Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 3.3 Primary responsibility for agricultural tasks of men and
women in Carapongo (n
ΒΌ
125)
Activities
Men
(%)
Women
(%)
Shared
(%)
Neither
(%)
Crops
Land preparation
78
3
16
3
Planting
36
6
55
3
Fertilization, weeding, hilling up of soil, irrigation
30
6
62
2
Pest control
87
3
6
4
Harvesting
14
5
75
6
Livestock
Raising small animals
6
23
28
43
Raising larger livestock
7
12
25
56
Purchase of inputs
46
22
30
2
Marketing products
23
41
36
0
Household labour
4
76
15
5
Day labourer
14
3
11
72
Off-farm activities
19
11
8
62
women are considered better and tougher negotiators. Women are also
actively involved in caring for livestock, including feeding, health care and
marketing. For some types of livestock such as poultry, women are principally
responsible in almost two-thirds of all cases (Figure 3.9).
Domestic responsibilities - Women are totally responsible for fulfilling the
role of family caretaker and are responsible for the raising of children and the
maintenance of the household. Moreover, women must deal with the 'double
day'. An activity profile developed with women in Carapongo illustrated that
women have to combine a large number of activities during the day when they
are at home, before and after going to the field. The work at home in the
evening is similar to that done in the morning, but women consider it to be
heavier because at the time they are very tired. The survey found that, on
average, women spend seven hours working in agriculture activities and
another eight hours in household activities, whereas men spend nine hours
working only in agricultural activities. Women also undertake household
management of waste. For instance, in the course of the discussion groups,
many women identified the need to learn how to better manage and recycle
organic wastes to produce nutrient-rich fertilizer, including the management
of wastewater from household sewage and how it could be safely applied for
use in vegetables production.
Control over the benefits of production - In group work, participants
specified the degree of access and control they believe they have over different
productive resources and the benefits of UA (Table 3.4). The discussion group
itself determined the definitions of 'control' and 'access'.
