THEME: Women are more likely to control the income when livestock is marketed locally.

A study undertaken by IFAD in 1998 in Guatemala reviewed the impact of two IFAD-supported projects on household food security. Among the topics studied was livestock. The assumption was that where women managed the livestock, there would be a more direct impact on household food security.

Both the IFAD projects had promoted the purchase of animals through credit. Loans were targeted primarily to women’s acquisition of chickens and pigs, except in Buena Vista and San Martin, where the main thrust had been on the purchase of sheep. Animals were seen as providing both food for the household and a source of income, which could be used to buy food.

The study found a clear pattern of livestock ownership within the household and across communities. As in many countries, the general rule is that women control poultry and the smaller animals, such as pigs, and men the larger animals. Usually women do not manage larger animals such as cows and horses. As the study points out, there are probably good reasons for this. One is the fact that most Guatemalan women combine any livestock management tasks with other duties, such as childcare and household tasks. This is obviously easier with poultry and smaller livestock, which can be cared for close to the home, than with larger livestock.

There is variation among communities in the type of livestock owned. For instance, fowl are mostly owned by women everywhere, but pig ownership varies considerably across communities. In Buena Vista and San Martin, sheep are often considered to be owned jointly by the woman and her husband. Women claim a large share of the revenue generated from sheep-raising.

Fully 90% of women in all the households surveyed reported spending at least some of their time tending to livestock. In some communities such as Buena Vista and San Martin, where women co-own sheep, they were found to spend a considerable amount of time on livestock management, allocating up to 201 days a year to it.

Marketing of livestock more or less follows the same pattern as livestock ownership: women may market poultry and smaller animals, if such marketing can be done at local markets. Men market the larger animals, which usually has to be conducted at more distant markets. But it appeared that livestock were rarely marketed locally, except in one community studied, San Nicolas, which is close to roads and markets. Here, 40% of women were involved in livestock marketing. When poultry or livestock has to be marketed further away, the study shows that women often lose control over some or all of the income generated. Men take the livestock to distant markets and return, the women hope, with some of the cash from sales.

The study argues for development initiatives ensuring more direct access by women to livestock markets (for example, small local markets or cooperatives) to ensure that they have better control over the income generated.

Adapted from:

Calogero Carletto. 1998. Household Food Security and the Role of Women: IFAD’s Experience in Guatemala. Staff Working Paper Series on Gender and Household Food Security, No. 3. Rome: IFAD.