Zambia: How women farm in Chimbombo

THEME: The productivity of women farmers in Chimbombo is hampered on all fronts.

In 1997 IFAD, FAO and the Government of Japan carried out a study of agricultural implements used by African women farmers. Two areas of the Chimbombo District of Zambia were included in the study. The focused discussions with women and men in these areas provided a view of farming practices and tools in central Zambia. The study found that women play an increasing role in all aspects of agriculture in this area, but lack the proper agricultural implements.

By one estimate, some 60% of Zambian farmers are women, and women do as much as 80-90% of the work on the land. Twenty-five percent of households are female headed. Locally, it was felt that the death of many men from HIV/AIDs was one possible causal factors in women’s becoming increasingly active in farming. The illness or death of parents may also be a stimulus for children’s active role in farming.

In this area, the land available to the household is normally divided into three kinds of plots: men’s, women’s and children’s. At first, children’s plots are collectively farmed. Children may be given their individual plots when they are older. Except for groundnuts and cassava, men grow mainly cash crops, and women grow food for the family. According to the study, plots are worked collectively most of the time. But at harvest, it is the owner who controls the resulting income.

Women do almost all tasks except for de-stumping and land-clearing. When animal traction is available, the theory is that men will use it to plough everyone’s plots. But this does not work in practice. Most women farmers do not benefit from animal traction; women do most of the heavy work by hand. The findings of the study on animal traction are contrary to the assumption that members of poor rural households share whatever resources they have.

There are a number of reasons why women’s direct or indirect access is so severely limited, some of which also apply to men farmers’ limited access:

So many oxen have died from tick-borne (Corridor) disease in this area in recent years (almost two thirds of the cattle population or even more) that animal traction has virtually disappeared. There may also be a food gap.
The implements previously used (ploughs, cultivators, planters, harrows, ox-carts) were made for ox-power. There are no oxen in the area, and though there are a few donkeys, there are no implements made for donkey power. Therefore, the implements rust or are used as scrap to make hand tools.
There is no taboo against women using draught oxen in Chimbombo, and in fact, many women did so before the oxen died. However, men are usually viewed as the rightful users of animal traction, because they are considered to be the owners of the oxen. Therefore, the implements are also seen as belonging to them.
When there have been animal-draught training courses, they have been for men. Women, therefore, remain untrained.
In the few cases where animal traction is still available, the man will plough the family plot first and then, quite often, will have no time left over to do the women’s or children’s plots before the rains start. Women and children therefore use hand hoes for the heavy work of land preparation. Women tend to combine land preparation with planting, thus planting too late.

Although also used by men, the hand-hoe is the main cultivation tool used by women in this area. Hoes are of the traditional ‘chop-down-and-pull’ type, usually produced by local blacksmiths out of old ploughs or harrows. The hoes come in various sizes for different tasks. Short handles make them difficult to use. One woman in the discussion group called them "a necessary evil" because of the tiring work they required. Another added, "What we need are hoes powered by batteries or electricity". For harvesting, knives and sickles are used. The men use heavy axes and occasionally pick-axes or pangas. Otherwise, there were no significant differences found in the tools used by men and women.

Women use few agricultural inputs such as fertilizers or pesticides, not only because of their lack of funds to purchase them, but also because their illiteracy makes it difficult for them to read the instructions on the packages. Some women in discussion groups reported that they were not permitted to use the fertilizer even when working on their husbands’ plots, as their husbands feared they would steal some of it for their own crops.

Even though women do most of the work on the land, the marketing of family cash crops is generally done by men. Women in the study complained that men squandered much of the proceeds from such crops and that they sold too much of the produce without leaving enough for their families to eat. But men apparently do not like their wives to do the marketing. They are afraid the women will "pick up bad town habits" and spend the money from sales on "silly things" such as having their hair done.

How long will this situation last? There are signs of change and of women taking control, even though most women are illiterate and poor. Large numbers of rural women in the district are now organized into groups, or ‘clubs’, as such women’s groups are called locally. The men in these areas were initially suspicious of the clubs, but now some of them are joining them. Women are also increasingly assuming leadership positions in the district. Against these achievements, and the acknowledged reputation that women have for hard work, are still the entrenched traditional attitudes. As one woman said: "Men just marry more women to have more labour on the land. Women are used as income-generating resources".

There is no doubt that women farmers in Chimbombo need improved production technology to reduce their workload. The women seem to agree, and so do the men. The social environment is therefore favourable and the situation seems poised for change. The fact that women are organized and politically active will also help to speed up the adoption process. However, there is always the risk that if women obtain good farm implements, including animal traction/transportation with donkeys or oxen, men will withdraw from farming completely, except when the produce is to be sold and income generated. This argues for not ignoring the men.

Adapted from:

IFAD/FAO/Government of Japan. 1998. Agricultural Implements Used by Women Farmers in Africa. Rome.

Hot links