Annotated bibliography on gender, rapid rural appraisal and participatory rural appraisal

AUTHOR(S): BRIDGE (Briefings in Development and Gender)
IMPRINT: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 1994, 17 p., BRIDGE Bibliography 6.
MATERIAL TYPE: Book
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, Community Development, PRA/RRA

SUMMARY:
An annotated bibliography containing approximately 45 titles from the first half of the 1990s.

Reviewed By: Rachel Masika, BRIDGE Information Officer, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

The Effects of tobacco growing in Arua District

AUTHOR(S): Lugalambi, George
JOURNAL: Arise, Issue No 8, Oct-Dec, 1992, 20-21, 24
MATERIAL TYPE: Journal Article
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, Health

SUMMARY:
Women are primarily responsible for the survival of tobacco crops, yet men claim ownership of these crops and the income from them. This article describes the work conditions women in the Arua District of Uganda face, and the cultural sanctions that exist to prevent women from gaining more control. Limited access to education is identified as a key factor.

Activities carried out by women include preparing the field for planting, ensuring the crop gets sufficient water, transporting harvest to storage facilities, and curing and processing the leaves. This last stage is particularly harmful to the women workers as they are exposed to high amounts of nicotine-laden dust. Education and protective equipment are seldom provided. There is little economic benefit for the intense labour output.

COMMENTS:
Provides a concise, critical description of the hardships women face in their work with tobacco crop agriculture. It is a background document describing current conditions and does not explore alternatives to enhance women’s situation in this activity.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady

Gender and adjustment in Sub-Saharan Africa

AUTHOR(S): Baden, Sally
IMPRINT: Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 1993.
MATERIAL TYPE: Book
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture

SUMMARY:
This brief report surveys current thinking on adjustment in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly with regard to poverty and gender considerations. Gender issues are discussed in relation to agriculture and rural development and the social sector reforms under adjustment. The final section looks at gender in relation to programs designed to alleviate the social costs of adjustment. It concludes with a number of policy recommendations. Some illustrative statistics are provided.

Reviewed By: Rachel Masika, BRIDGE Information Officer, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

Insights from women dairy farmers in India: what do they gain from participation.

AUTHOR(S): Smith-Sreen, Poonam and Smith-Sreen, John
JOURNAL: Social Action, Vol 41 No 4, 1991, 416-427.
MATERIAL TYPE: Journal Article
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture

SUMMARY:
Dairying has been identified as an important development programme for alleviating rural poverty. The authors present the results of interviews conducted with women dairy farmers in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, India.

To the women, income is only one of many factors identified in their assesment of the value of owning dairy cattle. Dung provides much needed fertilizer for farmland. Income derived from dairying is regular as opposed to seasonal from other agricultural sources. The nutritional status of the family is improved from the constant supply of milk. The sale of calves is an important economic asset. Women also describe how their standing in the village improves. They are seen as successful and are sought for advice. They appreciate the ability to assist others and often encourage other women to apply for loans to acquire animals. Self reliance and self confidence increase as they end their dependence on moneylenders. Problems they face are also described. The need for training in animal health care, nutrition, and bookkeeping are identified.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady

Irrigation in the Philippines: impact on women and their households: the Aslong Project case

AUTHOR(S): Illo, Jeanne Frances I.
IMPRINT: Bangkok: The Population Council, 1988. 76 p.
MATERIAL TYPE: Book, Case Study
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, PRA/RRA, Water & Sanitation

SUMMARY:
This is the second book in the series Women’s Roles and Gender Differences in Development: Cases for Planners, Asia, which studies the impact of large scale development projects on women; this report examines the Aslong Irrigation Project (AIP). The goals of the AIP were to increase food production, employment, and the standard of living for the people in the region. Planners recognized the need to involve farmers throughout the development process.

Initially, “heads of household”, of whom 90% were male, were invited to participate. When the designation changed to “household”, women’s participation increased substantially. This designation recognized women as equal participants in the farming enterprises, and has been implemented in subsequent projects. Concerns raised by women were taken into account, such as women’s household water needs. Also, construction was scheduled to fit around the agricultural season.

However, as the project progressed, women faced the double burden of domestic duties with increased agricultural labour. This prevented many women from participating in the evaluation process due to time constraints.

COMMENTS:
Includes description of the research methodology, examples, statistical data, case studies.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady

The moon also has her own light: the struggle to build a women’s consciousness among Nicaraguan fieldworkers

AUTHOR(S): Women’s Program of the International Council for Adult Education and the Nicaraguan Association of Rural Workers; edited by Heather Chetwynd, Marie Lorenzo and Lynda Yanz
IMPRINT: Toronto: Women’s Program of ICAE, 1989. 63 p.
MATERIAL TYPE: Book
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, Education, Labour, Media

SUMMARY:
Women’s involvement in the Nicaraguan farm labourer union, ATC, is examined to highlight the lessons learned and insights gained in the promotion of women’s organizations.

With the growing role of women in agricultural labour during the Sandinista Revolution, there was a move to increase their participation in the union to ensure women’s concerns were addressed. A training programme was developed that was similar to the literacy campaign active at the same time. The need for an equitable system that would break down the power imbalance between men and women was identified. This book describes the use of workshops and a women’s publication to promote popular education and the sharing of knowledge. It also follows the process of organizing women to articulate their concerns and to change men’s consciousness.

COMMENTS:
Includes examples of photographs used in training.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady

Participatory Research With Women Farmers

PRODUCER/CREATOR: Conceived: Michel P. Pimbert, Director: P.V. Satheesh. Hyderabad, India: Development Perspectives.
LENGTH: 22 min.
DISTRIBUTOR: Television Trust for the Environment (TVE), World Wildlife Fund Television Centre, Zeist, The Netherlands.
MATERIAL TYPE: Video, VHS format (NTSC)
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, Environment, PRA/RRA

SUMMARY:
For thousands of years, farmers have been selecting and preserving seed varieties for their local environments. Recent threats to this important biodiversity have led the Indian gene bank ICRISAT to work with local farmers to produce indigenous varieties.

This film follows the research process involving ICRISAT scientists and women farmers in Andhra Pradesh to test several varieties of pigeon peas–the primary source of protein in the region. Recognizing that research stations cannot reproduce local growing conditions, new varieties are tested by farmers alongside traditional varieties. The participatory approach used in these trials ensures that researchers benefit from local knowledge. When the crops are harvested, group interviews with farmers are conducted in which positive and negative aspects of each variety are discussed–pest resistance, plant growth, pod production, pea flavour. All participants recognize the need to plant a number of different species, according to their relative resistance and production characteristics. The women farmers insist on the necessity of maintaining a broad genetic diversity, recognizing the need for long-term sustainability, rather than short-term crop production.

COMMENTS:
Clearly shows an effective model of women farmers’ participation in a sustainable agriculture programme. Shows models and methods of participatory rural appraisal.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady

Planning at the end of the river: land and water use management in Chekereni Village, Moshi District, Tanzania

AUTHOR(S): Lezise, Fred Simon
IMPRINT: Copenhagen: Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, 1996. 257 p.
MATERIAL TYPE: Book
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, Community Development, Environment, Water and Sanitation

SUMMARY:
This is a research report on land and water use management in Tanzania, with specific reference to the Chekereni area in Moshi District, Kilimanjaro Region. Findings are on property rights, the use of land and natural resources, as well as national (Tanzanian) policies and plans for better use of land and water in relation to actual developments on rural land.

COMMENTS:
The document is of significant importance for those who want to know why aims and objectives of rural development in Tanzania are not realized. Also, it answers questions on what really happens when policies and plans for rural development are implemented.

Reviewed By: Rose Maro, Co-operative College Women’s Documentation Centre, Moshi.

Rural women and modernisation in agriculture

AUTHOR(S): Majumdar, Mita
JOURNAL: Social Action, Vol 41 No 4, 1991, 367-381.
MATERIAL TYPE: Journal Article
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECT: Agriculture

SUMMARY:
Majumdar critiques the belief that shunning indigenous techniques and adopting modern technology increases productivity and profitability. New technology is often inappropriate for the conditions in which it is implemented. Further, the high cost of technology makes it inaccessible to the poor, which leads them to become further marginalized.

The impact of technology is examined with specific reference to rural and tribal women in India. Women are often denied access to machinery that is introduced to agricultural enterprises. Thus, they often lose their traditional jobs altogether, or they are relegated to more strenuous manual labour. Technology tends to make men’s work easier, but there is little technological research conducted to ease women’s labour. Various activities of rural women are described, including an analysis of the impact technology has had on them.

COMMENTS:
Recommendations are made at the policy and research levels.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady

Supporting women farmers in the green zones of Mozambique

AUTHOR(S): Ayisi, Ruth Ansah
JOURNAL: Seeds, No 17, 1995, 20 p.
MATERIAL TYPE: Journal Issue, Case Study
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, Co-operatives

SUMMARY:
This case study examines projects assisting women to provide food and earn an income in the “green zones” of Mozambique–agricultural land along the outskirts of urban areas–through the provision of services and training in agriculture, health, and child care/creches.

The General Union of Co-operatives, funded by the People’s Development Bank, has formed 182 co-ops, with a membership that is 95% female. Maputo is an example of a successful green zone strategy. How the co-op functions and the role of the GUC are described. The emphasis is on people’s development.

Not all green zone projects have been successful, thus the author summarizes the strategies that have made Maputo a success story, and the lessons learned when a model is transferred to a different region and fails.

COMMENTS:
This document includes several brief stories of women who are participating in green zone projects.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady

Women in rural development (a case study)

AUTHOR(S): Kaur, Satnam
IMPRINT: Delhi: Mittal, 1987. 264 p.
MATERIAL TYPE: Book, Case Study
LANGUAGE: English
SUBJECTS: Agriculture, Community Development, Education, Savings and Credit

SUMMARY:
This book critiques current rural development programs that neglect to recognize and integrate women’s economic and non-economic labour contributions. It examines the role of women in the home and in agriculture, and considers the nature and extent of women’s farm decision making. Research was conducted in Haryana State, India. A detailed literature review of theory and case studies related to rural development and women in India and globally is presented. Methodology, analysis and interpretation are explained and detailed statistical summaries of women’s work in livestock, crops, domestic and other labour are provided.

Recommendations drawn from this research include: the provision of appropriate technology for women’s agricultural labour and for domestic use (e.g. stoves, drainage); women’s access to training programs; promotion of dairying through increased access to loans and training, credit and banking programs; and policy changes to ensure increased women’s participation in development programs.

COMMENTS:
The author notes that the findings are based on research conducted solely in Haryana State and are not all necessarily applicable elsewhere.

Reviewed By: Catherine Irving, Coady