Journal articles on the topic 'Women smallholder farmers'
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Devkota, Rachana, Helen Hambly Odame, John Fitzsimons, Roshan Pudasaini, and Manish N. Raizada. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Picture-Based Agricultural Extension Lessons Developed Using Participatory Testing and Editing with Smallholder Women Farmers in Nepal." Sustainability 12, no. 22 (November 20, 2020): 9699. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12229699.
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Printed pictures are traditional forms of agricultural extension for smallholder farmers. They receive historical academic criticism but remain inexpensive, do not require technical skills (unlike smartphones), and bypass language/literacy barriers. Here, a comprehensive participatory pipeline is described that included 56 Nepalese women farmer editors to develop 100 picture-based lessons. Thereafter, the Theory of Planned Behavior is used as a framework to evaluate 20 diverse lessons using quantitative and qualitative data (Nvivo-11) collected from four groups, focusing on low-literacy women: the women farmer editors (n = 56); smallholder field testers who had prior exposure to extension agents and the actual innovations (control group, n = 120), and those who did not (test group, n = 60); expert stakeholders (extension agents/scientists, n = 25). The expected comprehension difference between farmer groups was non-substantive, suggesting that the participatory editing/testing approaches were effective. There were surprising findings compared to the academic literature: smallholders comprehended the pictures without the help of extension agents, perhaps because of the participatory approaches used; children assisted their mothers to understand caption-based lessons; the farmers preferred printed pictures compared to advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs); and the resource-poor farmers were willing to pay for the printed materials, sufficient to make them cost-neutral/scalable. These findings have implications for smallholder farmers beyond Nepal.
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Othman, Mwanajuma S., Guy Garrod, and Elizabeth Oughton. "Farming groups and empowerment of women smallholder farmers." Development in Practice 31, no. 5 (May 7, 2021): 676–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2021.1911947.
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Mphande, Emelia, Bridget Bwalya Umar, and Chibuye Florence Kunda-Wamuwi. "Gender and Legume Production in a Changing Climate Context: Experiences from Chipata, Eastern Zambia." Sustainability 14, no. 19 (September 21, 2022): 11901. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su141911901.
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This study explored legume production by female and men smallholder farmers in Chipata, in a changing climate context. The study objectives were to (i) find out how men and women smallholder legume farmers in Chipata understand climate variability, (ii) investigate how climate variability affects smallholder legume farmers and (iii) identify the different challenges faced by womenfemale and men legume farmers in Chipata. Interviews were conducted with 86 male and 86 female legume farmers selected using stratified random sampling. Purposive sampling was used to select nine key informants and focus group discussants. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis, while quantitative data were analysed through statistical tests. About half the men and women perceived that climate change in Chipata manifested through a shorter rainy season, late start of rainy season, intra-seasonal droughts and heavy downpours. Some men (34.9%) and women (23.3%) reported that heavy downpours caused common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) flowers to drop off. About 41% of the men farmers interviewed and 23.3% of the women reported witch weed (Striga asiaticapa) on their groundnuts (Arachis hypogaea) fields after periods of heavy rainfall. The men discussants complained that soya bean (Glycine max) fields became waterlogged after prolonged heavy rains, which delayed weeding. Women farmers had challenges accessing hybrid legume seed, inoculants and marketing legumes. Men’s challenges were low market prices for soya beans. The study recommends agricultural interventions should focus on climate-smart legume seed multiplication and certification among legume farmers and promotion of local seed-sharing networks to enhance seed diversity.
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Muli Mwololo, Henry, Jonathan Makau Nzuma, and Cecilia Nyawira Ritho. "Farmer empowerment in agriculture and its association with smallholder farm incomes in Kenya." African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 16, no. 4 (December 31, 2021): 355–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.53936/afjare.2021.16(4).23.
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Poverty in its various forms is widespread among smallholder farmers, including income poverty, rendering interventions that improve household income relevant. We employ a linear model on crosssectional data collected from October to December 2015, with the preceding 12 months as the reference period. The data was from 835 smallholder farmers in Kenya to assess the effect of farmer empowerment in agriculture on farm income. This is a departure from numerous previous studies, which considered the intra-household empowerment of women relative to men on the assumption that men are empowered, which may not always be the case – as we show in this study. The results show that farmer empowerment in agriculture increases per capita farm incomes. Unlike male farmers, who benefit from the overall empowerment in agriculture, female farmers do not, possibly due to constraints in complementary drivers of farm income such as access to productive resources. Interestingly, improving the income domain for female farmers increases their farm incomes more than for their male counterparts. We conclude that farmer empowerment in agriculture is a necessary driver of farm incomes, with the production, leadership and income domains being the viable impact pathways. Thus, development interventions should target specific empowerment domains while controlling for sex differences among the target farmers.
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Asindu, Marsy, Emily Ouma, Gabriel Elepu, and Diego Naziri. "Farmer Demand and Willingness-To-Pay for Sweetpotato Silage-Based Diet as Pig Feed in Uganda." Sustainability 12, no. 16 (August 11, 2020): 6452. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12166452.
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Smallholder livestock farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa are racing against time to find cheaper, nutritious, and sustainable feed alternatives to the more pronounced and expensive commercial concentrates amidst the increasing global demand for livestock products. Lately, many prominent feed conservation technologies have been developed, with a notable example being the sweetpotato silage technology that turns wasted sweetpotato components into a palatable and nutritious livestock feed. However, despite the potential benefits associated with these technologies, the level of demand and acceptance among smallholder farmers remains largely unknown. Thus, this paper assesses the farmer demand and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for sweetpotato silage-based diet as pig feed by smallholder farmers in Uganda. The information for the study was collected through secondary data review and semi-structured interviews to assess farmer WTP. The 256 semi-structured interviews were randomly drawn from 16 purposive clusters formed at a radius of 3 km around 16 farmers piloting sweetpotato silage-based diets for pig feed. The results show that pig farming is mainly the responsibility of women, with farmers’ mean willingness-to-pay price amounting to 0.20 USD per kilogram of sweetpotato silage-based diet. At the mean price, the annual demand for silage was estimated at 17,679 tons, with a market potential of approximately 3.59 million USD. The study concludes that, at the mean willingness-to-pay price, there is a substantial market potential that can be exploited by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) venturing in the livestock feed industry.
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Iqbal, Humera, Anam Afzal, Khizar Hayat, Emma Hand, and David McGill. "Farmer Perception and Resources for Calf Fattening Under Smallholder Production System." Proceedings 36, no. 1 (March 5, 2020): 117. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2019036117.
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In Pakistan, smallholder farmers are primarily engaged in dairy farming while keeping beef animals as secondary products. Farmers experience poor production due to lack of focus on beef farming, traditional calf rearing practices and limited resources. The objective of this study was to understand the perceptions of smallholder farming households of beef production and the available resources for farmers to engage in beef fattening to increase overall farm profitability. Data was collected using a focus group discussion approach, from farming households in villages across Punjab (n = 7) and Sindh (n = 8). An integrated framework incorporating gender and value-chain considerations was used as a tool to assess farmer interest, goals and resources for rearing livestock. The data was analyzed using content analysis. The majority of farmers interested in calf fattening were more resource rich, with livestock as their primary source of income. A smaller proportion of farmers, with limited resources, also took interest in calf fattening. Women from a few villages mentioned that they were reluctant to be involved in beef businesses due to an emerging focus on childhood education as well as a lack of agency for livestock sales and control over income. Another factor contributing to farmer perceptions of beef included their enterprise focus (dairy or cropping). Overall, smallholder farmers perceived that calf fattening could be a profitable business if claves were reared properly, had adequate feed resources and good market return. Training and farm support targeting these areas is critical for calf fattening to become a profitable market strategy.
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Katuli, Farida Kassim. "UNLEASHING GENDER EQUALITY AND ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS: RETHINKING IMPLICATION TO POVERTY REDUCTIONS." International Journal of Gender Studies 5, no. 1 (December 31, 2020): 29–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.47604/ijgs.1187.
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Purpose: The aim of the study is to examine gender equality in accessing knowledge among smallholder farmers with a focus on poverty reductions strategies.
Methodology: This paper draws from the theoretical and empirical literature review of studies on smallholder farmers on access to agricultural knowledge through collection of secondary data and reviewing information that has been gathered from various studies and reports in research and academic institutions, as well as from internet sources in and outside Tanzania.
Findings: The study found the missing link in poverty reduction strategies, thus there is a need to strengthen the strategies and the agriculture policy. The study also, found that women have less access to agricultural knowledge than men due to cultural barriers, low level of literacy, poverty, and lack of ownership of resources such as land and income for sustainability and security.
Unique contribution to theory and policy/recommendation): The focus and outcomes regarding gender equality in relation to access to agricultural information suggests the need for more refined and socioeconomic models that cuts across gender and other social dimension beyond other factors of culture, education etc. This study recommends that there is a need to rethink of the implications to poverty reduction strategies during preparation of the strategies in order to increase accessibility of knowledge among smallholder farmers, especially women. Hence, this study will contribute to theory and policy to enable smallholder farmers to increase productivity and income especially to women.
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Kiwanuka, Rebecca N. L., and Charles Machethe. "Determinants of Smallholder Farmers’ Participation in Zambian Dairy Sector’s Interlocked Contractual Arrangements." Journal of Sustainable Development 9, no. 2 (March 30, 2016): 230. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jsd.v9n2p230.
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<p>Linking smallholder farmers to modern value chains through contract agriculture (CA) is one of the rural development strategies being promoted to address the challenge of smallholders’ integration in markets. However, the conditions under which CA enhances smallholders’ prospects for inclusion in modern value chains is still debatable. This paper examines the determinants of smallholders’ participation in Zambian dairy markets through interlocked contractual arrangements (ICAs). A multi-stage sampling design was used to select 266 households from milk shed areas from three districts in Lusaka and Central provinces of Zambia. A double-hurdle model was estimated from data collected through semi-structured questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Key determinants of smallholders’ participation in ICAs included ownership of improved breed animals, MCC milk price, access to dairy marketing information, income from other sources and landholding size. While most of these factors also affected the proportion of milk sold, the following were also important: household head education level, cattle rearing culture, extent of supplier’s dependency on buyer and trust in the exchange relationship. To enhance smallholders’ market participation, there is need to facilitate their access to extension services, infrastructure (breeding centres, MCCs and water) and affordable stock feed, and to offer them an effective milk price that is higher than the spot market price. Promotion efforts should target smallholders that are literate, from a cattle rearing culture, and particularly encourage youth and women participation. There is also need for building trust in the exchange relationship and judicious use of power by processors.</p>
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Nyanga, Progress H. "Factors Influencing Adoption and Area under Conservation Agriculture: A Mixed Methods Approach." Sustainable Agriculture Research 1, no. 2 (July 4, 2012): 27. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/sar.v1n2p27.
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<p>Adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) is quite low in most parts of Africa. However, Zambia has been quite successful in increasing adoption of CA among smallholder farmers. Few studies using both quantitative and qualitative approaches have been conducted in Zambia to determine factors influencing adoption of CA. This study uses mixed methods approach to document factors influencing adoption of CA among smallholder farmers under the Conservation Agriculture Project (CAP) in Zambia. From a random sample of 415 smallholder farmers, results showed that 71% had adopted CA. Quantitative analysis indicated that CA trainings, previous experience in minimum tillage, membership in farmer organisations, and ownership of CA tillage equipment significantly increased the likelihood of CA adoption. Number of CA trainings attended, farm size, number of rippers owned and use of herbicide had a significant positive influence on area under CA. Qualitative approaches showed that good rapport with farmers, trust, reciprocity and altruism, monitoring and evaluations, extension strategy, quality and extent of technical knowledge in CA within CFU, and artificial incentives positively influenced adoption of CA. Traditional leadership was reported to enhance adoption of CA in most cases. Prestige was reported to withhold some men from adopting CA basins. Women were very involved in CA basins while men were mostly involved in ADP ripping. Some worldviews of farmers had negative influence on adoption of CA. Donor support and collaboration with the Zambia National Farmers Union and private sector were other contextual factors for the high adoption of CA among sampled smallholder farmers. In the promotion of CA it is important to pay attention to both quantitative and qualitative factors influencing adoption. A mixed methods approach thus can lead to a better understanding of the adoption of CA than a single research strategy approach.</p>
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Gove, Sosário Afonso Semende. "Gender in family farming: an analysis of women's participation in the district of Angónia/ Género na agricultura familiar: uma análise da participação da mulher no distrito de Angónia." Brazilian Journal of Development 8, no. 4 (April 13, 2022): 26668–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.34117/bjdv8n4-261.
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Family farming is fundamental to guaranteeing food security throughout the world and the practitioners of this activity are the target of many obstacles to their own development, especially women. Most women do not have legal ownership of the land they use for agriculture, and generally, the land is owned by their husbands with the advantage that husbands often have more schooling than women, and more. In recognition of the sector's challenges, the Mozambican government has prepared and enacted legal instruments that proclaim and defend women's human rights, particularly, and value peasants, in general, regarding the right of access to land. This text analyzes the participation of women in family farming in the district of Angónia. The district is characterized by a total population of 472,164 inhabitants of which 228,441 inhabitants are male. Family farming is the main agricultural activity practiced by smallholder farmers mostly organized in agricultural associations and clubs (strata that make up the association). A focus group discussion and 33 surveys were carried out with the aim of understanding the decision-making power of smallholders in family farming, especially women. The surveys were aimed at members of the Kabango and Chipindu clubs, which are members, respectively, of the Chigwirizano and Canhanja farmers' associations. The focal discussion groups were conducted at the district headquarters and involved smallholder farmers and producers from different associations. The data lead us to conclude that women have little participation in decisions about the activities of the family farming sector, from the definition of the means of production to be used, to the use of the income obtained from the sale of crops. Due to factors such as schooling, social conceptions and jealousy, women are limited to making decisions and, therefore, men's decisions are the most accepted and respected.
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KERR, RACHEL BEZNER, SIEGLINDE SNAPP, MARKO CHIRWA (deceased), LIZZIE SHUMBA, and RODGERS MSACHI. "PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH ON LEGUME DIVERSIFICATION WITH MALAWIAN SMALLHOLDER FARMERS FOR IMPROVED HUMAN NUTRITION AND SOIL FERTILITY." Experimental Agriculture 43, no. 4 (October 2007): 437–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0014479707005339.
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Legume species are uniquely suited to enhance soil productivity and provide nutrient-enriched grains and vegetables for limited-resource farmers. Yet substantial barriers to diversification with legumes exist, such as moderate yield potential and establishment costs, indicating the need for long-term engagement and farmer-centered research and extension. This review and in-depth analysis of a Malawian case study illustrates that farmer experimentation and adoption of legumes can be fostered among even the most resource-poor smallholders. Multi-educational activities and participatory research involving farmer research teams was carried out with 80 communities. Over five years more than 3000 farmers tested legumes and gained knowledge of legume contributions to child nutrition and soil productivity. The average area of expansion of legume systems was 862 m2 in 2005; 772 m2 for women and 956 m2 for men indicating a gender dimension to legume adoption. Farmers chose edible legume intercrops such as pigeonpea and groundnut over the mucuna green manure system, particularly women farmers. Interestingly, expansion in area of doubled-up edible legumes (854 m2 in 2005) was practiced by more farmers, but was a smaller area than that of mucuna green manure system (1429 m2). An information gap was discovered around the biological consequences of legume residue management. Education on the soil benefits of improved residue management and participatory methods of knowledge sharing were associated with enhanced labour investment; 72 % of farmers reported burying legume residues in 2005 compared to 15 % in 2000. Households reported feeding significantly more edible legumes to their children compared with control households. Participatory research that incorporated nutritional education fostered discussions within households and communities, the foundation for sustained adoption of legume-diversified systems.
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Hlatshwayo, Simphiwe Innocentia, Temitope Oluwaseun Ojo, Albert Thembinkosi Modi, Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, Rob Slotow, and Mjabuliseni Simon Cloapas Ngidi. "The Determinants of Market Participation and Its Effect on Food Security of the Rural Smallholder Farmers in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces, South Africa." Agriculture 12, no. 7 (July 21, 2022): 1072. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12071072.
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Addressing the disproportionate burden of food insecurity in South Africa requires targeted efforts to help smallholder farmers to access markets. The purpose of this study was to assess determinants of market participation and its contribution to household food security. The secondary data used in this study were collected from 1520 respondents; however, 389 smallholder farmers participated in the market. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale revealed that out of the total sample size, 85% of the households were food insecure while 15% were food secure. Gender of household head, receiving social grants and higher wealth index positively impacted market participation. Having a family member with HIV had a negative impact on market participation among smallholder farmers. The results from the extended ordered probit regression model showed that household size, having a family member with HIV and agricultural assistance had a positive and significant contribution to the household food insecurity situation of the smallholder farmers. On the other hand, the educational level of household head, ownership of livestock, age of household head, gender of household head, and having access to social grants had a negative and significant effect on the food insecurity status. Access to education and the market can improve household food security. Linking smallholder farmers, particularly women and aged farmers, to markets should form an intrinsic part of the government’s efforts to improve farming and food security and increase access to diversified food.
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Murray, Una, Zewdy Gebremedhin, Galina Brychkova, and Charles Spillane. "Smallholder Farmers and Climate Smart Agriculture: Technology and Labor-productivity Constraints amongst Women Smallholders in Malawi." Gender, Technology and Development 20, no. 2 (January 2016): 117–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0971852416640639.
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Bezner Kerr, Rachel, Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Laifolo Dakishoni, Esther Lupafya, Lizzie Shumba, Isaac Luginaah, and Sieglinde S. Snapp. "Knowledge politics in participatory climate change adaptation research on agroecology in Malawi." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 33, no. 3 (April 12, 2018): 238–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170518000017.
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AbstractClimate change is projected to have severe implications for smallholder agriculture in Africa, with increased temperatures, increased drought and flooding occurrence, and increased rainfall variability. Given these projections, there is a need to identify effective strategies to help rural communities adapt to climatic risks. Yet, relatively little research has examined the politics and social dynamics around knowledge and sources of information about climate-change adaptation with smallholder farming communities. This paper uses a political ecology approach to historically situate rural people's experiences with a changing climate. Using the concept of the co-production of knowledge, we examine how Malawian smallholder farmers learn, perceive, share and apply knowledge about a changing climate, and what sources they draw on for agroecological methods in this context. As well, we pay particular attention to agricultural knowledge flows within and between households. We ask two main questions: Whose knowledge counts in relation to climate-change adaptation? What are the political, social and environmental implications of these knowledge dynamics? We draw upon a long-term action research project on climate-change adaptation that involved focus groups, interviews, observations, surveys, and participatory agroecology experiments with 425 farmers. Our findings are consistent with other studies, which found that agricultural knowledge sources were shaped by gender and other social inequalities, with women more reliant on informal networks than men. Farmers initially ranked extension services as important sources of knowledge about farming and climate change. After farmers carried out participatory agroecological research, they ranked their own observation and informal farmer networks as more important sources of knowledge. Contradictory ideas about climate-change adaptation, linked to various positions of power, gaps of knowledge and social inequalities make it challenging for farmers to know how to act despite observing changes in rainfall. Participatory agroecological approaches influenced adaptation strategies used by smallholder farmers in Malawi, but most still maintained the dominant narrative about climate-change causes, which focused on local deforestation by rural communities. Smallholder farmers in Malawi are responsible for <1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet our results show that the farmers often blame their own rural communities for changes in deforestation and rainfall patterns. Researchers need to consider differences knowledge and power between scientists and farmers and the contradictory narratives at work in communities to foster long-term change.
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Patel, Raj K., Mahesh Chander, Med R. Verma, and Demian C. Johnson. "Adoption of Improved Poultry Technologies amongst Members of Poultry Producer Company and Non-member Women Farmers of Madhya Pradesh, India." Indian Journal of Veterinary Sciences & Biotechnology 18, no. 4 (September 15, 2022): 55–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.48165/ijvsbt.18.4.12.
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Poultry Producer Company is collectivizing the smallholder poultry farmers and helps them to perform poultry farming scientifically and efficiently. The present study was conducted on women poultry farmers of Madhya Pradesh to study the impact of poultry producer company on the adoption of improved technologies of poultry farming amongst smallholder farmers. Ex-post facto research design was used in the study. Multistage sampling was done for the selection of respondents and a total of 140 members and 140 non-member women farmers were selected randomly for data collection. After the application of propensity score matching, 96 members and 96 non-members were found suitable for data analysis and interpretation of results. It was found that the majority of the members had high level of adoption of improved poultry technologies while majority of non-members had medium level of adoption of poultry technologies. The adoption quotient for member and non-member farmers was 83.75 and 37.92%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the overall adoption rate of members compared to non-members at 0.1% significance.
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Mkindi, Angela G., Richard Coe, Philip C. Stevenson, Patrick A. Ndakidemi, and Steven R. Belmain. "Qualitative Cost-Benefit Analysis of Using Pesticidal Plants in Smallholder Crop Protection." Agriculture 11, no. 10 (October 15, 2021): 1007. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11101007.
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Assessing the potential drivers of farmers using pesticidal plants for crop protection is essential for wider adoption. However, few studies have focused on collaborative assessments of the underlying trade-offs when using pesticidal plant extracts for pest control. Smallholder farmers in northern Tanzania involved in farmer driven research assessing pesticidal plants evaluated the costs, benefits, trade-offs and areas for future investment. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic information from 77 farmers and their views on pest problems and crop protection in common bean production. This was followed by small focus group discussions (n = 9) using a participatory framework to elucidate the costs and benefits of adopting pesticidal plant technology. A multiple correspondence analysis showed that pesticidal plant use was associated with men greater than 50 years old, and synthetic pesticide use was associated with younger aged farmers and women. Farmers who used synthetics generally did not report the presence of common pest species found in common bean production, whereas farmers who used pesticidal plants were associated with more frequent reports of pest species. This participatory cost–benefit analysis highlighted that tools and processing challenges were the main costs to using pesticidal plants. The main benefit reported when using pesticidal plants was a general improvement to family health. Farmers expressed overall a positive outcome when using pesticidal plants for crop protection and recommended that future investments focus on improving access to tools and education regarding plant processing and extraction to improve uptake of the technology by smallholder farmers.
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Nuhu, Mohammed Gali, and Kenichi Matsui. "Gender Dimensions of Climate Change Adaptation Needs for Smallholder Farmers in the Upper East Region of Ghana." Sustainability 14, no. 16 (August 22, 2022): 10432. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su141610432.
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Gender-specific perceptions and needs are critical to better understanding climate change adaptation capacities of local smallholder communities in Africa and elsewhere. As many rural agricultural practices are heavily impacted by male-centered traditional customs and mores, gender dimensions can determine the level of success for policy interventions. To better understand how and what gender dimensions can be important factors for farmer’s climate change adaptations, this study attempts to examine smallholder farmers’ adaptation needs and perspectives in Ghana’s Upper East Region. A focus group discussion and a questionnaire survey were conducted among 200 smallholder farmers. We found that the female respondents, who mostly belonged to low/middle-income groups, emphasized their urgent need for financial support to improve their income. They needed more farmland as 94% of them had only less than 5 acres to farm. In addition, 91% of the female respondents expressed the importance of being connected to farmers’ mutual-help groups to share information about common farming needs. We also found gender-specific needs for extension services, farm inputs, climate information, mechanization, and infrastructure. Regarding access to resources, the women respondents had little interest in investing more in farming as the land they borrowed could be taken away by male owners. The study recommends the need for gender-specific support initiatives that prioritize social protection and gender equality.
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Altenbuchner, Christine, Stefan Vogel, and Manuela Larcher. "Social, economic and environmental impacts of organic cotton production on the livelihood of smallholder farmers in Odisha, India." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 33, no. 4 (March 23, 2017): 373–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s174217051700014x.
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AbstractCotton is an important source of income for smallholder farmers in India, usually grown very intensively. To counteract negative impacts of cotton cultivation in India, such as environmental degradation and financial dependency due to high input costs, organic cotton cultivation is being promoted by non-governmental organizations in the country. This study examines how the conversion to organic cotton cultivation influences the livelihood of smallholder farmers in rural India. Interviews with organic farmers were conducted in Odisha, India, complemented by expert interviews and observations in the field. Results show that farmers profit from organic agriculture, mainly due to soil improvements, through reduced exposure to toxic chemicals and lower input costs, which in turn reduces dependency on money lenders. Organic agriculture enables smallholder farmers in the study region to improve their livelihood by providing access to training and by organizing in groups. Important social impacts identified in this study were capacity building and strengthened communities, through training and institution building. However, a higher workload, due to the higher work intensity of organic farming practices, was also observed, with this impacting women more than men. Environmental conditions and gender aspects still remain challenging.
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Agunga, Robert, Camilius Aloyce Sanga, and Elizabeth Isaya. "Empowering Women Farmers in Tanzania Through Communication for Development." World Journal of Social Science 5, no. 2 (June 23, 2018): 8. http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/wjss.v5n2p8.
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African women play a major role in the development and industrialization of the continent. They account for up to80% of household food production by smallholder farmers. In spite of their large numbers, African women generallydo not have access to agricultural production resources, such as land and credit. Their access to land is often throughtheir husbands and fathers and usually loses their property rights as a consequence of widowhood, divorce, ordesertion. This study of women farmers in Tanzania argues that farming is the main source of livelihood for womenand the key to their empowerment. The study, therefore, examines how communication or access to information, canserve as the vehicle for women farmers’ empowerment in Tanzania.
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Zakaria, Hudu. "The drivers of women farmers’ participation in cash crop production: the case of women smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana." Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension 23, no. 2 (December 8, 2016): 141–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1389224x.2016.1259115.
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M., John K. "Global GAP Standard Compliance and Smallholder Pineapple Farmers’ Access to Export Markets: Implications for Incomes." Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies 5, no. 2 (February 28, 2013): 69–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.22610/jebs.v5i2.381.
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This study seeks to determine the effect of compliance with GlobalGAP standards and it implications for access to export market and incomes for smallholder pineapple farmers in the Central region of Ghana. The study was conducted in two pineapple growing districts; Mfantsiman Municipality and Gomoa East district. Primary data were collected through interviews using structured questionnaires. Simple random sampling was used to select 63 pineapple farmers (i.e., 30 Global GAP certified and 33 non-certified farmers from pineapple producer groups in the two districts. Analysis of the marketing channels reveal that market women were the major buyers of pineapple commanding 69.7% of noncertified farmers produce and 30% of the produce of the certified (i.e., compliant) farmers. Although 20% of the certified farmers sold their produce to exporters against 12.1% for non-certified farmers, it cannot be concluded that farmers’ access to the export market has been enhanced by complying with the Global GAP standard. However, all buyers preferred produce from certified farmers to non-certified farmers. On the economic performance of GlobalGAP certified and non-certified pineapple farmers, the empirical results reveal that the Global GAP certified pineapple farmers obtained GHS 15,027.57 for growing one hectare of pineapple while non-certified pineapple farmers made a net average income of GHS 6,256.36. These results imply that the Global GAP certified pineapple farmers obtained 2.4 times more net average income than non-certified pineapple growers. The results of this study have implications for pineapple farmers and policy makers in developing countries.
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Ashley, K., J. R. Young, P. Kea, S. Suon, P. A. Windsor, and R. D. Bush. "Socioeconomic impact of forage-technology adoption by smallholder cattle farmers in Cambodia." Animal Production Science 58, no. 2 (2018): 393. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/an16164.
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In Cambodia, adoption of forage technology is recommended to smallholder cattle farmers as an alternative to the widespread practice of feeding nutritionally inferior rice straw and collected or grazed native grasses. Although field research has demonstrated the nutritional benefits to cattle of smallholders adopting forage technology in Cambodia, we extended these studies by investigating the impacts and financial metrics of forage technology adoption in January 2011 by 120 smallholder participants from the ‘Best practice health and husbandry of cattle Cambodia’ (AH/2005/086) project. Farmers were classified by intervention level (high (HI) or low (LI) intervention) and forage technology adoption (adopter HI, non-adopter HI and non-adopter LI). Information on cattle-feeding practices, including household labour demands of sourcing feed for cattle, plus input costs of forage-plot establishment by adopter HI farmers, was collected and analysed. Results were that while the establishment of forages did not have a significant effect on the use of traditional feed sources such as rice straw, crop bi-products and crop residues, grazing of cattle on native pastures was less common among adopter households. Adopter households also reported a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in daily time spent sourcing feed and reduced involvement of women and children in sourcing feed for cattle compared with non-adopter households. Average total cost of inputs to forage-plot establishment per 100 m2 ranged from US$1.40 to US$16.88, with an average cost of US$5.60. Seed costs were estimated at US$0.50 per 100 m2 for a total input cost of US$6.10 per 100 m2. Partial budget analysis was used to compare the value of forage feeding of the following two scenarios over a 6-month wet-season period: (1) forage-plot establishment and forage feeding across the herd; and (2) forage-plot establishment and target feeding (fattening) of one animal. A net profit of US$139.01 was indicated for Scenario 1 and US$152.94 for Scenario 2 and Monte Carlo simulation indicated similar financial outcomes for both scenarios, namely US$169.09 (95% CI: –17.00, 402.00) and US$172.33 (95% CI: 66.80, 305.80) respectively. We conclude that the reduced labour burden on women and children plus the potential increased household income from forage establishment and forage feeding, support recommendations of forage technology as a strategy to improve the livelihoods of smallholder cattle farmers in Cambodia.
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Osumba, Joab J. L., John W. Recha, and George W. Oroma. "Transforming Agricultural Extension Service Delivery through Innovative Bottom–Up Climate-Resilient Agribusiness Farmer Field Schools." Sustainability 13, no. 7 (April 2, 2021): 3938. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13073938.
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Conventional approaches to agricultural extension based on top–down technology transfer and information dissemination models are inadequate to help smallholder farmers tackle increasingly complex agroclimatic adversities. Innovative service delivery alternatives, such as field schools, exist but are mostly implemented in isolationistic silos with little effort to integrate them for cost reduction and greater technical effectiveness. This article presents a proof-of-concept effort to develop an innovative, climate-resilient field school methodology, integrating the attributes of Farmers’ Field School, Climate Field School, Climate-Smart Agriculture and indigenous technical knowledge of weather indicators in one package to address the gaps, while sensitizing actors on implications for policy advocacy. Some 661 local facilitators, 32% of them women and 54% youth, were trained on the innovation across East Africa. The initiative has reached 36 agribusiness champions working with 237,250 smallholder farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Initial results show that the innovation is strengthening adaptation behaviour of agribusiness champions, farmers and supply chain actors, and reducing training costs. Preliminary findings indicate that the process is rapidly shaping group adaptive thinking. The integrated approach offers lessons to transform extension and to improve food security and resilience. The approach bundles the costs of previously separate processes into the cost of one joint, simultaneous process, while also strengthening technical service delivery through bundled messaging. Experience from this initiative can be leveraged to develop scalable participatory extension and training models, especially scaling out through farmer-to-farmer replication and scaling up through farmer group networks.
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Kimani, Anne W., Hillary T. Nyang’anga, and John I. Mburu. "Assessing the Status of Social Media Familiarity among Smallholder Farmers: A Case Study of Thika, Kiambu Kenya." International Journal of Agricultural Extension 7, no. 1 (April 25, 2019): 13–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.33687/ijae.007.01.2732.
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Social media provides huge opportunities and incentives that could ease promotion of agricultural extension, facilitate real-time service delivery and enable wider farmer coverage. Ineffective dissemination approaches, expanding farmer population, low staffing, and aging agricultural extension agents continue to negatively affect the provision of agricultural extension services in Kenya. Despite the social media potential in agricultural communication, lack of awareness and low usage in the rural areas of developing countries have been documented. This study sought to establish the level of social media familiarity among smallholder rural farmers with the aim of exploring the possibility of usage in agricultural extension. The study was undertaken in Thika Sub-County of Kiambu County on 140 farmers through a researcher administered semi-structured questionnaire. Probability-proportional-to-size sampling method was employed to derive the sample size from existing extension farmer groups. Simple random sampling technique was further used to identify the actual respondents from each group. A low level of social media familiarity was established among the farmers with education, age and gender having significant influence. The study recommends awareness creation initiatives to promote social media familiarity with a particular focus on women who form the bulk of the farmers but with the lowest level of social media knowledge.
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Kalibwani, Rebecca, Medard Kakuru, Alexis Carr, and Moses Tenywa. "Scaling Smallholder Farmer Empowerment: Lessons from the Lifelong Learning Program in Uganda." Journal of Learning for Development 8, no. 2 (July 19, 2021): 431–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.56059/jl4d.v8i2.501.
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An evaluation study of the Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3F) program was undertaken in two sites; in the central and northern regions of Uganda. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to measure the impact of the program on crop and household income, as well as the empowerment levels of its participants. The two sites had differences not only in geographical location but in historical background and implementation of the program, which may have influenced the livelihood outcomes. Despite these differences, the results of the study confirm the potential of the L3F approach to raise participants’ crop and household income relative to non-L3F counterparts, significantly so for women participants. There is also sufficient evidence to confirm that L3F positively contributes to farmer empowerment, and, subsequently, their livelihood. The paper draws lessons for scaling the empowerment process using the lifelong learning for farmers’ model in Uganda.
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Oldewage-Theron, W., S. Morales, and Abdulkadir Egal. "Change in soy and nutrition knowledge and perceptions of smallholder South African farmers after attending a single one day soy nutrition training workshop: A pilot study." African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development 20, no. 06 (October 31, 2020): 16604–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.18697/ajfand.94.18545.
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The main aim of this pilot study was to assess smallholder soy farmers’ knowledge and perceptions of soy immediately before and after participating in a one-day soy nutrition training workshop. A pre-post study design was used among a convenience sample of 78 soy smallholder farmers from Kwa Zulu-Natal, South Africa(SA). A total of 78 men and five women participated in the training, but because only five women attended,gender comparison analysis was not carried out.A soy nutrition training workshop, including soy cooking demonstrations, tasting, recipe development, that is based on the Social Cognitive Theory, was implemented for eight consecutive hours with one break of 30 minutes. Pre- and post-quantitative data measuring,soy knowledge and perceptions were collected using a modified version of a survey, tested for face and content validity and reliability,and used previously in other research study projects by the same authors among low-resource communities in SA. The data from the pre and post questionnaires indicated that only 41% of the soy smallholder farmers used soy in the household and mainly in meat dishes. The rest of the harvested soy was either sold or used for animal feed. The mean±standard deviation (SD)score of taste preference changed significantly (p=0.002) from 4.60±0.84 before,to 4.93±0.13 after the training (p=0.002)and the majority of the participants perceived it was easy to prepare soy foods;82.1% and 88.5% before and after the training,respectively (p=0.013). Participants’ soy knowledge improved significantly (p<0.001)from a mean±(SD)score of 26.33±4.06 before to 32.00±9.46 after the intervention, indicating a significant improvement of 5.67±9.11 [13.83%] in the total score.The results from this study indicate that there is a need for nutrition education programs for smallholder farmers. Thus, improvement in both soy knowledge and preference should result in more soy being consumed first for household nutritional needs before giving it to either animals or sell it on the market.Since smallholder farmers’ nutrition education can impact both food insecurity and nutritional status improvement in one setting, more interventions of this kind are needed to further advance the frontier of this niche area of research.
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Tsige, Meseret, Gry Synnevåg, and Jens B. Aune. "Gendered constraints for adopting climate-smart agriculture amongst smallholder Ethiopian women farmers." Scientific African 7 (March 2020): e00250. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00250.
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Calvo, Sara, and Andres Morales. "Arusha women entrepreneur: reducing poverty through job creation and sustainable income for smallholder farmers." Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies 6, no. 4 (November 22, 2016): 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eemcs-03-2016-0026.
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Subject area Social enterprise. Study level/applicability This case study can be used on modules on social enterprise (SE) and international business for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Case overview Arusha Women Entrepreneur (AWE) is a SE established in 2008 in Tanzania that employs low-income women from peri-urban Arusha and provides technical and management skills training to smallholder farmers. AWE has created a value supply chain from the production and marketing of aflatoxin-free, natural peanut butter, having a strong vision of delivering social and development benefits for smallholder peanut farmers and unemployed women. Expected learning outcomes This case is the basis for class discussion rather than for illustrating either effective or ineffective handling of a business. From this case, students will learn about the emergence and development of SEs and the challenges they encounter to grow. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS: 3: Entrepreneurship.
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Kyotos, Kitoga Byalungwa, Jemimah Oduma, Raphael Githaiga Wahome, Catherine Kaluwa, Faduma Abdulahi Abdirahman, Angela Opondoh, Jeanette Nkatha Mbobua, et al. "Gendered Barriers and Opportunities for Women Smallholder Farmers in the Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia Vaccine Value Chain in Kenya." Animals 12, no. 8 (April 14, 2022): 1026. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12081026.
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Most rural women smallholder farmers in Kenya generate income from the sale of small ruminant animals. However, diseases such as Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) prevent them from optimizing earnings. A crucial aspect for the control of CCPP is vaccination. In Kenya, CCPP vaccines are distributed through a government delivery mechanism. This study examines gaps and barriers that prevent women smallholder farmers from accessing CCPP vaccines. Qualitative data collection tools used were focus groups discussions, focus meals, jar voices and key informant interviews. Using outcome mapping (OM) methodology, critical partners and stakeholders in the CCPP vaccine value chain (CCPP-VVC) were identified to be the manufacturers, importers, distributors, agrovets, public and private veterinarians, local leaders, and farmers. Respondents highlighted the barriers to be limited access to vaccines due to cold chain problems, inadequate and late delivery of services, lack of information and training on vaccines, and financial constraints. Identified opportunities that can support women’s engagement in the CCPP-VVC are the Kenya Governments two-third gender rule, which requires that not more than two thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender, and positive community perception of female veterinarians. We conclude that more resources and training should be made available to women farmers, and that gender perspectives on policy development related to livestock production and disease prevention are urgently needed to improve livestock productivity and increase agency for women.
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Jiri, Obert, Paramu L. Mafongoya, and Pauline Chivenge. "Building climate change resilience through adaptation in smallholder farming systems in semi-arid Zimbabwe." International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management 9, no. 2 (March 20, 2017): 151–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm-07-2016-0092.
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Purpose This study aimed to determine factors that increase resilience and cause smallholder farmers to adapt better to climate change and vulnerability. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors used the vulnerability to resilience model and binary logit model to analyse the factors influencing household decisions to adapt. Findings Households with increased access to climate information through extension services were likely to have better adaptation abilities. It was also shown that younger farmers were likely to adapt to climate change given their flexibility to adopt new techniques and their access and use of modern information and technology. Larger households were found to have higher probability of adapting as most adaptation strategies are labour intensive. Household’s possession of livestock and access to credit significantly enhanced adaptation. However, households with higher farm income have lesser incentives to adapt to because their current farming practices might already be optimum. Research limitations/implications Given that most of the smallholder farmers are vulnerable, such as women-headed households and the elderly, who are labour constrained, there is need for research and development of labour saving technologies to increase resilience to climate change and vulnerability. Originality/value These findings underscore the importance of enabling farmer access to information and better technologies which enable them to increase adaptive capacity and resilience.
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Ndubueze-Ogaraku, Mercy Ebere, and Anil Graves. "Measuring Technical Efficiency of the Smallholder Crop Farms Using Stochastic Production Frontier Approach." Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development 31, no. 2 (December 2021): 234–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10185291211065222.
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Agricultural productivity in Africa is the lowest in the world with many households not being able to feed themselves. In Africa, women play a major role in agriculture sector constituting about 70–80 per cent of the labour force there. Regrettably, their farm productivity is relatively low mainly due to their inefficient use of farm inputs, which has a serious implication for their socio-economic condition as well as health and nutrition status. With this backdrop in mind, the study investigated the technical efficiency (TE) of the female crop farmers in Niger Delta, Nigeria. Stochastic production frontier approach and ANOVA models were applied to analyse the primary data collected on the 216 female farmers randomly selected from 18 communities of the 3 states in the Delta. It has been found that the farm size and the quantity of labour positively influence TE of these farmers. However, farmer’s age shows a negative sign implying a decrease in technical inefficiency in age whereas the years of schooling shows a positive sign implying an increase in inefficiency with schooling thereby a resulting decrease in TE with schooling. Farm efficiency level in Delta and Akwa Ibom States was not significantly different. However, TE level in both Delta and Akwa Ibom States was significantly different from Rivers State. Since, the age of farmers showed positive influence on TE, farmers should form group and organise regular meetings to enable share knowledge and experiences on the efficient use of farm resources in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria.
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Sanga, C., V. J. Kalungwizi, and C. P. Msuya. "Bridging Gender Gaps in Provision of Agricultural Extension Service Using ICT." International Journal of ICT Research and Development in Africa 4, no. 1 (January 2014): 1–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijictrda.2014010101.
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This article was designed to present the assessment of the effectiveness of radio - based, impact driven smallholder farmer extension service system provided by FVR to enhance accessibility of extension services to women and men in the project areas of Tanzania. Specifically, this paper assessed women and men farmers' access to ICT and factors influencing the utilization of ICT to deliver agricultural information and knowledge. The paper used data from impact assessment survey of the project conducted between April 2012 and June 2012. These data were complemented by focus group discussion involving members of gender advisory panel that had been established in the selected project sites. Quantitative data were analyzed to yield frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis. Even though ownership of mobile phones and radio was higher among women in all study areas both men and women farmers' had almost the same percentage in accessibility to agricultural extension information. The factors that affected women and men farmers to get quality agricultural information via these ICT tools were namely: poor radio signal reception, power outrage and poor timing of radio programs among others. This is important evidence that careful use of ICT can reduce gender imbalance in agricultural extension services and information delivery.
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Benjamin, Emmanuel Olatunbosun. "Smallholder Agricultural Investment and Productivity under Contract Farming and Customary Tenure System: A Malawian Perspective." Land 9, no. 8 (August 18, 2020): 277. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land9080277.
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Land tenure security, especially customary residence systems, is found to influence the agricultural investment decision-making and productivity of smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. However, as country-specific customary residence systems and farming models evolve over time, their impact on food security and livelihood remains unclear. This study investigates the impact of customary residence systems on both agricultural investment (in tea shrubs and agroforestry) and productivity among contracted smallholder tea outgrowers in Southern Malawi. A survey of 228 farmers was conducted in 2018, and a linear probability and ordinary least squared (OLS) models were used for the analysis. The results suggest that matrilocal residence practices positively influence agricultural investment. The study concluded that despite the dominance of matrilineal-matrilocal systems in Southern Malawi, there is a need for policy to address gender gaps in the region because women are still vulnerable and insecure even in these assumed women-friendly customary systems. It is recommended that future research explores other prevailing tenure security systems.
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Mohammedshum, Amina Abdelkadir, Chris M. Mannaerts, Ben H. P. Maathuis, and Daniel Teka. "Integrating Socioeconomic Biophysical and Institutional Factors for Evaluating Small-Scale Irrigation Schemes in Northern Ethiopia." Sustainability 15, no. 2 (January 16, 2023): 1704. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15021704.
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This paper characterizes and compares three types of small-scale irrigation scheme practices in Northern Ethiopia. A multidisciplinary survey approach, collecting information on socioeconomic, biophysical, and institutional aspects of irrigation by the smallholder farmers, was used to investigate and compare aspects of land, water use, and crop productivity, including farmer income and livelihood sustainability. The study was conducted in the Zamra catchment, a sub-basin of the large Tekeze river basin and Nile basin tributary. Three common small-scale irrigation scheme types, i.e., traditional diversion, modern diversion, and dam (reservoir) based irrigation, were compared using four pilot survey areas. From the total of 618 farmer households in the study areas, 242 farmers were selected using stratified random sampling and participated in the survey and research. More than 100 input data were collected from the farmers related to the biophysical, socioeconomic, and institutional factors affecting their work practice and livelihood. Focus group discussions were conducted with elders, the water users association committee, and women-headed households. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were used for quantitative analysis. The result indicates a significant difference between the three irrigation schemes. One important conclusion of this study was that the explanatory value of a single factor (e.g., biophysical), as commonly done in irrigation research and assessment, was seldom sufficient to explain water use, crop yield, and farmer income. Institutional and/or socioeconomic drivers also played an important role in the entire farming practice, income generation, and livelihood of the farmers. This study highlighted the value-added of the multidisciplinary approach (socioeconomic, biophysical, and institutional) for the evaluation of small-scale irrigation practices and livelihood analysis of agricultural smallholders in climate-affected regions, such as the Northern Ethiopian highlands.
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Jha, Prakash Kumar, Gerad Middendorf, Aliou Faye, B. Jan Middendorf, and P. V. Vara Prasad. "Lives and Livelihoods in Smallholder Farming Systems of Senegal: Impacts, Adaptation, and Resilience to COVID-19." Land 12, no. 1 (January 5, 2023): 178. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12010178.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had immediate and cascading impacts on global agricultural systems. In Senegal, the immediate impacts include inaccessibility of inputs due to disruption in markets and supply chains, availability of labor, and changes in crop and livestock management practices. To understand the range of impacts on the biophysical and socioeconomic dimensions of smallholder farming systems, a survey was designed to identify the risk factors, assess the impacts, and explore appropriate mitigation strategies. The survey was administered to 917 smallholder farmers in 14 regions of Senegal in collaboration with a national farmer’s organization and the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA). The sample was comprised of farmers (men and women) and was stratified in each region to ensure representation from all agroecological zones of the country. The survey examined variables such as access to inputs, ability to plant, impacts on yields, markets, labor, the gendered division of labor, food security, and community well-being. The survey response indicated that 77.7% of respondents experienced a reduction in access to inputs, 70.3% experienced a reduction in ability to plant crops during the planting season, 57.1% experienced a reduction in ability to rent farm machinery, and 69.2% reported a reduction in yields. Similar findings were observed for labor, market conditions, and adaptation measures to reduce the impacts on farming systems and household livelihoods. This study advances the research on characterizing risk factors, assessing the impacts, and designing mitigation strategies for strengthening smallholder farming systems resilience to future shocks.
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Kibirige, Douglas, Ajay S. Singh, Sotja G. Dlamini, and Sebenele Mavuso. "The Contribution of Business Management Trainings on Women Smallholder Farmers’ Entrepreneurial Spirit in Siteki Area of Eswatini." Journal of Agricultural Studies 8, no. 2 (March 2, 2020): 195. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/jas.v8i2.16120.
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Women make essential contributions to the agricultural and rural economies in most developing countries including Eswatini yet they are the most visible face of poverty. As a strategy of empowering women to up-lift them from abject poverty, “Luhlelo Lolunotsisa Temabhizinisi” (LULOTE) has developed business management training programs for rural women smallholder farmers to enhance their entrepreneurship spirit and skills. The LULOTE in English can be interpreted as a program that helps businesses to advance/prosper. It is a Non-Governmental Organization was established in 1986 in Eswatini to promote entrepreneurial culture and inspire entrepreneurs. This paper ought to find out the contributions of business management trainings on the level of entrepreneurial spirit and skills of women smallholder farmers as its main objective. Data was collected through the use of questionnaires and personal interviews with a sample size of 120 farmers. Descriptive statistics and the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) multiple regression models were used as methods of analysis. The results of this study indicate that most farmers interviewed were aged above 49 years, married (40%), and primary school dropout (mean of 6 years in school), spent an average of 10 years in farming and at least 50% on average indicated that farming was their main occupation. Results further revealed that the trained women by LULOTE had a higher entrepreneurial spirit than the non-trained women scoring an average index of 3.45 and 2.77, respectively. The LULOTE trained women also were rated higher with a 3.50 score compared to the non-trained rated at 3.01 scores. The determinants of level of entrepreneurial spirit among sampled women included age of respondent, level of education, farming as major occupation, and incomes from remittances. Determinants of level of entrepreneurial skills among sampled women included, farming income, off-farm income and previous job of the respondent. Based on the independent T-test results, there was a significant difference in the statements mean scores related to the level of farmers’ entrepreneurial spirit & Skills between LULOTE members and non-LULOTE members at 1% and 5% level. Therefore, the research concludes that LULOTE trainings greatly contributed to improving the entrepreneurial spirit and skills of the women. Since there is an observable positive result of training women, all stakeholders including government, private sector, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), among others should increase on the training programs for all farming age groups including the youth.
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Wang, Hongyu, Xiaolei Wang, Apurbo Sarkar, and Lu Qian. "Evaluating the Impacts of Smallholder Farmer’s Participation in Modern Agricultural Value Chain Tactics for Facilitating Poverty Alleviation—A Case Study of Kiwifruit Industry in Shaanxi, China." Agriculture 11, no. 5 (May 19, 2021): 462. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11050462.
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Market-based initiatives like agriculture value chain (AVC) are becoming progressively pervasive to support smallholder rural farmers and assist them in entering larger market interventions and providing a pathway of enhancing their socioeconomic well-being. Moreover, it may also foster staggering effects towards the post-era poverty alleviation in rural areas and possessed a significant theoretical and practical influence for modern agricultural development. The prime objective of the study is to explore the effects of smallholder farmers’ participation in the agricultural value chain for availing rural development and poverty alleviation. Specifically, we have crafted the assessment employing pre-production (improved fertilizers usage), in-production (modern preservation technology), and post-production (supply chain) participation and interventions of smallholder farmers. The empirical data has been collected from a micro survey dataset of 623 kiwifruit farmers from July to September in Shaanxi, China. We have employed propensity score matching (PSM), probit, and OLS models to explore the multidimensional poverty reduction impact and heterogeneity of farmers’ participation in the agricultural value chain. The results show that the total number of poor farmers who have experienced one-dimensional and two-dimensional poverty is relatively high (66.3%). We also find that farmers’ participation in agricultural value chain activities has a significant poverty reduction effect. The multidimensional poverty level of farmers using improved fertilizer, organizational acquisition, and using storage technology (compared with non-participating farmers) decreased by 30.1%, 46.5%, and 25.0%, respectively. The multidimensional poverty reduction degree of male farmers using improved fertilizer and participating in the organizational acquisition is greater than that of women. The multidimensional poverty reduction degree of female farmers using storage and fresh-keeping technology has a greater impact than the males using storage and improved storage technology. Government should widely promote the value chain in the form of pre-harvest, production, and post-harvest technology. The public–private partnership should also be strengthened for availing innovative technologies and infrastructure development.
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Iradukunda, Francois, Renee Bullock, Anne Rietveld, and Boudy van Schagen. "Understanding gender roles and practices in the household and on the farm: Implications for banana disease management innovation processes in Burundi." Outlook on Agriculture 48, no. 1 (March 2019): 37–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0030727019831704.
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Banana and plantain are one of the most important staple food crops and a significant source of income to smallholder farmers in the East African Great Lakes Region. Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) is a devastating bacterial disease that threatens smallholder production and livelihoods. We use a systems approach to describe how gender shapes roles and practices in the household, on the farm and in innovation processes. We draw on a case study in Burundi, where single disease stem removal (SDSR) has been introduced as a labour-saving package to reduce BXW incidence. Banana is grown by an estimated 90% of farmers, and BXW poses a critical threat to food security. We use qualitative data that include focus group discussions, interviews and transcripts from farmer learning group (FLG) discussions to describe gender norms, roles and practices and implications for awareness and uptake of SDSR in households. We identify gender patterns in innovation process, namely that men gain higher levels of access to information in FLGs than women and men are also primarily responsible for implementing SDSR. These patterns reflect gender-differentiated norms, roles and practices that are common in the household and in banana-based farming systems, thus demonstrating the ways that innovation processes perpetuate and reinforce common gender roles and practices. Women’s participation in FLGs, albeit lower than men, increases the potential of women to implement specific practices of the SDSR package. Systems approaches may be similarly used in different contexts where awareness and uptake of banana disease management packages, and other technical innovations, are not well understood. We found that gender norms, roles and practices significantly influence uptake of SDSR practices and warrant further investigation across the region, where smallholder uptake remains a pressing challenge to establish household food security.
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Chepkoech, Beatrice. "Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Potato Production Practices of Smallholder Potato Farmers in Molo Sub-County, Kenya." East African Scholars Journal of Agriculture and Life Sciences 5, no. 6 (June 19, 2022): 112–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.36349/easjals.2022.v05i06.004.
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Potato is the second most valued food crop after maize contributing to national domestic consumption and food needs in Kenya. Despite the ease in cultivation and fewer labor requirements, potato production in Kenya is not yet promising as compared to neighboring countries like Tanzania especially in the major growing areas like Molo Sub-County. Low potato in Kenya is due to several biotic and abiotic stresses. In order to develop appropriate interventions to improve production, it is important to first understand farmers’ characteristics, prevailing production practices, potato production constraints, and suggestions for improvement as it is important in providing the basis for addressing the numerous challenges that the farmers face. This study was thus carried out in Molo Sub-County, Kenya with the main objective of analyzing and documenting key information characterizing the socio-demographics of smallholder potato farmers, their production practices, potato production constraints, and their suggestions for improvement in the area. Data was collected from 152 smallholder potato farmers sampled randomly from the accessible population of 6000 potato growers. Data was collected using a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results indicate that 44.7% of the land in the study area was self-owned. 62.5 % of the farmers belonged to a farmer group. Majority of the farmers 48 % had 1 -5 years of potato farming experience. Literacy levels in the study area were high with over 92.8 % of respondents attaining formal education. There was a higher percentage of women respondents than men 52.6 % and 47.4 % respectively. In terms of age majority of the respondents were middle-aged. The potato variety most preferred and grown by the respondents was shangi. In terms of potato yields, the majority 78.3% had potato yields less than 5tons/ha. The major potato production constraints were high pests and diseases, high costs of inputs, and market ..........
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Thirunavukkarasu, D., N. Narmatha, and S. Alagudurai. "What drives the adoption of fodder innovation(s) in a smallholder dairy production system? Evidence from a cross-sectional study of dairy farmers in India." Tropical Grasslands-Forrajes Tropicales 9, no. 3 (September 30, 2021): 371–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.17138/tgft(9)371-375.
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The study in India involving 384 households found that 42.7% of dairy farmers adopted new forage varieties when varieties were released. The farmer’s resources, their caste, access to markets for milk and price received for milk had positive effects on the decision to adopt. Management of farms by women had negative effects on the adoption decision. Increased forage yield and ease of propagation and establishment were important reasons for adoption of varieties, e.g. the relative advantage of pearl millet × Napier grass (Cenchrus americanus × C. purpureus) vs. hedge lucerne (Desmanthus virgatus). Thus, researchers need to address these issues when developing new germplasm, if farmers are to readily adopt new varieties, especially in the case of resource-poor farmers.
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Deaconu, Ana, Peter R. Berti, Donald C. Cole, Geneviève Mercille, and Malek Batal. "Market Foods, Own Production, and the Social Economy: How Food Acquisition Sources Influence Nutrient Intake among Ecuadorian Farmers and the Role of Agroecology in Supporting Healthy Diets." Sustainability 13, no. 8 (April 15, 2021): 4410. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13084410.
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Rural Ecuadorians are experiencing a double burden of malnutrition, characterized by simultaneous nutrient inadequacies and excesses, alongside the social and environmental consequences of unsustainable agriculture. Agriculture can support farmer nutrition by providing income for market purchases and through the consumption of foods from own production. However, the nutritional contributions of these food acquisition strategies vary by context. We surveyed smallholder women farmers (n = 90) in Imbabura province to assess the dietary contributions of foods obtained through market purchase, own production, and social economy among farmers participating in agroecology—a sustainable farming movement—and neighboring reference farmers. We found that foods from farmers’ own production and the social economy were relatively nutrient-rich, while market foods were calorie-rich. Consumption of foods from own production was associated with better nutrient adequacy and moderation, whereas market food consumption was associated with a worse performance on both. Food acquisition patterns differed between farmer groups: agroecological farmers obtained 44%, 32%, and 23% of their calories from conventional markets, own production, and the social economy, respectively, while reference neighbors obtained 69%, 17%, and 13%, respectively. Our findings suggest that, in this region, farmer nutrition is better supported through the consumption of their own production than through market purchases, and sustainable farming initiatives such as agroecology may be leveraged for healthy diets.
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Matewos, Tafesse. "Climate Change-Induced Impacts on Smallholder Farmers in Selected Districts of Sidama, Southern Ethiopia." Climate 7, no. 5 (May 22, 2019): 70. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cli7050070.
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Different factors control the types of adaptive strategies and likelihoods of experiencing climate change-induced impacts by smallholder farmers. By using a mixed research method, this study examines the types and determinants of climate change-induced impacts on smallholder rural farmers in drought-prone low lands of Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Randomly selected (401) households were surveyed on climate change-induced impacts. Longitudinal climatic data were also collected from the Ethiopian National Meteorological Agency to assess the trend of rainfall (RF), temperature and drought incidents. The analyses of the data revealed that RF and temperature had shown decreasing and increasing trends, respectively, during the three decades under consideration (1983–2014). These changes in RF and temperature exposed farmers to climate-related epidemics, drought, harvest loss, and hunger. The logit model results revealed that different factors control the likelihood of exposure to climate change-induced impacts. The findings revealed that literacy level, involving women in family decisions and farmers’ involvement in adaptation planning, reduces the likelihood of exposure to climate change-induced hunger. Therefore, there is a need to work on human capital of the farmers through expanding education, strengthening women’s participation in family decision-making, and by improving public participation in climate change adaptation undertakings to minimize climate change-induced impacts.
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Kapeleka, Jones A., Elingarami Sauli, Omowunmi Sadik, and Patrick A. Ndakidemi. "Biomonitoring of Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) Activity among Smallholder Horticultural Farmers Occupationally Exposed to Mixtures of Pesticides in Tanzania." Journal of Environmental and Public Health 2019 (September 11, 2019): 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3084501.
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Biomonitoring of pesticides exposure has currently become a matter of great public concern due to the potential health effects of pesticides. This study assessed levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition and associated health effects in uncontrolled smallholder farming systems in rural Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was conducted of 90 exposed farmers and 61 nonexposed controls from horticultural zones. A structured questionnaire was administered, and a capillary blood sample of 10 μl was used to measure AChE activity using an Erythrocyte Acetylcholinesterase Test Mate Photometric Analyzer kit (Model 400). A multiple logistic regression model was used to investigate determinants of pesticide exposure. The study revealed that smallholder farmers are occupationally exposed to pesticides. Exposed farmers had significantly lower AChE levels. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) did not significantly reduce the likelihood of AChE inhibition. Women, younger and older farmers, and underweight, overweight, and obese farmers were at increased risk of AChE inhibition. Increase in age (10 years) increased likelihood of AChE inhibition by 6.7%, while decrease in BMI increased likelihood of AChE inhibition by 86.7% while increased pesticides contact hours increased risk of having lower AChE at about 3 times. The number of exposure symptoms (14.10 ± 7.70) was higher in exposed farmers than unexposed. Self-reported symptoms are confirmed to correlate to lower AChE. Prevalence of tiredness (71.6% against 15.5%), fatigue (64.8% against 27.6%), soreness in joints (59.1% against 20.7%), thirst (52.3% against 12.1%), skin irritation (52.1% against 17.2%), salivation and abdominal pain (50% against 8.6% and 31.0%, respectively), muscle weakness (47.7% against 24.1%), and memory loss (47.7% against and 29.3%) differed significantly between exposed and control. This study provides useful information regarding the level of occupational and environmental exposure to pesticides in smallholder horticultural production systems. Pesticides use needs to be controlled at farm level by developing pesticides monitoring and surveillance systems.
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Cheruiyot, Duncan, Charles A. O. Midega, Jimmy O. Pittchar, John A. Pickett, and Zeyaur R. Khan. "Farmers’ Perception and Evaluation of Brachiaria Grass (Brachiaria spp.) Genotypes for Smallholder Cereal-Livestock Production in East Africa." Agriculture 10, no. 7 (July 4, 2020): 268. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10070268.
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Brachiaria (Urochloa) is a genus, common name brachiaria, of forage grasses that is increasingly transforming integrated crop-livestock production systems in East Africa. A study was undertaken to (i) assess smallholder farmers’ perception on benefits of brachiaria in cereal-livestock production, (ii) identify brachiaria production constraints, and (iii) identify farmer preferred brachiaria genotypes. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for sample selection. Data were collected through semi-structured individual questionnaire and focus group discussions (FGDs). The study areas included Bondo, Siaya, Homabay and Mbita sub-counties in Western Kenya and the Lake zone of Tanzania. A total of 223 farmers participated in individual response questionnaires while 80 farmers participated in the FGDs. The respondents considered brachiaria mainly important in management of cereal pests (70.4% of respondents) and as an important fodder (60.8%). The major production constraint perceived by both male and female respondents is attacks by arthropods pests (49.2% and 63%, respectively). Spider smites had been observed on own farms by 50.8% of men and 63.1% of women, while sorghum shoot flies had been observed by 58.1% of men and 67.9% of women. These pests were rated as a moderate to severe problem. Xaraes was the most preferred genotype, followed by Mulato II and Piata. These genotypes are important in developing new crop pest management strategies, such as push-pull, and for relatively rapid improvements in crop management and yield increases, particularly in developing countries.
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Duijvesteijn, Naomi, and Louis Perrault. "180 How dual-purpose chickens can help African smallholder farmers." Journal of Animal Science 97, Supplement_3 (December 2019): 182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jas/skz258.375.
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Abstract Poultry constitutes an important economic activity for the rural poor in many African countries. Additionally in many rural families, poultry provides the family with a low cost, highly efficient and nutritious protein. Unfortunately, the smallholder farmers in rural areas often do not have access to these improved genetics. The access to an improved low-input and dual-purpose chicken to supplement the local indigenous breeds could transform the rural poultry enterprise. In some countries, investments are made to support the African Poultry Multiplication Initiative (APMI) or other comparable structures. The APMI generally operates through capable local private companies to establish a parent stock (PS) and hatchery operation for the supply of improved dual purpose chicken breeds to farmers in their communities. The day-old-chicks from the PS farm are transported to so called “Brooder Units” who will specialize in the brooding, feeding, and proper vaccination process for the first 30–40 days of the chicks life. Through this system, local smallholder farmers have access to improved genetics and the chickens have a high chance to survive due to their good start. Recently Hendrix Genetics received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to further enhance the use of improved poultry genetics in rural Africa. The program named “Sustainable Access to Poultry Parent Stock for Africa (SAPPSA)” aims to 1) secure access of poultry parent stock, 2) grow the APMI-like initiatives within and across countries and 3) improve the dual purpose better breeds for African smallholder farmers. By securing access to high quality PS and improving the breeding program of dual-purpose breeds under African conditions, the APMI can be better implemented in African countries. It will result in 1) increase poultry production and productivity, 2) increase rural household income 3) improved household nutrition and 4) empowerment of women.
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Monau, Phetogo, Kethusegile Raphaka, Plaxedis Zvinorova-Chimboza, and Timothy Gondwe. "Sustainable Utilization of Indigenous Goats in Southern Africa." Diversity 12, no. 1 (January 1, 2020): 20. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d12010020.
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Goats have a key role in ensuring food security and economic livelihood to smallholder farmers in rural areas. Women play a vital role in goat rearing, promoting economic autonomy within households. Indigenous goats dominate and are of high significance due to their adaptive traits that are relevant for climate change and low maintenance. However, lack of emphasis on farmer-centered technology development and proper breed characterization remains a hitch to sustainable utilization and breed development of indigenous goats. This can be over come through proper linkage between market and production, workable regional and national agricultural policies, community breeding programs, collaborative research work within the region, and consistent government support.
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Gikunda, Raphael Mwiti, Dennis Mongáre Ooga, Irene Nyanchoka Okiamba, and Samantha Anyuor. "Cultural barriers towards women and youth entry to apiculture production in Maara Sub-County, Kenya." Advancements in Agricultural Development 2, no. 2 (June 25, 2021): 73–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.37433/aad.v2i2.113.
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The study adds to extension education knowledge by revealing cultural barriers inhibiting the uptake of apiculture enterprise among women and youths in Maara Sub-County, Kenya. Data were gathered from twenty-three smallholder farmers selected through purposive sampling based on gender and age from Maara Sub-county, Kenya. Data were collected through the use of structured interview schedule. The study revealed that women and youths’ participation in apicultural activities hindered by cultural restrictions which included taboos, inheritance, traditions, and attitudes. The taboos inhibiting female farmers from engaging in apicultural production were; forbidding women from climbing trees, sitting beehives in apiaries, and honey harvesting. Traditions such as the belief that apiculture is meant for elderly men discouraged youths and women entrant to the industry. Only interested and older sons from the farm families could inherit apiaries in the community. A majority of female and young farmers were blinded by the negative attitude they had towards the enterprise hence they could not participate. Even though apprenticeship was the main channel of equipping farmers with apicultural knowledge and skills, personal experiences and social gathering played a vital role. Few farmers also acquired knowledge through formal schooling. Cultural restrictions need to be eased to attract women and young farmers in apiculture production. Extension education would also enhance the adoption of the farm enterprise through dissemination of modern beekeeping technologies.
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Kaluwa, Catherine, Jemimah Oduma, Faduma Abdullahi Abdirahman, Byalungwa Kyotos Kitoga, Angela A. Opondoh, John Muchibi, Brigitte Bagnol, et al. "Using the Women Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) to Examine Linkages between Women Smallholder Livestock Farmers’ Empowerment and Access to Livestock Vaccines in Machakos County of Kenya: Insights and Critiques." Vaccines 10, no. 11 (November 4, 2022): 1868. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10111868.
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Livestock diseases are a major barrier to productivity for both male and female livestock keepers in Africa. In Kenya, two of the most devastating livestock diseases are Newcastle Disease (ND) in poultry and Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in goats. Female livestock keepers tend to own more small ruminants (goats, sheep, etc.) and poultry and their livelihoods are adversely affected if their herds are not vaccinated against these diseases. Livestock farming has gender specific challenges and opportunities, with implications for the empowerment of women smallholder farmers, their household well-being, food security, and livelihoods. There is a need to estimate the level to which women benefit personally, socially, and economically from keeping livestock, yet there are very few studies that can measure if livestock production does in fact empower women smallholder livestock farmers. This study was done to examine linkages between women’s empowerment and access and control over livestock products and vaccines. The Women Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) tool, which was customized to include questions on livestock vaccine access, was used to capture baseline data on empowerment scores for women in Machakos county, Kenya, prior to implementation of animal health and vaccine test models. In total, 400 participants were surveyed in two wards of Machakos County, Kola and Kalama, which were purposively selected. Women’s empowerment was mapped to three domains (3DE): intrinsic agency (power within), instrumental agency (power to), and collective agency (power with) measured against adequacy in 13 indicators. Our results indicate that the household structure (female headed or dual headed household), age of respondents and number of members in a household influence the adequacy score. Work balance was the most significant negative contributor to women’s disempowerment. Women contributed the most to livestock productive activities and attained adequacy in this area compared to men, directly impacting the WELI score. Women smallholder livestock farmers report low CCPP and ND vaccination rates, minimal knowledge on livestock diseases, a lack of access to cold chain storage and rarely visited veterinarians. The WELI score was 0.81 indicating a high level of empowerment for women in this community compared to men leading us to conclude that the overall WELI score was not an accurate indicator of women‘s empowerment in Machakos County. However, the decomposability of the index allows us to disaggregate the drivers of change and to examine how individual indicators contribute to disempowerment.
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Jumpah, Emmanuel Tetteh, Emmanuel Kojo Tetteh, and Abdulai Adams. "Microcredit Repayment among Smallholder Farmers: What Microfinance Institutions Need to Know." Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development 8, no. 2 (November 7, 2018): 74–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.18488/journal.1005/2018.8.2/1005.2.74.91.
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Microcredit default among borrowers has been rising in recent years but empirical evidence to ascertain the factors determining repayment remain lacking especially in developing countries like Ghana. This study contributes to addressing this knowledge gap. The study used data of 224 microcredit borrowers from Ada West and Ada East districts to analyse factors determining repayment rate among smallholder farmer borrowers. Applying the logistic regression model, farmer and credit specific characteristics were used to analyse the determinants of microcredit repayment. From the logistic regression, age, gender, income, and number of dependants increase the likelihood of repayment. However, membership of farmer based organization, experience, interest rate, and duration of loan repayment negatively influences loan repayment. The study also found delays in loan disbursement resulted in loan use for unproductive ventures and repayment challenges. In addition, lack of training for borrowers on credit management, and investment procedures adversely impacted on loan repayment. The paper recommends that MFIs should institute measures to train borrowers on loan utilization, focus on women clients, since they have higher probability of repayment, reduce interest rate as well as putting in place mechanisms to reduce cost of operations.
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Abdulai, Yakubu, and Kenichi Matsui. "EXAMINING SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSTRAINTS OF SMALLHOLDER WOMEN RICE FARMERS: A CASE STUDY OF GARU AND TEMPANE DISTRICTS, GHANA." International Journal of Gender Studies 7, no. 1 (September 14, 2022): 30–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.47604/ijgs.1643.
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Purpose: Past studies generally agree that gender-based socio-economic constraints in the agricultural sector negatively affect the growth of the agricultural sector in Ghana and other African countries. The government statistics showed that the Upper East Region of Ghana experienced a substantial decline in productivity, but few studies have clarified what socio-economic factors actually contributed to this decline. This study attempts to identify these factors and the extent to which these factors affect women farmers.
Methodology: We conducted a preliminary field survey in Ghana among farmers and government officials and identified several possible factors, such as poor access to tractor services and improved seeds, the patriarchal traditional land tenure system, insufficient credit availability, limited extension services and lower fertilizer usage. On the basis of our preliminary survey, we designed a questionnaire to gain insights into local productivity and women’s roles. We selected ten farming communities in Garu and Tempane districts of the Upper East Region. Through purposive sampling, we distributed the questionnaire among 14 smallholder women rice farmers randomly from each community (a total of 140 respondents). We obtained valid answers from all.
Findings: The results showed that women rice farmers identified the following factors that had inhibited their production activities: obtaining credit from financial institutions (95%), the limited availability of extension services (85%), the high cost of fertilizer (78%), poor accessibility to certified seeds (74%), patriarchal land tenure system (63%) and poor access to tractor service (59%). We then conducted a multiple regression analysis and found that respondents’ education, rice farming experience and income significantly influenced how they identified these constraints.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Agricultural productivity has been largely framed within a context of agricultural science, breeding, or food security, but not so much within a context of gender studies. In many rural areas of northern Ghana, women remain invisible, inaccessible and marginal in terms of policy support, scholarly investigation, and socio-economic equity; yet they are the very backbone of Ghana’s agricultural economy. This paper offers locally ground insights as a result of long-term field experience that allowed us to reach many of these marginalized local farmers. Whereas abortion and pro-life choice can be some of the on-going concerns for women in developed countries, local farmers in our study area share with us somewhat different and unique insights on how gender equity can be interconnected to food productivity.