108 | Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Report

cultural researchers in a 27-country sample were female (Beintema and Stads, 2006).

The gap between the importance of women in agricultural production and processing and their weak representation in and access to agricultural services suggests that there is scope for enhancing their contribution to the agricultural sector. Improving women’s general education has been shown to have a positive impact on agricultural yields. In countries where modern agricultural technologies have been introduced, returns on an additional year of women’s education range from 2% to 15%, more than the returns for the same educational investment in men. Further, policy experiments in Kenya have suggested that primary schooling for women agricultural workers raises their agricultural yields by as much as 24% (Table 5-1).

 Though it has not been proven, increasing the proportion of women extension agents is likely to increase the number of women attending extension meetings and talking with extension agents and increase the relevance of AKST for women. Extension officials are typically men (only 17%
of extension agents in SSA are women) and, depending on particular country and regional norms, may not be able to, or may choose not to speak to women farmers (Das, 1995).

 In much of SSA women have “secondary” rights to land, obtained through their husbands or other male kinsfolk (Toulmin and Quan, 2000). They often have access to their own plots of land, which may be of a lower quality than those available to men, on which they may cultivate different crops than their husbands. The extent to which women are less likely than their husbands or other male farmers to invest in their plots differs from country to country. For example, women’s level of inputs in Burkina Faso has been found to be similar to men’s, but in Uganda women are less likely to plant trees and make other long-term investments in productive assets because they are not confident of being able to control any ensuing profits (Toulmin and Quan, 2000). Hence the likely impact on agricultural production, particularly long-term investments, of more for- Table 5-1. Contribution of African women to family livelihoods.

Table 5-1. Contribution of African woment to family livelihoods.

Activity %
Agricultural workforce 70
Labor for production of food 60-80
Food storage and local transport 80
Processing of foodstuffs 100
Water fetching and fuelwood gathering 90
Hoeing and weeding 90
Harvesting and market activity 60
 

malized access to land for women will vary from country to country.

 Women’s access to land and their degree of land tenure security on private and communal lands can be improved through the implementation of land policies and laws oriented towards equal rights for men and women. Although many countries are at an advanced stage in the formulation of gender sensitive policies, laws, and other instruments, implementation is slow (e.g., women received only 20% of land under the recent Zimbabwe land reforms). To catalyze implementation, reforms can be accompanied by mechanisms such as the harmonization of laws related to inheritance, marriage and property rights. In addition, political will and clear guidelines and benchmarks for monitoring implementation to allow appropriate authorities, including citizens, to hold governments accountable in this regard are more likely to lead to successful implementation of land reforms (see Box 5-2).

 Women farmers access only 10% of credit allocated to smallholders and only 1% of available agricultural credit. These data could reflect either a lack of supply of credit to women or a lack of demand. For example, women who feel insecure about their land are less likely to choose to invest in that land and so less likely to demand credit.

 Although the following options have not been proven to increase the likelihood of achieving the assessment goals, they can increase the profile of women in agriculture. Quantifying the role and value of women’s knowledge and contribution to agriculture and natural resource management, particularly with respect to local and traditional knowledge, can emphasize the importance of women in agriculture and subsequently the cost of not fully mainstreaming them in all aspects of agricultural development.

 Protocols that ensure that women are involved in the design and enumeration of any questionnaires and surveys that are undertaken and that women are fully represented in any sample that is taken can be introduced relatively easily and at low cost. Data collection that deals particularly with

Box 5-2. Land policy in Africa: A framework for action. Under the leadership of the African Union (AU) and in close collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Development Bank (ADB), the Pan-African land initiative on land policy aims to develop a land policy
and land reform framework and guidelines in order to facilitate the formulation and implementation of land policies. The process of developing the framework and guidelines involves a series of sub-regional consultations that will ensure that regional realities and initiatives inform the continental framework. This consultative process, involving key stakeholders in land and natural resource issues, is vital to ensuring the necessary political will to the adoption and implementation of the framework and guidelines. The framework and modalities for its implementation and a mechanism for monitoring are in negotiation among the AU Heads of State, within the NEPAD/ APRM framework.