Annals of Arid Zone 44(3&4): 421-439, 2005

Gender Roles in Farming Systems: An Overview Using Cases from Ghana

1 2 3Ivy Drafor, Dagmar Kunze and Ramatu AI-HassanI Central University College. Box DS 2310. Dansoman. Accra. Ghana2 Food Security Officer - Monitoring and Evaluation. TCOS. FAD. Rome, Jta~v3 Agricultural Economics and Extension Department. University of Ghana. Accra. Ghana

Abstract: The situation of hunger and poverty continues to persist despite recordedeconomic growth and democracy in Ghana. This presents the challenge to addressthe problems of small farmers, who produce most of the food. The improvementin small farmer livelihoods calls for sustainable farming systems that include thefarm and non-farm economy and addresses gender perspectives for effective investmentpolicies and development strategies. Agricultural programs and services are moreeffective when they are targeted within particular farming systems. There are alsodifferentiated gender roles in farming systems with men and women playing vital,but complementary roles. Yet the limited access to, and control over resourcesby women compared to men, limits their productivities and therefore productivitiesof the whole system.

Key words: Farming systems, Ghana, gender concerns, lovelihoods ..

Given global demand for food and thelocal need to improve farmers' livelihoods,there is a pressing need for sustainablefarming systems intensification, includingthe associated local non-farm economicgrowth, to reduce hunger and poverty, whichincludes the agribusiness sector (Dixon andHitchcock, 2004). The zoning andcharacterization o(national farming systemsgeographically, demographically andculturally facilitates agriculturaldevelopment planning and policymaking.Availability of such information will beof value to the planning of the on-goingpoverty reduction program in Ghana.Poverty reduction has been a majordevelopmental agenda for the economy ofGhana since 1995 and this effort nowincorporates issues of vulnerability andexclusion.

The prominence of poverty reductionstrategies, combined with responses toglobal agendas, such as the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs), are havinga strong impact on how internationalorganizations are addressing developmentalprograms. Emerging' global trends, such asthe rapid spread and feminization of theHIV/AIDS pandemic, have also influencedthe efforts towards gender equality. TheWorld Bank recognizes that gender equalityis critical to development and to povertyreduction (World Bank, 2005). The MDGsinclude the eradication of extreme povertyand hunger, promotion of gender equityand empowerment of women, reduction inchild mortality, improvement in maternalhealth, environmental sustainability, andcombat of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and otherdiseases by the year 20 IS, all of which

DR:\fOR ('I af.

rcquire a close attention to women andto gender issues.

The purpose of this paper is to providean overview of the challenges of Africanagriculture in relation to gender roles infarming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa withexamples from Ghana. The discussionpresented in the paper is more focusedon women farmers as their contributionto farnling systems is often faced withchallenges from the social, cultural andinstitutional environment. Overlooking theircontribution has implications for foodsecurity. child education and efforts inpoverty reduction.

The Role of Farming Systems inthe Development of the GhanaEconomy

About 61 % of the population ofSub-Saharan Africa is classified asagricultural (World Bank, 2000). Foodproduction has failed to keep pace withincreases in demand for food by growingpopulations in most Sub-Saharan Africancountries. According to McCalla, thougha high percentage of the population isengaged in agriculture. the task of achievingfood security in Sub-Saharan Africa is stillimmense. While other regions improvedper capita food availability over the last30 years, Africa's food availability declined.Food security is also about access, whichmeans income generating employment iscritical (McCalla, 1999). Africa importsone-third of its food grains and nine ofits ten largest countries are net importersof food (Galdwin et al., 200 I).

The rural poor make up more than 75%of the poor in many Sub-Saharan and SouthAsian countries and studies on rural poverty

identify small farmers, the landless, women.nomadic pastoralists, artisanal fishermen,indigenous ethnic groups and displacedpeople as the most vulnerable groups inthe rural sector (FAO, 1997). Ghana's ruralpopulation is about 64% (UNDP. 2003)and out of the rural, small farmers. womenconstitute the majority. Agriculture providesabout 50% of GDP and more than 90'%of this production occurs in the traditionalsector where the average holding is lessthan 1.6 ha (Dowswell ef aI., 1996).

The situation of hunger and povertycontinues to persist despite recordedeconomic growth and democracy in manyAfrican countries, including Ghana. In 1999,out of the ten regions in Ghana, five regionshad more than 40% of the population livingin poverty, with the worst affected beingthe three northern regions and food cropfarmers. A study by the FAO indicatesthat Ghana is a low-income food-deficitcountry with per capita income of less thanUS$ 340 (Aggrey-Fynn et al., 2003).

What reasons explain the persistenceof hunger and poverty, despite the numerousprograms and interventions to improve thesituation? Understanding the dynamics offood production and availability can providesome facts that explain the existence ofthe problems, within the socio-cultural andinstitutional environments of foodproduction al)d availability. Many studieshave long established that food productionis generally undertaken by women farmers,(including Brown et al., 1995; FAO, 1998;200]) and men are more concerned withcash crop production. An analysis thereforeof the roles of men and women smallfarmers, the constraints they face, and thenature of programs designed to assist their

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 413

efforts can provide some insights into thepoverty and food problems of Sub-SaharanAfrica.

Types of Farming Systems

African smallholders have diversesources of livelihood including crop andlivestock farming and off-farnl activities.Dixon and Gulliver (2001) identified 15broad farnling systems in Sub-Sahara Africaand Ghana that fall within the tree crop,root crop, cereal root crop mix, and coastalartisan fishing systems. The adoption ofa particular farming system is influencedby the social environment, policyenvironment, institutional arrangements andsupport, and marketing and infornlationlinkages. Social networks affect the natureof farm enterprises that farnlers operate.

An FAO/World Bank study undertakenin Ghana to determine the effects ofglobalization on smallholders was carriedout in three intentionally selected farmingsystem zones that were highly populatedand economically important with differentlevels of market access (mainly high,medium and low market access). Bekwaiin. the Ashanti Region with high marketaccess represents the forest zone and hastree crop, cereal, roots and livestockcomponents in the farming system. In themedium market access zone, Offuman wasselected which represents the transition zoneand has tree crop, roots, cereals andindustrial crop components. The low marketaccess was represented by Walewale inthe Northern Region which belongs to theSavannah zone and has cereal, roots andtubers and livestock elements in the famlingsystem (Drafor et a/., 2003).

In most parts of Ghana, small-scalefarmers practice mixed cropping, but thereare a few isolated cases where monocropping is carried out. Farming systemsare general.ly cereal, root and tubers, treecrops, livestock, fishing and non-traditionalexport crops. The farming system practicesidentified in the Forest Zone consist ofmono cropping, mixed cropping and croprotation. Tree crops such as cocoa, oil palmand citrus start in a mixed cropping systemwith cereals and root crops until the canopycloses when it becomes a single crop. Withinthe mixed cropping systems, both croprotation and relay cropping are found inthe Bekwai and Offuman areas in theAshanti and Brong-Ahafo Regions ofGhana. Fallow periods for crop rotationare becoming shorter due to pressure onthe land and soil fertility problems continueto be of concern.

Cereal farming systems includemaize-based, sorghum and millet, and rice.Both men and women participate in thecereal farming systems. The roles differin the activities involved as discussed below.Women, however, hold individual use rightsover their personal cereal crop farms andmake decisions on the use of the money.While some cultivate the crops solely forhousehold consumption, others have surplusfor sale. Maize yields under farmers'conditions are low, often less than oneton per ha due to biophysical and socio-economic constraints such as weeds, pestsand diseases, unfavorable weatherconditions, low soil fertility in the faceof high fertilizer cost, poor infrastructureand high post harvest losses. The use ofpurchased inputs is limited to improvedseed and fertilizers and even those are

424 DRAFOR el al.

infrequent. However, according to MOFA(1998), Ghana has been among the world'slowest fertilizer consumers even during thedays of heavy subsidization

The northern savannah zone producesdryland crops mainly for local consumptionor processing, including sorghum, millet,yam and cotton. Rice and vegetables(tomatoes) are produced in some placesunder state irrigation schemes for nationalconsumption. Though Ghana has thepotential for increased rice production, highcompetition 'from imported rice presentsa challenge for local producers andprocessors of rice. The' quality of locallyparboiled rice is lower than that of importedrice and improvement in the quality oflocal parboiled rice will sustain the industry,which is a source of livelihood for smallfarmers, women processors and smallmillers. Unless the production and qualityof local rice is improved, rice will continueto be imported to satisfy quality demandsof consumers.

Root and tuber crop farming systemsinclude cassava, yam, cocoyam and sweetpotatoes. These are grown for food andcash an~ men and women participate inthe cultivation of these crops, but theprocessing of cassava into gari and tapiocais almost uniquely carried out by women.

Tree crop farming systems involve theproduction of industrial and commercialtree crops, especially cocoa, oil palm, citrusand rubber. Rubber production is oftentaking place through nucleus estate andoutgrower schemes. However, pricefluctuations for industrial crops constitutethe main source of vulnerability (Dixon

"nnd Gulliver, 200 I). Though cocoa is

generally considered as a 'male crop', Anarfi(2000) estimated that women produce about30% of the cocoa in Ghana. Ownershipof tree crops by women is limited thoughthere is no exact data available ..

The forest zone has ample rainfall andis suitable for tree crops for local orinternational processing such as cocoa,coffee, oil palm, rubber and cashew togetherwith tree crops for the national perishablemarket: plantains, banana and citrus. Treecrops such as mango and coconut areproduced in the drier coastal savannah zone,where maize, cassava, rice, pineapples forexports and sugar cane are also produced.

Livestock is a savings account amongfarmers in many parts of the country. Itis often kept to serve as savings towardsunexpected expenditure. Although there areclear linkages between different croppingsystems and livestock, the integration ofcrops and livestock is not at the optimum.Livestock ownership is variable, but a highproportion of farmers have animalsincluding cattle, small ruminants, pigs,rabbits and some poultry. Donkeys are keptin the savannah zone as draught animalsfor farm work and transport. The purposefor keeping the animals is for sale,consumption and to serve as security againstunforeseen needs. Women, may also ownlivestock, but in general they are involvedin the feeding of animals. Women are quiteoften involved with the fattening of theanimals.

The non-traditional export crop systemsinclude pineapple, papaya, banana, cashewnuts, cocoa waste, fish and seafood whichare produced and exported for foreignexchange earnings. In the case of pineapplegrown for export or local market,

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 425

thousands of smallholder farmers Insouthern Ghana have benefited from thepineapple business since 1990. Nonetheless,their livelihoods are threatened by changesin European market requirements and EUpesticide residue legislation. Women andthe youth have benefited from cultivatingtheir own pineapple plots and this has helpedwomen become increasingly economicallyindependent of their husbands and someyoung men are now returning from low-paidjobs in the towns to take up pineapplefarn1ing as a profitable career. On the otherhand, in the face of increasing productioncosts for pineapple, some women haveabandoned pineapple cultivation (Gogoe etal., 200 I). Their study indicated that whilemarital status had no effect on a woman'sdecision to grow pineapples, a woman'sposition as head of household did this toa large degree. Education level and accessto information favorably influencedadoption.

In fishing, women serve as transporters,processors and marketers of fish. Actualfishing is largely carried out by men inthe coastal area as well as inland waters .of Ghana. Women fishmongers have createdassociations for smoking, storing andmarketing fish, contributing to increasedprotein intake in the country.

Off-farm income generating activities:As mentioned earlier, the development ofthe non-farm economy is important forimproving the welfare of rural dwellersand it serves as one of the strategies ofescaping poverty. Differences in livelihoodstrategies lie in the differences in resourceendowment, institutional linkages and thediversity of activities undertaken byhousehold members. As focusing on one

cropping activity makes the· farmersvulnerable to economic and climatic shocks,most farmers are diversifying their cropenterprises to reduce their production andfinancial risks. However, crop failure ison the rise due to land degradation andpopulation growth coupled with varyingrainfall patterns that limit farmers to a singlecropping season in certain farm localities.As such, farmers trend to engage in non-farming activities to generate additionalincome to meet the current financialdemands.

Trading, fishing, processing ofagricultural products and other artisanactivities are carried out. Trading may bepracticed as an off-season activity tosupplement farm incomes. Most of theactivities are inter-related as income fromtrading could be used to finance agriculturalproduction and vice versa.

Processing oflocal agricultural and otherproducts has increased in many parts acrossall farming systems and market accessconditions in Ghana, but thrives on intensityof market transactions. Examples arecassava processing into gari and shea nutsinto shea butter that has an increased demand(Drafor et al., 2003). Other processingactivities include chips and tapioca; maizeinto flour/kenke; sorghum into beer; riceparboiled; cowpeaslbambara nut intoweaning flour; groundnuts and oil palmfruit into oil; and fresh fish into smokedfish. The processing is usually done bywomen through manual and arduousmethods, but high-yielding procedures. Menare also engaged in processing using manualor diesel-powered equipment. Theprocessing equipment may be manufacturedlocally, but may still be too expensive for

DRAFOR ('I a!.

procurement by individual farmers withoutsome credit or assistance in kind. The FoodResearch Institute under the Council forScientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)is developing new types of products.

Gender Roles and Famling Systems

Gender refers to socially and culturallydefined roles and attributes attached to eachsex, as well as to the relations betweenthe sexes. It is a central organizing principleof societies that often govern the processesof production, reproduction, consumptionand distribution. Gender approachesemphasize: a) the social construction ofmale and female roles rather than theirbiological distinctions: b) the gaps betweenwomen and men in all spheres of life;and c) the relations between men andwomen. Staudt (1994) states that genderplaces people at the center, women andmen. With its emphasis on how societyconstructs opportunities and life chances,it allows for differentiation among womenand men, for example, by age or income.

Gender roles and responsibilities aredynamic and men and women respond tochanging economic circumstances (Doss,200]). Though gender analysis representsa useful advance on previous attempts toconceptualize the social and economic livesof rural peoples in Africa, the complexityof the characteristics of different categoriesof women need to be taken into consideration(\V arneI' ('( al., ]997).

In most A frican countries, more than50lX, of the active female population workin agriculture. reaching 93% in BurkinaFaso, X7'Yc, in Angola, 9R% in Burundi,9(J'~Ic, in Malawi. and 92% in Mali and

Tanzania (World Bank, 200 I). Statisticaldata for Ghana show that women accountfor about hal f of the agricultural labor forceand produce around 70% of Ghana's foodcrops (MOFA, 2003). In Ghana. womenare involved in farm activities as \Veil asall household activities which include foodpreparation, cleaning, caring lar thechildren, fetching of water and lire\Voodgathering. Traditionally, men arc notexpected to involve themselves in muchof household work, especially in the ruralareas.

There arc differentiated roles in farmingsystems with men and women playing vital.but complementary roles. Women undertakeabout 90% of the food processing, arcresponsible for about 80% of food storageand from farm-to-village transportation ofproduce. Also, they carry out 90% of hoeingand weeding and 60% of harvesting andmarketing. Women are largely responsiblefor harvesting and post-han"est care ofproduce, especially storage of cereal cropsand their processing.

Due to the rural-urban migration of maleagricultural workers, avai lable laborresources become increasingly scarce. andwomen have to participate in activities thatwere traditionally dominated by men. Asmen move away and women remain, ruralareas are populated by ever-higherproportions of women (Huvio, 1998). InGuinea, the economically active labor forcebetween the ages of 20 to 49 have becomepredominantly women (F AO, 1995) whichcould be due to high level of migrationsof men to urban areas and death throughHIV/AIDS. Increasing male out-migrationfrom the rura I areas con Iirms that womenare becoming increasingly responsible, not

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 427

only for the family food supply, but fornational food security.

Women are the first to be concernedwith household food security and nutrition,acting as producers, processors andconsumers. They form a major part ofagricultural and livestock development, andhave proved to be the driving force inachieving project objectives and reducingpoverty. Therefore, increasing the economicstatus of the poor is largely concerned withenabling women to realize theirsocio-economic potential more fully andto improve their quality oflife (IFAD, 2000).Due to the vital role of women in ensuringfood security, achieving the first MDG -to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger- must focus on women and their workin agriculture because they are significantactors in the provision of food security.

Women belong to male-headed andfemale-headed households. About 53% offemale household heads in rural areas fallwithin the poorest 20% of the population.Three types of female-headed householdsexist in rural Ghana, namely de jure, defacto and polygamous households. De jurefemale-headed households are autonomoushouseholds headed mostly by widows orsingle women, de facto households areheaded by wives during the male head'sabsence for various periods of time withvarying degree of autonomy andindependence, and there are polygamoushouseholds where co-wives head economicsub-units within the household, which canincrease the percentage of households thatare !1eaded by females.

Migration has contributed to the risein de facto female-headed households,which has challenged the gender-based roles

of rural areas. On the other hand, ruralwomen, especially the younger women, alsomigrate to urban areas in search of workto earn additional income and to learn skills.

The significant involvement of womenin agricultural work and their extensiveeconomic contribution has not receivedmuch recognition. By and large, they haveremained as invisible workers. Throughoutthe 1980s and 1990s many researchers haveattempted to overcome this invisibilitythrough gendered empirical research studiesfocusing on gender analysis and genderroles. It is recognized that women standat the crossroads between production andreproduction, between economic activitiesand the care of people, and therefore betweeneconomic growth and human development(Blackden and Bhanu, 1998).

Some studies show that female farmersare just as productive as male farmers.One study, conducted in the Mossi Plateau

. of Burkina Faso, even found that femalelabor in farming was six times moreproductive than male labor (IFAD, 2005).Men and women in Ghana are faced withchanging roles as a result of thetransformation of agricultural enterprisesfrom subsistence-based farming tomarket-oriented production systems andactivities.

Contributions of Women Farmersand Issues of Inequality

Women farmers in small scale farmingsystems have contributed to food security,poverty reduction a~d overall householdwelfare. Their contributions to foodproduction, processing and post-harvestactivities have already been mentioned.

428 DRAFOR el at.

Crops in many instances are "gendered".In much of West Africa women are thecereal crop farmers (rice, maize, and beans)and vegetable farmers and some undertakethe production of export crops such as cocoa.However, men produce maize, but mainlyfor sale and dominate tree crop production.Traditional farm chores are also often"gendered". Land preparation is usuallyundertaken by men, planting is done bywomen and children with men assisting;weeding, harvesting, transportation andmarketing are primarily done by women.But women oversee the land preparationin female-headed households householdsthough it is mainly done by men.

The findings of an IFPRI study showedthat cocoa plays a vital role in the livesof poor women farmers in West Africa,who grow much of the world's cocoa(IFPRI, 2002). The study also indicatedthat small-scale farmers produce almost allthe cocoa grown in Ghana. Growing cocoaenhances the status of women in Africaand provides them with an important sourceof income. Cocoa is considered as animportant cash crop and the dynamics ofcocoa production makes it possible forwomen farmers to produce food crops inthe same farm (intercropping) till the cocoais mature and forms canopy. However, whenwomen grow cocoa, the additional incomethey earn is more likely to be used tomeet the family's basic needs of nutrition,healthcare and education than additionalmen's income earnings.

Besides, there is an increasing role ofwomen's contribution to household foodsecurity. Poverty and food scarcity cyclesin certain parts of Sub-Saharan Africa resultin disproportionate allocation of rural

household budget to food. Poorer farmhouseholds, due to poverty and lack ofappropriate storage opportunities arecompelled to sell their produce immediatelyafter harvest at very low prices. When theirsupply runs out, they are compelled tobuy the food at high prices due to thelean season. But where does the householdget money to purchase the food? Thedynamics of ensuring household foodsecurity goes beyond production andincludes ability to purchase food whenhousehold either does not produce it ortheir supply runs out. Women and childrenundertake off-farm income generationactivities such as providing labor serviceson other farms, petty trading, firewoodcollection, and whatever activity thatprovides some income to enable thempurchase food for the household. Thus,women remain poor and often have smalllandholdings partly due to demand on theirtime for other activities.

Owing to low level of agriculturalmechanization, the need for agriculturallabor is high. It is usually men who areresponsible for highly mechanizedlarge-scale cash cropping while women takecare of household food production andsmall-scale cultivation of cash crops, whichmay require lower levels of technology(FAa, 2001). Export opportunities are alsoincreasingly taken up by commercialfarmers. There are women who are involvedin large scale crop production but the focusof this paper is on small farming systems.

Challenges Faced by WomenFarmers

According to a World Bank report, thereis no region where women and men have

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 429

equal social, economic, or legal rights.Women continue to have systematicallypoorer command over a range of productiveresources (World Bank, 2000a). Men andwomen farmers are not homogeneousgroups and .their needs and priorities willvary according to different socio-economicfactors. Pasteur (2002) noted that thelivelihood needs of men and women arenot always the same, due to their differentroles, responsibilities and r~sources. Theimpact of different livelihood interventionswill also vary according to gender. Forexample, a technology designed to relievethe workload of men would need to ensurethat it does not result in an increase inthe workload of women, or vice versa.

Women's unequal access to resourcesis rooted in cultural and social institutionsas much as in economic processes (Coelhoand Coffey, 1996). In Sub-Saharan Africa,more women than men are too poor tobuy inputs such as fertilizer, and they arenot generally considered creditworthy byfinancial institutions (Rathgeber, 2003).Inequality in the distribut~on of resourcesand consumption of food within thehousehold makes women, in general, poorerthan men. Within the livelihood framework,women are disadvantaged with respect toeither assets or activities, or sometimes acombination of both, linked to inequalitiesof access to resources and income-generating opportunities (Ellis, 2000).

It is now well known that women arenot sufficiently included in developmentefforts or that these efforts are not plannedand implemented in a manner that willhave the desired impact on them. Theirrole in farming systems and decision-makingis not well understood, and the means of

increasing their access to and control ofresources are not sufficiently investigatedand addressed. There are constraints rangingfrom poor access to productive resources,market, knowledge gap, limitations incommunication and the policy environment.

Research in the past 30 years has shownthat women have less access to land andproductive resourc_es and when they workin paid employment, they receive lowerwages than men. At the same time, it hasbeen shown that women play importantroles in agriculture and food productionin most parts of the world (Rathgeber, 2003).If women had equal access to agriculturalinputs in Sub-Saharan Africa, where womenare a large proportion of farmers, totalagricultural outputs would increase by 5to 20% (World Bank, 2001).

The results of a rural poverty assessmentin West and Central Africa on productivityby IFAD indicated that lower yields shouldnot be interpreted as indicating lowerproductivity among women farmers.According to IFAD, gender differences inyields are not a result of biologicaldifferences in productivity between womenand men or how hard men and womenwork but factors such as intra-household,allocation of resources, women's difficultiesin accessing financial resources, women'sshortage oflabor as a result of their multipleresponsibilities and poor control of familylabor should be taken into consideration(IFAD, 2005).

Labor and time:' Labor and time aremajor constraints to women farmers,especially those in female-headedhouseholds. Time constraints are acute forfemale heads of households due to domesticresponsibilities, farm and off-farm activities.

·BO DRAFOR ef a/.

As stated by Ellis (2000), female-headedhouseholds tend to be smaller thanmale-headed households and therefore haveless family labor available for farm workand other income-generating activities.Women can only appropriate their ownlabor and that of their children and onlywomen who are heads of households aremore able to have access and control overhousehold labor. To cope, women reducethe crop area that can be cultivated orchange to less labor-intensive crops.

Use of child labor is more frequentin female than in male-headed households,which reduces the educational level andlife learning opportunities of the child.Women spend up to five hours a daycollecting fuelwood and water and up tofour hours a day preparing food, leavinglittle time for child care or other productivetasks (IFAD, 2000a). According to aUNAIDS report in 1999, intra-householdlabor reallocations and withdrawing ofchildren from school occur whereHIV/AIDS had led to the loss of an adultfamily member to alleviate the loss oflabor.

The results of a study on labor utilizationfor cash and food crops in Ghana showthat labor availability increases theprobability of a woman adopting pineappleproduction by 50%. However, an additionalsource of income decreases the likelihoodof a woman adopting pineapple by 18%as the additional income source mightimpose competing demand on the woman'stime and could also meet her cash needs(AI-Hassan and Egyir, 200 I).

Land: In all regions of the world, thereis evidence of significant gender disparitiesin land ownership (World Bank, 2005).Land ownership is an important issue in

forestry and agricultural development.Access to land and other resources arekey to basic livelihood especially in aneconomy that is predominantly agricultural.The domination of agriculture in Ghanasuggests the importance of land as basictool of development and a significantdeterminant of income earning power. Yet,most women are left with only usufructrights to land without title deeds that canenable them make long-term investmentdecisions on the land and also use landrights as collateral for credit which canbe used to make investments. Guaranteesnormally required by lending institutionsare I?nd rights, which rural women almostnever have.

Quisumbing and Meinzen-Dick (200 I)stated that rights to land and .houses conveystatus and power within the community,yet these resources are unequally distributedbetween men and women as a result ofsocial, cultural and traditional systems. Inmost parts of Ghana, women do not directlyinherit land, and their access to land isaffected by family linkages. Some ruralwomen receive land use rights from theirhusbands upon marriage and many use thisland to grow crops to feed the family.However, some women are able to obtaina surplus for sale. Such lands arc oftenlow in fertility, as they might have alreadybeen cultivated for several years.

Though the legislation and land reformin Ghana attempts no discrimination againstwomen, customary laws present severelimitations. An example is the policyguidelines of the National Land Policydocument on 'Facilitating Equitable Accessto Land', which did make mention effortsto improve women's access to land.

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 431

l

Credit: A study of rice fanners in Coted'lvoire revealed that \vomen are at adisadvantage in their access to creditservices, receive less for their output, andpaid more for their chemical fertilizers thanmen (Ade.sina and Djato, 1994). Womenare found to have lower yields than men,and the difference is attributed to the factthat women have less adequate access tocredit and essential inputs and education(Adesina and Djato, 1994). Yet, one ofthe important support services for increasedproduction is credit. Equity capital isusually insufficient to meet the expenditurerequirements for higher productivity andexpanded production

Many women fanners growing cowpeain Ghana have been unable to adoptimproved varieties because they lacksufficient access to cash for the insecticidesrequired (Williamson, 2005).

Lack of financial services IS one ofthe major constraints in fanningcommunities making it impossible for themto benefit from improved profitability ofthe cash crop sector. This is critical dueto the fact that input supplies are nowprovided by private traders after thestructural adjustment program and tradeliberalization. Access to financialinstitutions has not improved. Women havegreater difficulty accessing credit as theforms of collateral required by financialinstitutions are not available to them.

Traders, and entrepreneurs in non-agricultural activities attract credit moreeasily than those in agriculture due to thehigh risk in agriculture and lack of collateralsecurity by many small famlers. Certaintypes of smallholders, especially women

and poorer famlers, are finding it muchmore difficult to afford pesticides.

Education and extension service:'Agricultural extension agents are an

important potential source of infomlationfor men and women farmers, but moreso for women because of their generallylower levels of education. Female fannersdo not have access to extension informationnecessary for increasing crop yield. Fewwomen are agricultural extension agents,and agricultural research and extensioninstitutions rarely seek the expertise of localwomen fanners. When women receive thesame education as men, farm yields increaseconsiderably. But, women farmers stillreceive a small proportion of all agriculturalextension services worldwide.

Technology and information:Throughout most parts of Africa, femalefanners have less access than male fannersto machinery, fertilizer, credit and otherrelated financial services. Men tend to havegreater access to infonnation because theyparticipate largely in cash-based economywhere more infonnation is documented. Astudy by Doss (200 I) found that Africanwomen farmers are less likely than mento adopt improved crop varieties andmanagement systems.

HIV/AIDS: Globally, women account for48% of adults infected with HIV/AIDS,but infection rates are increasing morerapidly among females than among males.In Sub-Saharan Africa, 57% of thoseinfected are women. In many Africancountries, females aged 15-24 haveprevalence rates three titpes higher or morethan those of males of the same age(UNAIDS, 2004).

432

---------------------------------,

DRAFOR el al.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Ghanais about 3.8% (MOFA, 2003). Women areat greater risk than men (women's riskexposure is 2 to 5 times higher than thatof men). Factors contributing to their riskinclude polygamy, certain widowhood ritesand poverty among young girls. HIV/AIDSgenerates poverty, consumes resources,induces regional instability and contributesto exclusion because of the social stigmaattached to the disease.

Besides, women farmers are traditionallycaregivers and take care of family memberswho are afflicted with the disease, placingan additional burden on their time and laborneeds.

Interventions for Women inAgriculture

Governments have realized how centralthe agricultural sector is to their broadereconomic and social development.However, hastily implemented adjustmentpolicies and declining donor support havemade Africa's agricultural revival moredifficult, especially in the continent'slow-income, food-deficit countries.According to McCalla, encouraging signsexist, in that, a growing number of Africancountries have undertaken policy reformsand institutional changes that move in adirection of encouraging the millions ofsmall farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa tobe productive and profitable in theiractivities (e.g., Uganda, Tanzania andGuinea) (McCalla, 1999). The scope andintensity of the interventions and theirimpact on the various types of farmersis a matter of debate.

The benefits of agricultural developmentinterventions have been taken over by

better-off and more powerful members ofthe household and community. Womenoften need to adopt strategies that allo\\'them to bypass gender constraints to enablethem have access to land, capital and otherproductive resources, which may not benecessarily profitable. This is because thetransformation of traditional farmingeconomies into modernized small farminghas cultural implications, includingimportant changes in indigenous patternsof gender relationships within the householdand the community.

In Ghana, a number of programs havebeen designed to support small farnlers,improve their productivity and empower

'them; including micro-credit, supply ofequipment for small-scale processing, andsupport for group formation. Some of theinterventions are government initiatives whileothers are from international organizationsand NGOs. A Ministry for Women andChildren Affairs (MOW AC) was establishedin the current government to address specificissues relating to women. Many interventionsdirected at women are also directed to malesmall farmers except in the case of theMOW AC initiatives that are exclusively forwomen farmers and traders.

The Women 111 AgriculturalDevelopment (WIAD) have developed aGender and Agricultural DevelopmentStrategy (GADS) which is to addressgender and rural livelihood issues withinthe agricultural sector; serving as a guidefor addressing the challenges of womenin agriculture (MOFA, 2003).

Women are creating small businessactIvItIes and off-farnl' income generatingactivities that can help support their

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 433

agricultural investments and escape poverty,while ensuring food security. Civil societyand NGOs are providing trainings to acquireskills and financial assistance for small tomedium enterprises owned by women(NETRIGHT, 2004). A Social InvestmentFund (SIF), which is a vehicle formulti-donor funds, has providedmicro-credit to small farmers for groupproduction of products including pineapples,pepper, mushrooms and honey. The SIFhas a female representative on the DistrictSub-Project Review and ApprovalCommittee.

The Ministry of Women and ChildrenAffairs established a special micro-financefund to provide working capital for womenentrepreneurs who are disadvantaged inaccessing loans from the traditional banksknown as the Women Development Fund.The fund also seeks to contribute to theefforts of poverty "alleviation and theGovernment of Japan provided 26.5 millionUS dollars to initiate this effort. The fundencouraged women to form groups andthe groups were to open an account witheither a Rural Bank or the AgriculturalDevelopment Bank. This was one of therequirements that entitled them for a loanwith an interest rate of 20% as opposedto the normal 40 to 50% charged byconventional banks (MOW AC, 2003). Theamount given to women ranged from500,000 cedis to one million cedis (I US$is equivalent to 9000 Ghanaian cedis). Thisamount is not sufficient to enable womenmeet the cost of production to improveon productivity and incomes. Input priceshave even increased in the current economydue to price deregulation of the structuraladjustment program and trade liberalization.

An institutional credit was operated byIFAD/SCIMP in four districts in the VoltaRegion of Ghana within 1996/97 croppingseason. Under the scheme, the AgriculturalDevelopment Bank (ADB) granted loansto both male and female beneficiaries whowere involved in farnling and processingactivities. The farmers were mainly foodcrop farmers who cultivated maize, cassavaand yam. This project is laudable in targetingsmall-scale food producers, most of whomare women. However, the project couldnot meet the minimum financingrequirement of the beneficiaries to enable.them procure the required production inputsor pay labor and other expenses that couldresult in increased profitability.

The Ministry of Women and ChildrenAffairs also purchased 200 cassavaprocessing machines for distribution towomen in cassava growing communities forgari production. Fifty women were to workon one machine. Tomato processing machinesand groundnut and· shea butter machineswere also purchased for distribution. Thenumber of women covered with theseinitiatives is few and there is a need toextend these initiatives to other women.

Though there has been number ofinterventions, lack of gender disaggregateddata as well as consolidated data on womendoes not provide the opportunity forappropriate targeting and effective site andfarmer selection processes for any of thedescribed farming systems. The cultural andinstitutional environment and lowrepresentation of women at decision-makinglevels have resulted in the persistence ofthe challenges.

Low budget allocation to the agriculturalsector has also contributed to the

434 DRAFOR et .al.

ineffectiveness in achieving desired resultsfor intervention efforts. There is continua]fe]iance on donor funding for many projects.Some projects are discontinued once donorfunding is over, and the timeliness of therelease of funds have also affected theeffectiveness of project implementation andachievement of target. The agricu]turalsector received 3.03% of the total nationalbudget in 2004 and 4.02% in 2003. Thenational budget allocation for theagricu]tural sector in Ghana was 34.4 billioncedis (about 3.78 million US dollars) in2004 of which government contributes36.2%, an amount that is used for personnelemoluments, administration, services andinvestment.

In addition to the limited budgetallocation to agriculture, there is a highfocus on the industrial and service sectorsand there is still a way of thinking towardsagriculture that present it as a less profitablebusiness option. It must be stated that iffor example, the government does notunderstand that improving the state ofwomen farmers is important, it does notmatter. how many programs areimplemented; the status of women farmerswill not be improved. The government andpolicy makers need the will to addressthese issues. As long as small farmeragriculture is considered a less profitablebusiness option, credit difficulties willcontinue to persist.

The international donor community hasbeen criticized for focusing too much onmacro level development instead of focusingon micro level with the option ofempowerment of the people at thegrassroots. There is now an increasingawareness of the implications of leaving

out women and the poorest fromdevelopment plans. According to Pinstrup-Andersen (1994), hunger associated withfailure to effectively integrate the poor andvulnerable' groups into the economicdevelopment process is evident and willaccelerate unless policies to alleviatepoverty, generate employment, and raise[rural] incomes are vigorously pursued.

The Way Forward for Enhancingthe Role of Women

The way forward discusses the natureof interventions and issues relevant forenhancing the role of women. Somequestions that need to be addressed areworth asking. For example, in the faceof globalization, what will be the fate ofwomen farmers in the next ten years? Willtheir economic activities continue to berelevant and what would be the extent ofmarket integration?

A recent World Bank report presentedat the 49th Session of the United NationsCommission on the Status of Womenshowed that disparities between men andwomen remain pervasive around the world- in resources and economic opportunities,in basic human rights, and in political voice- despite significant gains in some areasand countries. These disparities are stronglylinked to poverty and ignoring them comesat great cost to people's well-being andto countries' abilities to grow sustainablyand govern effectively (World Bank, 2005).

More attention should be paid to theagricultural sector than that exists in presentreports and program designs. Developmentprograms continue to eliminate poor ruralhouseholds as a result of the design andthe criteria for farmer selection. Yet food

GENDER ROLES 11'\ FARMING SYSTEMS

poverty is more prevalent in the rural thanurban areas, and povel1y is linked withaverage family size and dependency ratios,which are higher in rural than in urbanareas (World Bank, 1997). The GhanaGovernment and World Bank policies caneasily exclude the rural poor, especiallywomen, from the development plans andprocesses. While farmers in Ghana havelittle or no assistance to provide all theagricultural products needed for food, tofeed livestock, to feed agro-based industriesand meet export requirements, manyindustrialized countries provide largesupport to their agricultural producers.

Identifying policies, processes andinstitutional factors which can bestcontribute to improving gender-basedfarming systems will enhance householdand national food security, overallhousehold welfare and rural povertyreduction. Though some progress has beenmade in supporting the role of gender infarming systems, the scope and intensityare still challenged. Some of the persistingchallenges can be attributed to lack of genderdisaggregated data within farnling systems,and the socio-cultural and policyenvironment.

In African agriculture, discussion offarming systems needs to include genderroles due to the context in which theseroles persist. The cultural and institutionalnorms.. are hard to overlook. Consideringfarming systems through a gender lensmakes it possible to identify developmentapproaches that may act against women'sinterests. As mentioned earlier, most Africancountries are agriculturally-based, yet areunable to match per capita food productionwith population growth rates. Understanding

the roles of men and women small farmersand the contributions made by womenfarmers towards reduction of hunger canprovide insights into planning and designof interventions in the sector.

As stated by Haddad (1999), ifprogramsthat aim to increase women's income todaycan increase women's status within thehousehold, then the returns to thoseprograms tomorrow could be profound interms of lowered fertility, improved childsurvival, and increased human capital. Astudy by AI-Hassan and Jatoe (2003)concluded that policies and strategies thatenhance incomes of the poor and facilitatethe production of farm non-tradables aremost likely to generate the greatest impacton growth and poverty reduction.

For example, because women onen havea small political presence on communitycouncils, agriculture extension programsmay be perceived as male spaces and localagrarian organizations and institutions maybe based on male hierarchies. Also, genderanalyses have made clear that ,Illen andwomen often manage, use and controlnatural and agricultural resourcesdifferently. By understanding thesedifferences, and the gendered powerrelations behind them, agricultural programsand policies will achieve greater equityand efficiency (Rojas, 2004).

Women's low..participation in nationaland regional policy-making, theirinvisibility in national statistics and theirlow participation in extension services havemeant that the issues that concern wonlenmost have been neglected in the designand implementation of many developmentpolicies and programs (FAG, 1996). Thoughrural women and men are both active agents

DRAFOR ('I al.

In agricultural and rural development,women have not received the desiredbenefits from development programs thatprovide agricultural support systems tofarmers. Moreover, agricultural and ruraldevelopment policy and planning often donot reflect and address the di fferent rolesand needs of rural women and menadequately. Available gender informationon farming systems and conscious effortsto improve women's participation at policyand decision-making levels can improvethe ability of male and female farmers toplay their complementary roles effectively.

Direct access to land is particularlyrelevant to women in female-headedhouseholds in order to facilitate access toagricultural support services, as many typesof development initiatives and programsseek out only heads of households withsecure tenure status. The same applies toadoption of certain technologies that requirelong-term land commitments including therubber project in the Western Region ofGhana where the outgrower scheme requiresparticipating farmers to have a long termaccess to land.

Improving women's access to land willenhance their ability to participate in theon-going programs such as the PresidentialSpecial Initiative in oil palm. Otherwise,women will continue to p~rticipate onlyby transporting the palm fruits to millsand working at the mills. According toCrowley (200 I), rural women claim thatsecure land rights increase their social andpolitical status, improve their sense ofself-esteem, confidence, security, anddignity.

A study by McCalla (1999) concludedthat meeting future requirements in Africa

and the world will reqUIre sustainableintensification of complex productionsystems, appropriate national andinternational policies and continuedinvestments in agricultural research. Thequestion of sustainability cannot beoveremphasized in the face of highdependence on donor funding foragricultural projects that are targetedtowards improving farming systems andagricultural productivity. The policyenvironment that is based on the findingsof national level agricultural research willbe relevant in the years ahead. Currently,the link between policy formulation andagricultural research is not strong.

Conclusion

Though the recognition and integrationof gender concerns into various nationaland international policies and programs haveincreased in recent years, there is morework to be done. In the agricultural sector,gender roles present challenges in achievingfood security, improving householdincomes, and reducing poverty. When aneconomy is primarily based on theagricultural sector, an increased attentionshould be paid to gender issues and rolesof male and female farmers and theirparticipation in different farming systems.

There is the need to improve farmerlivelihoods, which calls for sustainablefarming systems. Gender relations infarming systems are important for theachievement of vital indicators of economicdevelopment. Women operate withinparticular farming systems and often underdifferent conditions than male farmers. Assuch, agricultural programs and services

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 437

are more effective when they are targetedwithin particular farming systems.

More importantly, measures need to betaken to intensify women's agriculturalproduction by improving women's accessto inputs such as land, credit, laborappropriate technology, extension andeducation. Most women farmers arevulnerable and require policy support thatenhances their access to resources.Empowerment of women through anincreased representation on policymakingplatforms and decision-making levels iscritical to enable them voice out theirconcerns at al] levels. Education andimprovement in the status of women areable to have an impact on developmentobjectives of poverty reduction, foodsecurity, family planning and effectiveeducation of children.

Further studies that focus on gender rolesand farming systems at the national level,mapping out the diverse livelihood activitiesundertaken by women, men and farmer.groups will inform policy formulation andtargeting of development initiatives. Thestudy would need to be carried out in themajor agro-ecological zones, identifying themajor farming systems, determining thespecific roles performed by men and womenfarmers in those systems, and the specificinterventions that will result in improvingproductivity. Generalization of theagricultural sector in terms of gender willcontinue to produce erroneous results fromdevelopment projects and programs. Themajor farming systems can become ruraldevelopment domains. Further studiesshould also validate the degree of constraintsoften mentioned and their intensity on maleand female farmers.

ReferencesAdesina, Akinwumi A. and Djato, Kouakou K. 1994.

Gender and Relative Farm EJ.ficie/l(Y: AreWomen Less t.ljlcient Than Men in Rice Farmingin Cote d 'Ivoire'! WARDA Annual Report

Aggrcy-Fynn, Emmanucl, Banini, Godsway, AndreCroppenstedt, Owusu-Agyapong, Yvonne andOduru, George 2003. E\'plaining Success inReducing Under-Nourishment Numbers inGhana. The ESA Working Paper No. 03-10.FAO, Rome.

AI-Hassan, Ramahl and Jatoe. John Baptist 2003.Agriculture and POl'er(l' Reduction in Ghana.Papcr for FAO on Roles of Agriculture.

AI-Hassan, Ramatu and Egyir, Irenc S. 200 I. Effectof' Cash Crop Production on Food SUpp~1'andLabour Utilisation. A Rcsearch Rcport prcsentcdto SADAOC Rcsearch Program.

Anarfi 2000. African Women and Agriculture inthe Era of HIV/AIDS - A Crucial Agenda jill'Food SeCUri(l'.

Blackden, M. and Bhanu, C. 1998. Gender Groll'thand POl'er(v Reduction in Sub-Saharan AfricaSPA Report, World Bank Report.

Brown, R. Lynn, Feldstcin, Hilary, Haddad,Lawrence, Pena, Christine and Quisumbing.Agnes 1995. Generating Food Security in theYear 2020: Women as Produce/:~, Gatekeepers.and Shock Absorbers. IFPRI Brief 2020, No.17 .

Coelho, Kearn and Coffey, Michael 1996. GenderImpacts on Policy. SO Dimensions on Womenand Population analysis. FAO, Rome.

Crowley, Eve 2001. Empowering Women to AchieveFood Security: Land Rights. IFPRI 2020 Focus6, Brief 2 of 12.

Dixon, 1. and Gulliver, A. and Gibbon, D. 200 I.Farming Systems and p()I'er(v: ImprovingFarmers' Livelihoods in a Changing world.FAO and the World Bank. Romc andWashington.

Dixon, John and Hitchcock, David 2004. SustainableFarming Systems Intpnsification in East :lji-ica.FAO, Rome.

Doss, Cheryl R. 2001. Dcsigning agriculturaltechnology for African women farmcrs: Lessonsfrom 25 years of experiencc. World Del'elopmelll29( 12): 2075-2092.

438 DRAFOR ('I lIl.

l

Dowswell. Christopher, R., Paliwal, R.L. and Cantrell,Ronald P. 1996. Maize in the Third World.Westview Press Inc.

Drafor. I., Kwadzo, G. and Fialor, S. 2003.Glohalisation. Structural Adjustment andSmallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ghanareport for FAO/World Bank.

Duncan, Beatrice Akua and Brants, Caroline 2004.Access to and Control Over Landfrom a genderPel'.lpective: A Study Conducted in the VoltaRegion of Ghana. Supported by FAO, SNV,and Women in Law and Development, Accra.Ghana.

Ellis, Frank 2000. Rural Livelihoods and Diversityin Developing Countries. Oxford UniversityPress.

FAO 2001. FAO Gender and development plan ofaction (2002-2007). Thirty-first Session of theFAO COI!ference, Rome, 2-13 November 2001.FAO, Rome.

FAO 1998. Women and Sustainable Food Securi(v..fao.org/ WAICENT/ FAOINFO/SUSTDEV/FSdirect/FSdoeOO I .htm.

FAO 1997. Report on the World Food Summit.13-17 November, 1996. FAO, Rome.

FAO 1996. Women. Agriculture and RuralDel'e1opment - Findings of an FAO study inAfrica. SD Dimensions.

FAO 1995. Femmes dans Ie Secteur Agricole enGuinee. FAS Service National des Statistiquesagricoles.

IFAD 2005. Productivity of Women Farmers in Westand Central Africa www.ifad.org/gender/learning/sector/ agriculture/59.htm.

IFAD 2000. Gender Perspective: Focus on the RuralPoor. An Ol'erview of Gender Issues in IFAD-Assisted Projects.

IFAD 2000a. IFAD's Gender StrengtheningProgramme in Eastern and Southern Africa.

IFPRI 2002. News Advisory. February 2002.

ISSER 2004. The State of the Ghanaian Economy.Instit/lle of Statistical, Social and EconomicResearch, University of Ghana, Legon~ Accra.

Galdwin, Christina H., Thomson, Anne M., Peterson,Jennifer S. and Anderson, Andrea S. 2001.Addressing food security in Africa via multiplelivelihood strategies of women farmers. FoodPolic)' 19(3): 177-207.

Gogoe, Seth, Dekpor. Angie and Williamson,Stephanie 200 I. Prickly issues for pineapplepesticides. Pesticides NeIl'S No. 54, December200 I. pp. 4-5.

Haddad, Lawrence 1999. The income earned bywomen impacts on welfare outcomes.Agricultural Economics 20: 135-141.

Huvio, Tiina 1998. Women's Role in Rice Farming.SD Dimensions on Women and Population. FAO.Rome.

McCalla. Alex F. 1999. Prospects for food securityin the 21st Century: with special emphasis onAfrica. Agricultural Economics 20: 95-103.

MOFA 2003. Gender and Agricultural Del'e1opmentStrategy (for Action). Ministry of Food andAgriculture. Accru, Ghana.

MOF A 1998. Ghana: Cassal'G. Yam and Mai::eSuhsector Study. Working Paper I. Maize.Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Accra. Ghana.

MOW AC 2003. Japanese Fundfor WOInen in Ghllna:Operational Guidelines. Ministry of Womenand Children's Affairs.

NETRIGHT 2004. Ghana NGO Alterna/h'e Reportfor Beijing + 10. Network for Women's Rightsin Ghana.

Pasteur, Kath 2002. Gender Analysis for SustainahleLivelihoods Frameworks. Tools and Links toOther Sources.

Pinstrup-Andcrsen. Per 1994. Enough Food for r:utureGenerations: Choices Maga::ine. Third Quarter.

Quisumbing, Agnes R. and Meinzen-Dick. Ruth S.200 I. Empowering Women 10 Achiel'e FoodSecuri(I': Overview. rFPRI 2020 Focus 6. BriefI of 12.

Rathgeber, Eva 2003. Dr)' Taps Gcnder and p{J\'er(l'in Water Resource Management. FAO. Rome.

Rojas, Mary Hill 2004. Agriculture: Gender Makesthe D!Oerence. Reviewed by: Melissa Thaxton.Silvia Lara, Connie Campbell and LorenaAguilar

Staudt, Kathleen 1994. Tecllllicl1l Assistan('c andWomen: Frum Mainstreaming TOl\'ardInstitutional Accountability. FAO. Rome.

UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme onHIV/AIDS) 2004. Women and HI VIAIDS:Confronting the Crisis. http://www.unaids.org.

UNDP 2003. World Development Report.

GENDER ROLES IN FARMING SYSTEMS 43'1

Warner, Michael, AI-Hassan, Rarnatu and Kydd,Jonathan 1997. Beyond Gender Roles?Conceptualising the Social and Economic Livesof Rural Peoples in Sub-Saharan Africa. SomeEvidence from Northern Ghana. Developmentand Change 28: 143-168.

Williamson, Stephanie 2005. Feeding The NextGeneration Without Pesticides: A Study on PestManagement Strategies and Food Security ofAji'ican Farmers. University of Essex, UK.

World Bank 1997. Taking Action to reduce Povertyin Sub-Saharan Africa. The International\ Bankfor Reconstruction and Developmentffhe WorldBank. Washington, DC.

World Bank 2000. Can AjNca Claim the 1/"'(Cellfl/lJ'? World Bank, Washington, DC.

World Bank 2000a. Engendering Developmellfthrough Gender Equali~v in Rights. Resourceand Voice. A World Bank Policy ResearchReport.

World Bank 2001. Engendering De\'c!0plI/enl:Through Gender Equality in Rig/us. Resources.and Voice. New York: Oxford University Press.

World Bank 2005. Improving Women's Lives: WorldBank Actions Since Beijing The World BankGender and Development Group. January 2005.