10 pages, Farming methods are closely linked to the livelihood outcomes of women. The techniques of farming and the manner in which they are applied affects realization of livelihood outcomes. Even though rural women aim at attaining positive outcomes, their efforts are jeopardized by poor farming practices. This situation is exacerbated by gender disparities in knowledge and skills, inadequate access to productive resources and power relations. The current study aims to understand what kinds of farming methods women use and their contribution to livelihood outcomes. Using qualitative interview and survey as an auxiliary method, it was discovered that women predominantly use traditional farming techniques such as intercropping, crop rotation, cover cropping and integrated animal-crop farming. The major hindrances to the gainful use of these methods are knowledge gaps and resource disparities. Most women still grapple with low incomes, starvation, diet deficiencies, inability to access medical care and clothing. They are also vulnerable to climate shocks and stresses. The study concludes that the farming methods have inadequately enhanced income, food security, wellbeing and resilience to shocks and stresses. It recommends that agricultural extension services such as training programmes should consciously target equipping women with knowledge and skills on how to use the traditional and modern methods of farming and support them to access productive resources.
Okiror , J. J. (author), Twanza, B. (author), Orum, B. (author), Ebanyat, P. (author), Kule, E. B. (author), Tegbaru, A. (author), and Ayesiga, C. (author)
Format:
journal articles
Publication Date:
2021-10
Published:
Academic Journals
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D12402
12 pages, There is growing interest in gender analysis and value chain analysis as tools for ensuring equitable participation in agricultural commodity markets. This study examined the gender factors that influence the patterns and levels of participation by women and men in grain value chains in Uganda. Data were collected from six districts in three regions of Uganda using qualitative gender tools. Findings show that marked division of labour along gender-lines happens at postharvest handling stages where threshing and winnowing is mostly done by women while men supervise storage and also control marketing and incomes. Division of labour is due to socio-cultural ascriptions to the sexes at community level with women having to work for longer hours than their male counterparts. Groundnuts were regarded as women’s crop while soya beans were for men. Regional variations were not significant but there were marked behavioral differences between the poorer and richer households across entire value chains from production to marketing with the poor exercising more caution during marketing to spread risks to the next harvest while the rich preferred one-time bulk sales. Specific interventions are needed to upgrade women participation in grain-legume businesses and scale-up labour saving post-harvest technologies especially draught animals, threshers, tarpaulins and hullers to ease drudgery on women and increase men’s participation.
