Impacts of agricultural development projects on gender relations in farming households
1. Impacts of Agricultural Development Projects
on Gender Relations in Farming Households
(A Case Study of Blantyre rural, Malawi)
Presented at the Agricultural Investments, Gender and Land in Africa Conference in Cape town,
South Africa
By
Loveness Msofi
2. Presentation Outline
▪ Background information
▪ Research problem
▪ Objectives
▪ Methodology
▪ Results and discussion
▪ Conclusions
▪ Recommendations
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3. Background Information (1/3)
▪ Agriculture remains the backbone of Malawi's economy. The sector contributes over 30%
to GDP, over 80% of the country’s employment most of whom are women.
(GOM, 2010)
▪ All the gender categories (men, women and youth) are involved in Malawian agriculture
though in different activities depending on the gender roles and the priorities of these
gender categories .
(Hirschmann and Vaughan, 1984)
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5. Background Information (3/3)
Worldwide, there are things that are no
longer a dispute, women are involved more
in agriculture and they spend more time
farming than men (World Bank, 1991; Saito,
Mekonnen, and Spurling, 1994)
In Malawi, 70% of full time farmers are
women (GOM, 2010)
GOM and NGOs have generated
interventions to empower women and to
improve their conditions in the agricultural
sector since their role is crucial for the
improvement of people’s livelihoods and
for economic growth of the country.
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6. Research Problem
▪ Donors have been called to mainstream gender issues in projects. But what is
not known is how such gender framing translate into project actions and the
impacts of such actions on gender relations.
▪ It was therefore the aim of this research to determine the extent to which gender
is mainstreamed in the projects implemented by the government and other
donors in the agriculture sector.
▪ The study involved a critical look at the gender components articulated in the
project documents of the selected projects, investigated the translation of this
articulation on the ground and also determined the impacts brought about by
the projects on gender relations at household level.
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7. Research Objectives
Main objective
•The main purpose of this research was to analyse the impacts of agricultural
development projects on gender relations within the farming households in the
rural area of Blantyre district where different agricultural development
programs/projects are being implemented
Specific objectives
•To analyse the gender components in the project documents of the projects being
implemented in the study area in relation to the situation on the ground.
•To analyse the gender relations existing among different gender categories in the
households in the study area.
•To understand the impact of agricultural development programmes on gender
relations in farming households in the study area.
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8. Methodology
Study area
Lunzu EPA and Ntonda
EPA - Blantyre
Respondents
Farmers = 58
extension workers =3
Sampling techniques
Purposive sampling
Systematic random
sampling
Sampling
plan
Data
Primary and secondary
Survey instruments
Questionnaire and
checklist
Data collection methods
Individual face to face
interviews, focus group
discussion and key
informant interviews
Data collection
SPSS
frequencies and
percentages, cross-
tabulations and Chi-
square
Statistical
analysis
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9. Figure 2: ASWAp Focus Areas, Support Services and Crosscutting Issues
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Description of the Projects
10. Irrigation, Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Development Project
▪ GOM project funded by the World Bank and
International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD)
▪ The major project development objectives are
▪ To raise agricultural productivity, and net incomes of
poor rural households in the targeted districts in a
sustainable manner by providing an integrated package
of support covering irrigation, agricultural/irrigation
advisory services, marketing and post-harvest support.
▪ To strengthen recipient institutional capacity for long-
term irrigation development.
▪ Components
▪ Irrigation Rehabilitation and Development
▪ Farmer Services and Livelihoods Fund (FSLF)
▪ Institutional Development and Community Mobilization
▪ Project Coordination Unit, and Monitoring and
Evaluation
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11. Gender Narratives in ASWAP and IRLADP
ASWAP
•Developing gender analysis and
mainstreaming at all levels starting with
focal points
•Providing gender training to frontline
staff
•Promote research and extension that is
gender sensitive
•Gender sensitivity during targeting
•Advocate for gender mainstreaming in
agricultural policies.
•Production of gender policy strategies
and enforcing the implementation
IRLADP
• Awareness on gender issues
during project community
sensitization and mobilization
• Gender data collection during
Participatory Rural Appraisal
(PRA)
• Identify gender empowerment
opportunities for vulnerable
groups and resource poor farmers
• Gender issues included during
targeting and monitoring
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12. Table 1: Gender Division of Labour Before and After the Projects
ACTIVITIES ASWAp IRLADP
Productive activities
Crop production
Livestock production
Before After Before After
Men and women All gender
categories
All gender
categories
All gender categories
Men All gender
categories
Men and
women
Men and women
Reproductive activities Women Men and women Men, women
and girls
Men and women
Community activities Men and women Men and women Men and
women
Men and women
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Results and Discussion (1/4)
13. Table 2: Control and Access to Resources and Benefits Before and After the Projects
GENDER ROLES ASWAp IRLADP
Before After Before After
Control over resources Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
Control over benefits Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
Access to resources Men and women Men and women Men and women Men and women
Access to benefits All gender
categories
All gender
categories
All gender
categories
All gender
categories
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Results and Discussion (2/4)
14. Table 3: Decision Making Before and After the Projects
DECISION ASWAP IRLADP
Before After Before After
Crops to be grown Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
Livestock to be kept Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
Selling farm produce Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
Buying farm equipment
and inputs
Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
How to use farm income
and other farm products
Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
Land use Men Men and women Men and women Men and women
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Results and Discussion (3/4)
15. Table 4: Impacts of the Projects on Gender Relations
Gender Relations ASWAp IRLADP
Gender division of labour Yes No
Control over resources and
benefits
Yes No
Access to resources and
benefits
Yes No
Decision making Yes No
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Results and Discussion (4/4)
16. Conclusions
▪ Gender narratives were well articulated in the ASWAp project document and they
give a clear direction for the implementation of the specific activities to address
gender issues and they are budgeted for.
▪ In the IRLADP project document, the gender issues are mentioned but they do not
give a clear guide for implementation and the only emphasis is on participation of
women in the project activities which cannot be clearly tracked on the ground.
▪ ASWAp unlike IRLADP has had an impact on the gender relations regarding
division of labour, control and access to resources and benefits and decision making
such that after the project, there is improved participation of the gender categories in
the different activities
▪ There are other very important factors such as culture which may have an impact on
the gender relations and other factors such as gender of household head which also
have a great impact on the gender relations.
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17. Recommendations
▪ To achieve gender mainstreaming the gender narratives should clearly be
articulated in the project documents including specific strategies and guidelines
for implementation which should be provided to the project implementers.
▪ The projects should also provide clear mechanisms to track the actual
implementation of the activities and the impact on the ground
▪ Other important factors such as culture should be taken into consideration when
planning for gender mainstreaming activities since they play a great role in
influencing the gender relations.
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