423 shillings for men.

Roles and Tasks of Women in Agriculture[1]

It is undeniable that women in Africa are the backbone of agricultural production. Women account for 70% of the labour, 60% of the production, and 80% of food crop produced. However, their long term benefits from the sector remain vague. Role of women in agricultural production is largely misrepresented due to myths and sheer neglect to accounting for the value of women’s contribution. Women remain invisible to the eyes of most male practitioners, due to cultural and social constraints. Current gender blindness excludes women. Inadequate presence of quantitative and especially, qualitative, gender disaggregated statistical information on women’s contribution to agricultural production is a notable limitation.

Tanzania’s Agriculture Policy acknowledges the fact that women perform most of the tasks in crop farming. The policy reads; “It is estimated that the ratio of males to females in the agricultural sector is 1:1.5. Women in Tanzania produce about 70% of the food crops and also bear substantial responsibilities for many aspects of export crops and livestock production. However, their access to productive resources (land, water, etc.) supportive services (marketing services, credit and labour saving facilities, etc.) and income arising from agricultural production is severely limited by social and traditional factors.[2]”

Disaggregation on Crop Cultivation by Sex

By and large, the division of labour on crop production varies between types of crops and areas.  Patterns from different areas show that there is an obvious distinction on what are considered as women’s and men’s tasks in regards to management of various types of production, whether unitary or in collaboration. For instance, statistics on division of labour in regards to cultivation of maize in Mbeya Region’s Ileje District[3] (southern Tanzania), show that men contributed an average 45% of the required labour input, and women about 56%. Cultivation of beans seems to be dominated by women’s labour. Women contributed an average 80% of the required labour, while men contributed less (e.g., 20%).

Data from paddy cultivation at Jitengeni Village in Korogwe District (Tanga Region, northern Tanzania), showed that women contributed the most labour (40% compared to men’s 34%), and dominated in nearly every aspect of the crop farming except for furrow construction and maintenance (where men contributed 58% and 62% of the required labour respectively).  Observations in maize cultivation in Mvumi District’s Ilolo Village (Dodoma Region in central Tanzania), revealed that women were responsible for an average 61 % to 78% of labour input in crop farming in the district. Women were seen to dominate extensively in the following stages: seed planting; harvesting; seed preparation; weeding; storage; hand hoe cultivation; milling; ferrying crops to the household; and breaking the ground. Similar observations have been recorded at villages in Muheza District (Kigombe village), Pangani District (Kipumbwi village), and Tanga Municipality (Tongoni village)[4].

Decision Making and Property within Farmer Households

A pilot census carried out by the Central Census Office of the National Bureau of Statistics[5] in March 2001, showed that there were many more shared incidents of decision making between the sexes, with 43% of decisions being shared. Men dominated in deciding over aspects such as education of children (41%, compared women’s 24%), and land use (39%, compared to women’s 25%). The only aspect where women had a relative dominance was in regards to health care (27% to men’s 24%). As mentioned earlier, shared decision making was the growing pattern.

Women’s participation in decision-making is found to be related to their access to resources as well as their role in agricultural production. Determination on who decides on what as regards selling, consumption, processing, or storage of agricultural produce, is undoubtedly based on elaborate gender relations between women and men. In the main, observations in Tanzania have shown that, women in Dodoma Region’s Mvumi Division[6] were involved in deciding around: what type of crops to grow (61%-83%); where to plant (56%-79%); what techniques to use (33%-75%); sale of surplus crops (33%-58%); sale of surplus livestock (17%-67%); distribution of crop income (56%-71%); distribution of livestock income (17%-58%); and, borrowing of money (17%-63%). A study on villages surrounding Duru Haitemba Forest Reserve in Babati[7], illustrates that women’s representation in decision making bodies was weak, with only a fifth of representatives (26.6%), in eight villages being female. Men generally, “tend to be decision makers in the homes regardless of how substantial a female’s contribution is towards the household budget. This in turn has a large impact on household food security since most men who make decisions alone on selling agricultural products sell the products for personal self interests and not for the family”.[8]

Land ownership is largely a male affair. Only a mere 13% of women in Dodoma Region’s Mvumi Division owned land[9]. However results from Tanzania’s 1995 Agricultural Census[10], indicate out of 3’872’323 holdings in the country (10.7 million hectares), women held at least 661’868 (17%). In average, a survey on 42,176 households showed that, men owned in average 54% of property such as land (58%, compared to women’s 24%), houses (58%, to women’s 25%), and, livestock (41%, to men’s 27%). However, shared ownership was mostly common in regards to livestock, in more than a quarter of households surveyed.

An earlier study by the researcher[11] illustrated that land is a scarce commodity in Same District, and therefore hotly contested between the sexes. Another study on allocation of land in villages surrounding Morogoro Region’s Nguru Forest reserve area, as well as Mbozi District in Mbeya’s southern highlands, demonstrated that 83% of the land was allocated through inheritance (92% of households), 8% through village authorities (5.2% of households), and 8% through clearing forests (2.6% of households). Nearly all male headed households inherited land, as well as 72% were allocated land by village authorities, and a further 38% purchased their land. Female headed households were nearly entirely dependent on purchasing land. Only 19% of female headed households owned land. Land allocation by the village authorities was therefore more beneficial to men than women. The current 1999 Land Act and Village Land Act, aims at addressing some of these shortcomings.

Women’s Work Burden in Farming

Women’s burden in various activities at the household level emanates mainly from the imbalances in the division of labour between men and women. Data from Dodoma Region’s Handali Village in central Tanzania, shows that while women performed 13 hours of hard work daily (with only 1 hour of apparent rest), men worked only for 7 hours (and rested for at least 3 hours). Women endure excessive burden in their daily lives. Besides, they have to endure both domestic and non-domestic obligations daily. Most women undergo what is considered as the second working day, which involves: processing agricultural produce, storage of crops, hewing water and fuel wood, and preparation family meals.

Migration of male members of households in search of income earning opportunities has also placed more burdens on women, and further shifted the division of labour and obligations at the rural household. Increased responsibilities for women at the farm holding have pushed some women into non-farming income generating activities as a means to supplement their incomes. However, in most situations, women find themselves encountered by increased work load in non-remunerative domestic tasks, without the accompanying transfer of entitlements that are necessary (e.g., access and control over factors of production).

Conclusion

Irrespective of the above observations, it has been noticed that women in most African countries now constitute the majority of small holders within the core of agricultural production, and provide most of the labour, manage most of the farm holdings, and are most frequently the head of household. Other changes experienced in the recent years include: the gender division of labour in agricultural production and activities is gradually transforming and becoming less dissimilar between the sexes.

More and more, women are becoming more involved in managing farm holdings on a more regular basis, with increased participation in all farm based tasks. Women are to a large extent taking an increasing number of tasks that were previously undertaken by men, and in so doing running farm holdings with support from other members of their households.

Decision making has also become an aspect where women and men share responsibility more closely with less restrictions. Women are nowadays more exposed to deciding on farm holdings that they manage. Even if men have greater influence on decisions, women can now increasingly determine crop patterns, inputs, and expenditures on farm related requirements.

[Extracted from a Report titled " “Food Security and Gender in Tanzania. Case Study: Same District in Kilimanjaro Region”. By Edward Hiza Mhina. VECO Tanzania & GAD Consult. 2004]

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[1]           Background: The Economic Position of Women in Agriculture and Rural Society.

[2]           The Agriculture and Livestock Policy, Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock. 1997. Page 3.

[3]           Participatory and Responsive Agriculture Development Policy and Planning:From Farmer to Planner and Back. Lessons from Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. FAO and Government of Tanzania. October 1997.

[4]           Edward H. Mhina, Gender Roles Profile: Kipumbwi Village, Tanga Coastal Zone Conservation and Development Programme, TCZCDP, December 1998 & Edward H. Mhina., Gender Roles Profile: Tongoni Village, TCZCDP, December 1998.

[5]           The Pilot Census for the 1999 Population and Housing Census. National Bureau of Statistics. March 2001.

[6]           Improving Information on Women’s Contribution to Agricultural Production for Gender Sensitive Planning. FAO and Government of Tanzania. GCP/URT/108/NOR.  June 1997.

[7]           Gender and Women Involvement in Forestry, Ministry of Natural resources and Tourism. April 2001.

[8]           Ndiyo, D., and Urassa, J.K., Gender Imbalance in Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Activities and Its Impact on Household Food Security: A Case Study of Morogoro Rural.

[9]           SNV Gender Review: Dodoma Land Use Management Project – DLUMP, page 1.

[10]         Tanzania’s 1995 Agricultural Census. Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

[11]         Edward Mhina, Traditional Irrigation Improvement Programme (TIP) Gender Impact Study. September 1994. Page 43.