Abstract

This study examines the “Challenges face by women in food crop production in Tiko Municipality”. The general objectives that were used for the study were; To explore the challenges faced by women in food crop production in Tiko Municipality, the specific  objectives for the study was to examine the factors that affect food crop production among women in Tiko municipality, to explore the challenges encounter by women in food crop production in Tiko municipality, to analysed the strategies developed by women to overcome their difficulties in food crop production, to recommend appropriate strategies to improve and strengthen food crop production among women in Tiko municipality.

The sample size was 25 women farmers selected from different areas in Tiko municipality. The research design used was the qualitative, quantitative and descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study constituted of female farmers from Bomu street, Market areas and Down beach areas. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collection was analysed using the table of frequencies and percentage. The findings implied that female farmers should be giving access to lands and finance so they can produce the necessary amount of food needed at home and in the community.

CHAPTER ONE

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2012), food production refers to the practice of basic crop production, livestock production, food crop production, and food preparation and processing. Food production calls for the deployment of different assets, which include finance, land and labour. Women in developing nations had historically been concerned with production of food crop. A study done by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2011), states that women contribute more than 60 per cent of labour required for household food production. While men are often charged with responsibilities encompassing clearing land, burning bushes and polishing, women’s specialty and preserve is in transplanting, weeding, post-harvesting work and, in some cases, land preparations. Moreover, women play a key role in household animal production. Women’s primary duty is to run the husbandry of ruminants and small animals. They also tend to large animals by way of providing them with water and feeds, general herding, cleaning sleeping pens and milking (FAO, 2012).

Reports by The United Programme Development Programme (2010) indicate that women living in rural areas across all developing regions are to a great extent less likely to own land and operate the land they cultivate. For instance, in Mexico, women make up for only 22.4 per cent of registered landholders in communal farming lands. In Cameroon on the other hand, that figure declines to a paltry 5 per cent. In Pakistan it is less than 3 percent. In most cases, the land that women will access and control of is often in considerably smaller parcels, of poor quality, and frequently obtained through settlements negotiated through male relatives (FAO et al. 2010). On average, male-headed households operate more substantive agricultural landholdings than those headed by females in all countries (FAO, 2011).

It is of strategic significance for women to will control over land since it provides them with rights to make other necessary choices for their daily livelihood (Kabeer, 2012). For example, ownership to land would enable women to freely choose what foods to produce and how to produce them. This would enhance the welfare of their families. Landesa (2012), reports that an average of 60 per cent of malnutrition in children are recorded where women do not will land ownership rights. Data from the same report point to the fact that in situations where women directly control resources and assets it has resulted in a positive nutritional impact for their families.

Studies carried out in Cameroon by All-Way Stop-Controlled and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2014) underpins the latter sentiments that women encounter many obstacles while producing food for their households. The study indicates that women face different forms of discrimination, such as greater reluctance on the part of input providers to lend credit for fertilizer purchases especially in households headed be females.

Women are also exposed to fewer opportunities to borrow money or even to buy food on credit. The study shows that although 48% of women operate businesses, they only receive 7% of formal credit due to limited or restricted access to land which they would otherwise use as collateral to source for credit. Similarly, studies conducted by Dillon and Quiñones (2010) show that in Nigeria, just a paltry 5 percent of females is able to access formal credit. Women also face constraints in access to income which is crucial for household food production. This is because most of them are unemployed or dominate informal jobs where they are underpaid (Blackden and Woden, 2006). According to Hossain and Green (2011), the income that women earn in wages from farm and non-farm employment and from other income-generating ventures is of particular significance for rural households. This emanates from the fact their purchasing power can not only be used to purchase food for their families but also to pay for farm inputs,

thus improving food production for their households. Women play an important role in food crop production despite the many challenges and constraints they encounter. Women are usually responsible for food production in the household, mostly for family consumption. They have been able to overcome some of their constraints by changing some of their traditional practices to suit their needs and available resources.

Women have been able to cope with these difficulties in different ways, one of which is by adopting modern farming technologies such as improved varieties of seeds and seedlings, use of farm tools such as hoes to reduce drudgery, and use of fertilizer and other agrochemicals in order to increase yields.

Female-headed households are more likely to be resource-poor than male-headed households because women’s land rights are restricted, they generally only have access to less productive land and they are often unable to get credit or loans. In addition, female-headed households often lack access to extension services and markets because of gender discrimination.

Population growth, environmental degradation, and climate change mean fewer resources will be available per person in the future than there are today. The most vulnerable people will be those who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods but do not own or control land. This is because agriculture depends so much on natural resources such as soil, water, and trees.

In addition to the above mentioned, A number of strategies have been identified by this study as coping mechanisms used by women to overcome the constraints they face in food crop production. These include:

1. Reducing inputs and applying measures that are within their control such as crop diversification and mixed cropping
2. Saving from household income
3. Seeking help from bank loans, relatives, friends and neighbors
4. Improving access to land through remarriage or marrying more than one husband
5. Improving access to water for irrigation through rainwater harvesting

Statement of the problem

Though women provide up to 80% of the labour required in agriculture for household food production, they face difficulties when it comes to ownership of productive resources such as finance, land, credit and productivity-enhancing inputs and services as compared to men (FAO, 2012). These difficulties are a product of a number of interconnected socio-cultural and economic factors that force them to play diminished roles to the peril of their own advancement and that of their families at household level (Kabeer, 2012).

A study by African Women Studies Centre And Kenya National Bureau Of Statistics (2014) on women’s experience in food security show that women contribute much of the labour in agricultural production with limited accessibility to resources such as labour, land, fertilizer, finance and income. Whereas studies by FAO (2012) indicate that women are deeply entrenched in all spheres of agricultural production, there is little detailed focus on household food production. Further, none of the studies has focused on Tiko Municipality where according to Cameroon Government report (2015), 27% of the households experience food insecurity every year. This is a reflection of the difficulties women may be having in food production (All-Way Stop-Controlled And Kenya National Bureau Of Statistics 2014; FAO, 2012)n. Given that women contribute a great deal in agricultural production, this study, therefore, seek to explore the difficulties encountered by women in food crop production in      Tiko municipality.

The study specifically set out to answer the following research questions:

1. What are the socio-cultural barriers to women’s household food production in Tiko municipality?
2. What is the role of women in food crop production?
3. What are the challenges to agricultural production by women in Tiko municipality?
4. What are the effects of challenges facing women in food crop production?
5. What are the measures to promote women in food crop production?

Read More: Gender Studies Project Topics with Materials