Gittinger, J. Price & Sidney Chernick Et Al. 1990 'Household Food Security and the Role of Women'...

7/27/2019 Gittinger, J. Price & Sidney Chernick Et Al. 1990 'Household Food Security and the Role of Women' World Bank Dis

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World BankDiscussionPapers

Household FoodSecurity and theRole of Women

J. Price Gittingerwith the collaboration ofSidney ChernickNadine R. HorensteinKatrine Saito \


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Recent World Bank Discussion PapersNo. 37 Income Distribution and EconomicDevelopment in Madagascar:Some Historical Perspectives.Frederic L. PryorNo. 38 QualityControls f TradedCommodities nd Servicesn DevelopingCountries. imon Rottenberg and Bruce YandleNo. 39 LivestockProductionn North Africaand the MiddleEast: Problemsnd Perspectives.ohn C. Glenn [Alsoavailable nFrench (39F)]No. 40 Nongovernmental rganizationsnd LocalDevelopment.Michael M. Cemea [Alsoavailable n Spanish (40S)]No. 41 Patterns f Development: 950 to 1983. Moises Syrquin and Hollis CheneryNo. 42 Voluntary Debt-Reduction Operations: Bolivia, Mexico, and Beyond... Ruben LamdanyNo. 43 Fertilityn Sub-Saharan frica:Analysisand Explanation.Susan Cochrane and S.M. FaridNo. 44 AdjustmentProgramsnd Social Welfare. Elaine ZuckermanNo. 45 Primary School Teachers'Salaries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Manuel Zymelman andJoseph DeStefanoNo. 46 Education and Its Relation to Economic Growth, Poverty, and Income Distribution: Past Evidence and Further Analysis.Jandhyala B.G. TilakNo. 47 International Macroeconomic djustment, 1987-1992. Robert E. King and Helena TangNo. 48 Contract Plans and Public Enterprise Peffonnance. ohn Nellis [Also available in French (48F)]No. 49 Improving Nutrition in India: Policiesand Programsand Their Impact. K. SubbaraoNo. 50 Lessons of Financial Liberalization in Asia: A Comparative Study. Yoon-Je Cho and Deena KhatkhateNo. 51 VocationalEducation and Training: A Review of World Bank Investment. John Middleton and Terry DcmskyNo 52 The Market-Based Menu Approach in Action: The 1988 Brazil Financing Package.Ruben LamdanyNo. 53 Pathways to Change: Improving the Quality of Education in Developing Countries. Adriaan VerspoorNo. 54 EducationManagersfor usinessand Govemment. amuel Paul, Jacob Levitsky, and John C. IckisNo. 55 Subsidies nd Countervailing easures:Critical ssuesfor he UruguayRound. Bela Balassa,editorNo. 56 Managing Public Expenditure: An Evolving World Bank Perspective.Robert M. LaceyNo. 57 The Management f CommonPropertyNaturalResources. aniel W. Bromley and Michael M. CerneaNo. 58 Making the Poor Creditworthy: A Case Study of the Integrated Rural Development Program n India. Robert PulleyNo. 59 ImprovingFamilyPlanning,Health, and NutritionOutreach n India:Experiencefromome WorldBank-Assisted rograms.

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(Continued on the inside back cover.)


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96 ~1z1 World Bank Discussion PapersHousehold FoodSecurity and theRole of Women

J. Price Gittingerwith the collaboration ofSidney ChernickNadine R. HorensteinKatrine SaitoThe World BankWashington, D.C.


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Copyright 1990The International Bank for Reconstructionand Development/THE WORLDBANK1818 H Street, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.All rights reservedManufactured in the United States of AmericaFirst printing August 1990

Discussion Papers present results of country analysisor research that is circulated to encourage discussionand commnentwithin the development community. To present these results with the least possible delay, thetypescript of this paper has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formalprinted texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility or errors.The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed n this paper are entirely those of the author(s) andshould not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliatedorganizations, or to members ofits Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee theaccuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibilitywhatsoever for anyconsequence of their use. Any maps that accompany the text have been prepared solelyfor the convenienceof readers; the designationsand presentation of material in them do not imply the expression of any opinionwhatsoever on the part of the World Bank, its affiliates,or its Board or member countries concerning thelegal statusof any country, territory, city, or area or of the authorities thereof or concerning the delihritationof its boundaries or its national affiliation.The material in this publication is copyrighted.Requests for permission to reproduce portions of it shouldbe sent to Director, Publications Department, at the addressshown in the copyright notice above. TheWorld Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally give permission promptly and, whenthe reproduction is for noncommercial purposes, without asking a fee. Permission to photocopy portions forclassroom use is not required, though notification of such use having been made will be appreciated.The complete backlist of publications from the World Bank is shown in the annual Index of Publications,which contains an alphabetical title list (with filll ordering infornation) and indexes of subjects, authors, andcountries and regions. The latest edition is availablefree of charge from the Publications SalesUnit,Department F, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A., or fromPublications, The World Bank, 66, avenue d'lena, 75116 Paris, France.ISSN: 0259-210X

J. Price Gittinger, Sidney Chernick, and Nadine R. Horenstein are consultants to, and Katrine Saito issenior economist in, the Women in Development Division of the World Bank's Population, HumanResources Department.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataGittinger,J. Price (JamesPrice), 1928-Household food security and the role of women /J. PriceGittenger, with the collaboration of Sidney Chemick, Nadine R.Horenstein, Katrine Saito.

p. cm. - (World Bank discussionpapers ; 96)Report of the Symposium on Household Food Security and the Role ofWomen, held Jan. 21-24, 1990, in Kadoma, Zimbabwe, organized by theWomen in Development Division of the World Bank, and others.ISBN 0-8213-1627-31. Women in agriculture-Africa-Congresses. 2. Food supply--Africa-Congresses. 3. Household supplies-Africa-Congresses.4. Women-Africa-Economic conditions-Congresses. I. Symposium onHousehold Food Security and the Role of Women (1990: Kadoma,Zimbabwe) 11.Title. III. Series.HD6073.A292A354 1990338.1'96-dc2O 90-12849CIP


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This pamphlet eports on the Symposiumon HouseholdFood Securityand theRole of Women in Kadoma, Zimbabwe, January 21 through 24, 1990. TheSymposiumwas organized by the Women n DevelopmentDivision of the WorldBank and the TrainingUnit of the African Development ank n collaborationwith theGovernment f NetherlandsMinistryof ForeignAffairsand DevelopmentCooperation.Funding and guidance were also provided by the Canadian InternationalDevelopmentAgency and the EconomicDevelopment nstituteof the World bank.The host was the HonorableHerbert Ushewokunze,Ministerof State or PoliticalAffairs,Governmentof Zimbabwe. The SymposiumCo-Directorswere KatrineSaito,Senior Economist,Women n DevelopmentDivision,World Bank; and KwekuAndah,Director,TrainingUnit, African DevelopmentBank. Amon Nikoi, ormerly MinisterofFinance, Government of Ghana, was the moderator. Sidney Chernick wasSymposiumAdvisorand NadineR. Horensteinhelped n the designand organizationof the Symposium.

Members of the Symposiumparticipated n plenary discussions, heard majorpaper presentations, istened o panels, ook part in a case study, and worked insmall groups to formulate policy and program recommendations. The two majorpapers presented o the Symposiumwere HouseholdFood Securityand the Role ofWomen: The EconomicPolicy Setting by Paul Collier,Unit for the Study of AfricanEconomies,Oxford University; nd HouseholdFood Securityand he Roleof Womenby Misrak Elias, RegionalAdvisor, Women's Economic Activitiesand Integration,UNICEF. This pamphlet draws liberally rom the members' deliberationsand thepapers presentedwithout urther attribution. It is an interpretationof the discussionsand presentations,not a proceedings.This reportdoes not necessarily eflect he viewsof the sponsoringorganizationsbut those of the Symposium.The report benefitted rom commentsof BarbaraHerz,Josette Murphy and MauriziaTovo. Virginiade HavenHitchcockedited he report,and Maria Abundo prepared he text for publication.A collection of papers has been publishedseparately. See List of Documents.The photographsare courtesy of Curt Carnemark, Nicola de Palma, and theWorld Bank photo library.

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CONTENTSPrologue ........................ 1Work Women Do ....................................... 3Women's Agricultural Contribution ............................ 3Women's Nonagricultural Activities ........................... 4Women's Household Tasks ................................. 4Constraints Women Face ....................................... 7The Burden of Reproduction ................................ 7Asymmetric Rights and Obligations within the Household ..... ...... 7Different Role Models ..................................... 8Women's Limited Access to Resources and Information ..... ....... 8Access to land ..................................... 8

Access to credit .................................... 9Access to education and agriculturalextension services ................................. 9Availability of appropriateagricultural technology .............................. 10Household Strategies to Improve Food Security ...................... 13Raising the Level of Income ............................... 14Varying Assets to Smooth Consumption ...................... 14Changing the Structure of Income ........................... 14Diversification ..................................... 14Skewing ....................................... 15Matching ....................................... 15Input parsimony ................................... 15The Cost of Strategies to Vulnerable Groups ................... 15Public Policies to Increase Household Food Security .................. 19Macro Policies to Enhance Women's Economic Activities .... ...... 19Policies that Directly Increase HouseholdSecurity ....................................... 20Enabling households to adopt risk-reducingstrategies ...................................... 21Reducing risks outside the household ................... 21

Gathering Information for Policymaking andProgram Design ...................................... 22Programs to Increase Women's Access to Servicesand Resources ....................................... 25Credit and Finance for Rural Women ......................... 25Expanding lending to women in Uganda ................. 25Learning to use credit through groupprojects in Zimbabwe ............................. 26


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EnablingAfrican women o use commercialcredit .... ...... 27Orienting Extension owards Women's Needs .................. 28ImprovingWomen's Access to Technology ................... 31Appropriatenessof technology ........ ................ 31Food technology ................................... 32Transport ........................................ 32Economicsize . ................................... 33Access to credit . .................................. 33Developing echnology or-rural women .................. 33Nutrition Programs or Low-IncomeHouseholds ................ 34Epilogue ....................................... 37List of Participants ........................................ 39Documents ....................................... 45

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"Women produce nearly hree-quartersof all food grown in Africa.""Africa's ood situation s precarious. One-quarter f Africa's population- 100 million people-do not have access o sufficient ood at all times toensure an active,healthy ife."

The HonorableHerbertUshewokunzeMinisterof State or PoliticalAffairs,Government f Zimbabwein opening remarks o the Symposium

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Womencarrying goods to market n WestAfrica (C. Carnemark)

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PrologueImprovinghousehold ood security n Africa means ocusing on the role of womenbecause they play a critical role as food producers and as income earners for theirfamilies. Unless he production and productivityof these women s increased,efforts oimprove household ood security n Africa will not succeed.In turn, increasing production and productivity of women farmers andentrepreneursmeansremoving he obstacleshey ace in doing theirwork, and mprovingtheir access o resources and informationso that they can help themselves. In short,women must not be marginalized, ut must be brought nto the mainstreamof economicand social ife so that they can use fully heir productivecapacity and contributemore tothe welfareof their familiesand nation.To come to grips with this problem, 47 senior African policymakers,program

administrators, cademicspecialists,and staff of nternationalagenciesgathered ogetherfor the Symposium on Household Food Security and the Role of Women in Kadoma,Zimbabwe, n January1990. The Symposium'sobjectiveswere:To help promote a better understandingof the key issues pertaining o theissue of household ood security and the role of women.To exchangepracticalexperiences n dealingwith these ssues among hevarious participants.To identifyappropriatepoliciesand programs hat could be implemented nspecific countries and supported by the international ommunity.

In overviewpresentations,panel discussionsand structuredworking groups, hesymposium participants ocused on the constraints hat women face and the practicalmeasures o reduce hem. Among the issuesaddressedwere nutritionprograms or low-income households,and women's access o credit, extensionadvice andtechnology.The symposiumparticipantsweredrawn rom sevencountries n Eastand SouthernAfrica--Bostwana,Ethiopia,Kenya, Malawi,Tanzania,Uganda and Zimbabwe--but heissues discussed and recommendationsmade could apply to any African country. Thekey is to recognize that women are an integral part of the solution to increasingagriculturalproductivityand household ood security.

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Plantinggroundnutsat a seedmultiplicationarm in Nigeria(WorldBank)

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Work Women DoIt is now well-known hat the African armer is usuallya woman; women produce

nearly hree-quartersof all food grown in Africa. Unfortunately,his recognitionhas yetto be translated nto concrete policiesand programs hat would promotea more equitabledistributionof resources,enhancewomen'sproductivity n agriculture, ncrease heir abilityto earn ncome rom nonagricultural ources,and guaranteehat each householdmemberhas an adequatesupply of food throughout he year.In many African societieswomen do all of the food processing, etch most of thewater and fuelwood,produce 70 percentof the food, handle60 percentof the marketing,and do at least half of the tasks involved n storing food and raisinganimals. In additionthey work extensively n cash crop production, aboring on other peoples'crops to earnmuch-neededcash for their families. They also do nonagricultura!work to earn extramoney and still find time to take an active role in communityself-helpactivities.Some policiesof governments nd development ssistanceagencieshave actuallyincreased he socialand economicgap betweenwomenand men. By failing o recognizethe centralrole of womenasproducers as well as householdmanagersand thus ignoringtheir specialneeds becauseof these roles, developmentefforts have often misdirectedresources o men.As a result of cultural factors and bad policies, among the poor---who are themajority n all Africancountries---womenend to own the least property and goods, havethe poorestnutritionalstatus, and be the most overworked. Thesituation s evenworsein householdsheaded by women, becauseaccess o resources, ncluding the labor of

others, is even more limited.With the increasing recognition of women's central role in the provision ofhouseholdood security,manygovernments nd development genciesare mplementingprogramsthat focus on women. This is a welcome development,but more effort isneeded o incorporatewomen's special needs and concerns nto ongoing programs.Women's Agricultural Contribution

Women play a pivotal role in African agriculture. This is true not only of foodproduction---longrecognized as a women's activity---butalso of other agriculturalactivities, such as cash cropping and livestock production. The InternationalLabourOrganizationestimates hat 78 percent of the women in Africa are active n agriculturecompared with only 64 percent of the men. Since official governmentdata have oftenseriously underestimatedhe number of women active n agriculture, he importanceofincreasing heirproductionand productivityhas not been ully recognized.For example,in Malawi official igures in 1972 reported hat only 12 percent of women were active nagriculture. In 1977,after more carefulexamination f the data, that figure was raised o52 percent---morehan four times the numberonly ive years before. The rue proportionis likely o be even higher.

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Alongwith a growing recognitionof the mportanceof women n Africanagriculture,and thus their critical role in improvinghousehold ood security, has come a realizationthat households headed by women are increasing hroughout Africa. The number offarms managedby women s, in fact, growing rapidly. Women head one-thirdof the ruralhouseholds n Malawi. In Kenya, he World Bank estimatesat least 40 percent of smallholdings are managedby women. More han half he rural households n the communalareas of Zimbabweare headed by women.Women's Nonagricultural Activities

Since the agricultural crops produced by households rarely provide all therequirementsof the family, cash income s necessary o meet the other basic needs. Ifa household produces more food crops than it can use, this surplus can be sold toprovide cash. More often, however, African rural women must supplementhouseholdagricultural production with income earned through nonagriculturalactivities, such askeepingsmall animalsor bees, makinghandicrafts,and brewing. For many households,and especially hose headedby a woman, hese are the main sourcesof income or food,shelter,clothing, school ees, and medicalexpenses. Because hey operate at the loweststrata of the informalsector, however,mostwomen are trapped n a vicious cycle of lowincome and low productivitydespite ong hoursof toil.

Women ace many problems n trying to earn extra ncome: lack of direct accessto resources such as land, other capital, and credit; lack of opportunities o learn newskills and to acquire affordable echnology; and limited access to markets for inputs,production, and sales. In addition, their daily schedule s so overloaded with all thetraditional female chores---preparing ood, fetching water and wood, and caring forchildren and elders---that t is often a struggle to find the time for other activities hatprovide extra ncome.Governments, nongovernmental organizations, and development assistanceagencies have undertakenmany nitiatives n Africa to support women's efforts to earnmore income. In most cases, however, hese are small projects that are outside themainstreamof economic activities. What s reallyneeded s to bring women's economicactivitieson a par with other (men's) economicactivities. This is why effortsshould focuson removing he obstacles aced by women rather han on setting up special programsfor women.

Women's Household TasksIn addition to agriculturaland nonagriculturalactivities,women traditionally havethe central role in managing households and do most of the work needed for thehousehold o function.Women process and prepareall the food for the household. They grind or poundgrain, fetch water and firewood, and cook the meals---allarduous and time-consumingactivities. To save ime and energy or activities hat produce cash, women often reducethe frequency of cooking and increase he amount of food cooked each time. This, in

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turn, hasan adverseeffect on the nutritionalstatus of the family,especiallysmallchildrenwho need more frequent eeding. It also increases he chance of spoilage.Difficultiesn preservingand storing food makethings worse. This is particularlytrue of vegetables and fruits, which rural women have little opportunity o storefor usein the dry seasonsbecause they lack informationand technologyon how to store aswell as the time during the harvestseason o do so. Thus, for many weeks during theyear, women are unable o provide he food needed o adequately eed themselvesandtheir households.RuralAfricanwomengenerallycollect irewood or cooking. This ask is becomingevenmoredifficultbecauseof deforestation nd environmental egradation.Womenhaveto walk increasingly ong distances o find wood, and it is not uncommonfor them tospend up to two hours a day collecting irewood. The scarcity of firewoodand lack ofalternative ourcesof energycompelwomen o reduce urther heir frequencyof cooking,

which directly reduces he level of householdnutrition.Manywomen spend another wo hours a day fetchingwater for householduse.In addition o the fact that this adds to women's work load, the lack of cleanwater affectsthe health of household members. Many developmentprograms involving waterapproach t as a health ssue and gnore hefact that women must carrymost of the waterthemselves.Women are the principalproviders of care for household members, particularlychildren and elders. They are also responsible for caring for ill members of thehousehold;most medical care in Africa is done in the home, principallyby women.

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Constraints Women FaceWomen ace differentconstraints on their economic activities han do men. Fourdistinct underlyingmechanismsaccount or this:

The burden of reproductionAsymmetric ights and obligationswithin the householdDifferent ole models* Women's imited access o resourcesand information.These four factors largely account for the different allocation of labor betweenwomen and men. They also explainwhy women's ime tends to be confined o activitiesthat produce lower returns and that cannot be easily shifted n response o changes nincentives. As a result, women are usually concentrated n food production and small-scale marketingand are substantiallyunderrepresentedn the publicsector,private ormal

employment,and formal export agriculture.The Burden of Reproduction

The physicaldemandsof childbearingand breast-feeding train health,and recentstudiesclearlyshow hat women's healthgoes hrough a trough in the child-rearing ears.This deterioration an be reversed,however, f women become nvolved n ncome-earning opportunities. Because child-rearing esponsibilitiesimit the ability to continueformal employment, women become confined to economic activities in which theuncertaintyof being able to work is relativelyunimportant, uch as microenterprises.In addition, n the absence of birth control t is difficult or a household o plan forlong-term nvestments, nd hereforesome of them may be postponed. There s evidencethat certain investmentsmay be discouraged f the mother is young, because of thepossibilityof an increase n family size. For example, n rural Kenya he most significantfactor in explaining he decision o invest n privatesecondaryeducation or children s henumber of fertile years remaining o their mother. If the mother has several ertile yearsremaining, parents will be less likely to pay for their children's secondary education,because of the need to keep money aside in case other children are born. Thus theprobability of a child being sent to a privatesecondaryschool rises with the age of themother at the time the decision s made; but when the mother reachesage 44, there isno further increase n probability. This suggests hat the adoption of birth control would

have a rapid and powerfuleffect on the capacityof households o undertake onger-terminvestments n education,and, hence, o raise their incomes n the long run.Asymmetric Rights and Obligations within the Household

In rural Africa, women are expected o grow subsistence ood crops, to weed allcrops, to gatherfuel and water, to cook, and to rear children. In return, men providecash for the householdand usuallyare responsible or the allocationof land. This patternof reciprocalobligationsoften s unequal n the sense hat women'sobligationsare more- 7 -


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time-consuming han men's. As a result, women generallyhave to work considerablymore hours than men. Part of this work is on men's crops, that is, crops for which mencontrol he profits. Thus women must work without knowing or certainwhether hey willget somethingout of it for themselvesor their children.One of the consequencesof this arrangement s that women have ess time forother activities, ncluding hose that could provide ncome. Another s that they have ittleincentive o do a good job. For example, n Kenyawomen are responsible or weedingmaize. There are two weedingsa season, and each weeding significantly aises yields.However,one study showed hat while n householdsheadedby women these weedingsraised yields by 56 percent, in householdsheaded by men the yield increased only 15percent. The most likely explanation s that in householdsheaded by men, women hadlittle ncentive o do a thorough ob, because hey would gain nothing for their time andeffort. On a nationalscale his disincentiveeffect s about equal o the gain in yield fromapplying phosphate and nitrogen ertilizers.Different Role Models

Another mechanism s he differentdirections n which the tendency o imitate olemodels attracts men and women. To be influencedby what other peopledo, especiallythose we admire, is a universal eature of human behavior. It is a key way in whichinnovations spread through the population, but it is also a reason for the lasting oftraditions. Role models tend to be gender specific: girls copy women and boys copymen. For example, n urban Cote d'lvoire, peoplewere much more ikely o enter ormalwage employment f their parents had done so. However, girls were not influencedbytheir father's occupationnor boys by their mother's; each copied only the parent of thesame gender. This implies hat if some new economicopportunity s initially aken up bymen, t may be automaticallydiffused o other men but not to women.Women's Limited Access to Resources and Information

Women often encounter discriminationoutside the household,which limits heiraccess to resources and information. Unlike the other constraints faced by women,which may be deeply embedded n socialcustom, discriminationoutside the householdis something hat policiesand programs can help change.Access o land

In most African countries he legalsystemand traditionalpracticesgive ownershipand control of land to men. Women's access o land is mostly hroughtheir husbands,sons, or male relatives. Both householdsand governmentsgive priority to cashcropssuch as coffee, ea, or cotton. The best and is used o produce hese crops, leavingonlythe poorest land to women for subsistence ood crops. Thus mechanizationand cashcrop production have increasinglymarginalized ood crops and, in turn, the status ofwomen.Women's traditional role in food production has been further undermined by

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policies hat keep food prices ow for urbandwellers. In many countries women havetumed their attention to household gardens where they raise vegetablesand smallanimals---thats, to activitiesand incomesources hat they can control.Access to credit

To expand heir economicactivitiesand earnmore money o support heir families,women need access o more resources. If there s a well-functioning reditmarket, aninvestmentcanbe financed hrough borrowing.When inancialmarketsare rudimentary,however, here will be less intermediation,and a person will have to savethe moneyneeded or investment. Becausewomen usually have less income than men, it will beharder for them to saveenough or a particular nvestment.Even where credit is available, access requires collateral---eitherassets orreputation. Women's limited autonomy implies hat they control far fewer marketable

assets and thus may lack the opportunity to build independent reputations forcreditworthiness. Even public credit programs depend to a large extent on physicalcollateraland so are heavily biased toward male heads of households. A symptom ofwomen's difficulties n obtaining privatesavings and credit s that informalsavingsclubsseem to be predominantlymade up of women. Such clubs are likely to be formed inresponse o women's lack of access o formalcredit.Public imitationof interest ates n the privatesector ends to reduce he incentiveto invest n savingsaccountsandthus reduces he mobilization f savingsby the bankingsystem. This, in turn, reduces he availability f credit, and thusthose with relativelypoorcreditworthiness---disproportionatelyomen---tend o be squeezedout of the creditmarket.Finally, governmentshave typically imposed high implicit taxation on savings,because deficit financing usually results in an inflation tax. This tax, in turn, fallsdisproportionatelyon those who must rely on cash savings ather han the credit marketto finance heir investments,and women are precisely n that position.

Access o education and agriculturalextensionservicesEntry into activities that provide higher returns depends on disseminationofinformationabout such opportunitiesand on well-functioning abor and capitalmarkets.One of the main sourcesof information s formal education. There s evidence hat bettereducated farmers are more likely to enter into export agriculture becauseeducationappears o increase he abilityand willingness o reallocate esources efficientlywhenprices or technology change. In rural Africa, becausewomen have significantly esseducation han men and constitute he majorityof agriculturalabor, his educationalbiasseriously nhibits he pace of development.Within the agriculturalsector, nformationabout new echniques s spread houghboth public extension services and private imitation. Recentwork indicates that theimitation process is very powerful. For example,among contiguous groups of 200

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households in Kenya, on average every two households hat began to grow coffeeinduced a third household o follow suit. Moreover,as discussed earlier, n the formallabor market here is evidence hat this imitation process s gender specific: men copymen and women copy women. It is logical, but not certain, that this also appliestoagriculture; if it does, then householdsheaded by women have a lower likelihood ofenteringsectors n which they were initiallyunderrepresented.

Agriculturalextension ervices n manyAfricancountriesstilldesign heir programsas if all farmers weremen. This is becauseof the erroneousbelief hat men are the maindecision-makers n agriculture. It also reflects the fact that the extension service isoverwhelmingly taffed by men. As a result male agriculturalextensionagents tend toprovideproduction nformation o male armers,while emalehome economicsextensionagents,who target women,concentratemore on subjectssuch as food processingandcrafts. Women extensionagents also generallyhave ower status, ess influence n theextension ervicehierarchy,and ess ogisticalsupport---particularlytransport---toerformtheir services.The design, timing, and location of training programs do not consider women'sagricultural oles or their multiple responsibilitiesor food processingand storage andcaretakingwithin the family. Frequently, armer rainingcenters do not havefacilities orwomen and their childrenand do not address the need or childcare. Overall, he timingand location of programs must take account of women's multiple roles andresponsibilities,particularly he severeconstraintson their time and mobility.

Availabilityof appropriateagricultural echnologyEven f the agriculturalextensionserviceputs more emphasison reachingwomenfarmers, it may lack the appropriate technologyto recommend. The technologicalimprovements n agricultural production are mostly intended to improve cash cropproduction, which traditionallyprovides no benefits or women, even though they mayprovide some of the labor. Furthermore,most of the technical mprovementsare gearedto tasks largely performed by men, such as plowing rather than weeding. Whentechnologicalnnovationsdo addresswomens' asks and make hem moreprofitable,menoften take them over. This was exactlywhat happened when pump irrigation wasintroduced or rice production n West Africa.

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Raising the Level of IncomeFor a given variabilityof income, he higher the income s on average, he lowerthe risk that income will fall below the level necessary o ensure an adequate evel offood consumption. This is obvious but importantbecause t implies hat in many casesthe problem of food insecurity does not need to be separatelyaddressed but can besolved in the process of raising incomes. As development aises incomes, the coreproblemof food insecuritygraduallychanges rom being one of overcoming ong-termpoverty o one of riding out short-termadverseeconomic shocks.

Varying Assets to Smooth ConsumptionFor given fluctuations n income, food consumption can be stabilized hroughchanges n assets and debts. Hence, he more iquid assets he household has and thebetter its access to credit, the safer t is.

Changing the Structure of IncomeThe typical household can generate ncome manydifferentways. Onefactor ishow much the householdparticipates n markets. At one extreme he householdmightfunction purely at the subsistence evel; at the other it may sell all its production andpurchase all its food. Another actor is the range of activities n which the household sengaged. At one extreme t might be completelyspecializedand get its incomeall fromone source; at the other it may have many different agricultural activitiesas well asnonagriculturalsources of income, includinghousehold members who work at otherlocations. The economic structure hat providesthe least risk is the outcomeof fourdistinct considerations:diversification, kewing, matching,and limiting nput parsimony.

DiversificationFor a givenexpected ncome,diversified ncome sourceswill reduce luctuationsas long as the incomes rom the differentactivitiesdo not all vary in the same directionat the same time.~~~~~~~~~~~...... .. ...... ... .. . . .... . .. ..... .., . . . ...........orectiitTes rouceMore..ncome::::::; ...

on' ki-'entfalae'o!urce f income.''' he r a orrta n te ru oshlsta!~~~~~~~~W,oubledh.""',"'ho 1td o-n- 14 ~~~~~~P-OU4


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Even f all he activitiesare somewhat isky, as long as the risks are at east partiallyindependent of each other, the household increases ts safety by undertakingmoreactivities. Thus growing maize on one plot may be viewed as a distinct activity romgrowing maize on another plot some distanceaway f, becauseof this distance,diseaseor bird damagewill b-esubstantiallydifferenton the two plots.Skewing

Not all activitiesare equally risky, however. Hence a household may reduce thefluctuation n its income by skewing ts resourcesaway from high-risk activities. But itusuallywill be best to limit skewingso that the householdretainsat least a few high-riskactivities,although at a diminished evel. Some exposure o high-riskactivitieswill actuallyreduce overall risk as long as the incomes rom high-risk activitiesdo not all vary in thesame directionat the same ime.Matching

If a household does not produce any of the food it consumes, t is subject o pricerisks arising rom a sudden ncrease n the price of food it buys or a sudden fall n priceof the output it sells. Thus the household can reduce its exposure to price risks bymatching ts production structure more closely o its consumption structure, that is, byproducing more of the food it consumes. A second reason or matching s that it avoidstransactioncosts. Often n Africa the spreadsbetween he farmgateand export prices ofcrops and between urban and rural prices of consumergoods are very wide. This ispartly because ransportcosts are requentlyhigh, eflectingpoor nfrastructure, nd partlybecausemarketingchannelsare frequentlyuncompetitive, esulting rom the fact that inany village or small locality only a very few will buy export crops or sell food. A thirdreason for matching s that food is stored by the household nstead of by centralizedagencies,and there s probably more scope for the government o reduce storagecostsat the household evel han through promotingcentralizedpest-resistantacilities. Whenfood-crop marketingagenciesare given privilegedaccess o bank borrowingat negativereal nterest ates, hey can store food for later sale (even o producers)at a relatively owcost so that matching s discouraged,and the result s socially costly.Input parsimony

Generally, or a given expected net income, he more inputs he householduses,the more t is exposed o risk. This might happenwhen fertilizer s applied, but the rainsfail. Hence he householdcan reduce luctuations n net income by restricting he use ofinputs. There is an important exception, however, because some inputs reduce thevariation in output. For example, spraying for coffee berry disease does not raisemaximumoutput, but it does raise he minimumoutput.The Cost of Strategies to Vulnerable Groups

Generally, hese strategieshave some cost. Holding assets in a liquid form will- 15 -


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usually nvolvea lower return. Input parsimonyand skewingwill reduce expected ncome.Diversification,skewing, matching, and input parsimony will generally conflict. Forexample, he household hat aims to be self-sufficientn food, thus avoiding price risk,may be so heavily oriented o food production hat it is excessivelyexposed o quantityrisk. Therewill be some ideal balanceamong the various strategies,which will differ oreach household.

A household may be especiallyvulnerable o food insecurity f it has an unusuallyhigh incidenceof the various kinds of risk or if it has an unusuallyhigh cost of achievingsecurity. On the whole, price risks do not differ, and all households ace the same prices.However, he quantity risks vary substantially etweenhouseholdsand betweenpersons.For example, n both Kenya and Tanzaniawomen between he ages of 16 and 49 are tooill to work for twice as many days as men, whereas here is no such difference or otherage groups. Governm3ntpolicyshould hus aim o improve he healthof womenbecausethis contributes significantlyo increasinghousehold ood security.The most important difference between households s the ability to use thesestrategies o cope with food insecurity. Vulnerable groups will have the same threecharacteristics hat the strategiesare meant o overcome: low income, ew liquid assets,and fewoptions to adopt a risk-minimizing tructureof income.There is a strong relationbetweenhousehold ncomeand the range of activities nwhich the household participates. To a considerableextent,a rural household ncreasesits income by graduallyaccumulatingmore remunerative ctivities. Households hat staypoor are the ones unable o overcome he barriers o entering hese activities---whetherthey be inancial, nformational, r institutional.Householdsheadedby women end to be

especiallydisadvantaged n their capacity o overcome such barriers and so are morelikely o be poor.The lower the value of liquid assets a householdpossesses, he less able it is tosmooth consumption by selling assets in bad times or by borrowing against them ascollateral. Householdswith few liquid assets ypically have no livestock or secure itle toland. Both these characteristics end to describe emale-headed ouseholds.Vulnerablehouseholdsalso tend to be insufficientlydiversified. This is illustratedby survey data from Zimbabwe. During 1983 there was an incipient problem of foodinsecurity n Zimbabwe,and the government ery effectivelyavoided severehardship bydistributing amine relief o householdsperceived o be in hardship. Among households

with roughly comparable ncomes, hree characteristicswere found significantly o reducethe likelihood a household would need famine relief; two of these illustrate he impor-tance of asset-based 3trategies. First, access o credit, either because of collateralorreputation, reduced th.e ikelihood of needing food aid by three-quarters. Second, inotherwise denticalhouseholds,ownershipof livestock educed he likelihoodof needingfood aid by nearly a third. The third significant nfluenceon reducing the need for foodaid was the degree o diversificationof activities,with the most vulnerablehouseholdsheavily eliant on subsistence or their income.- 16 -


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Furthermore,households hat.are unable o diversify,and thereby reducerisk andraise ncome at the same ime, must resort to strategies hat reduce risk but also r'educeincome. The most extremeexampleof this is the household hat is confined o a singlelow-returnactivity---usually ubsistence ood production---and an do nothingelse but imitinputs. Using ewer nputs reduces isk, but it also owers yield. The householdreducesits insecurity, but it locks itself into a low income and continues to be excessivelyvulnerable.

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Weavingor hemarketnMadagascarN.dePalma)- 18


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Public Policiesto Increase Household Food SecurityBecause ll efforts o increase ouseholdood securityand o reduce nequitableburdens n women akeplace n the contextof macroeconomicolicies,herearepolicy

measureshat governments an adopt o improvehe situation.Macro Policies o EnhanceWomen's EconomicActivities

Many overnmentsn Africaareundertakingtructural djustment rograms, hichput substantial mphasis n cashcropping or exportor for importsubstitution. hus heresultsof researchnto the effectof cashcroppingon householdood securityand onwomenare extremelymportant.In the early1980s he International oodPolicyResearchnstitute id a seriesofstudieson the effectsof the commercializationf agriculture---orash cropping---on

household ncome,household xpenditure, nd agricultural roduction, s well as onthe ndividuals ithin he households. ive imilar tudieswereconductedn TheGambia,Guatemala, enya,Philippines, nd Rwanda.Resultsromeachof the casestudies howedhat he ncomes f the householdsparticipatingn he cashcropping chemesncreased ignificantlyomparedwith he non-cash-cropping ouseholds.A partof this ncrementalncomewas spenton additionalfood for the household, ut he improvement as ess han proportionalo the increasein income.Thisoccurred espitehe act hatalmostall he households ereconsumingfewercalories han he numberneeded o provideadequate utrition.The data from Kenyawereused o study he effectof sugarcane roduction n

women's ncome,on how hey allocatedheir ime (includingime spenton sugarcaneproduction),and on their health and nutritionalstatus. The resultsshowed thathouseholdshat producedsugarcane ad higher ncomes han similarhouseholdshatdid not produce ugarcane.Absolutencomes f womenwerehigher n sugar-producinghouseholdsegardless f whether he householdwas headedby a man or a womanbecausewomenwereable o diversifyheir ncome ources. However,he proportion fincome ontrolled y womenwashigher n householdshat wereheadedby womenbutthatdid not produce ugar. Interestingly,ouseholds eaded y womenearned higherincome rom sugarcane roductionhan didhouseholds eaded y men. Bothabsolutehouseholdncomeand he proportion f that ncome ontrolled y womenare mportantfor ensuringhouseholdood security.In addition,he cashcropping tudies how hat he ncomecontrolled y womenis more ikely o be spent or food than the income ontrolled y men. This conclusionis supportedby the data from Kenya,which ndicatedhat children rom householdsheadedby womenwere less ikely to be moderately r severelymalnourishedhanchildren rom households eadedby men because greaterproportionof incrementalhousehold alorieswas allocatedo preschool hildren.Thesurveysndicatedhatwomen pendvirtually o ime n sugarcane roduction

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becausesugarcane s perceived o be a men's crop, and women are not compensatedfor time spent working on sugarcane. However, women in sugarcane-producinghouseholdsand those in households hat did not producecane spent the sameamountof time on other agriculturalactivities.Contraryto what might have been expected, he healthand nutritional statusofwomen n Kenyadid not improveas household ncome ncreased. Increasedhouseholdincome was not associatedwith a decrease n women's llnessbecause he incrementalincome was spent on amix of goods and services hat did not lessenwomen'smorbidity.This may be in part explainedby the fact that the increased ncome was controlledbymenand becausewomen maynot haveaccess o or perceive he benefitsof healthcarewhichcould reduce morbidity. More curious was the fact that as income controlledbywomen ncreased,heir nutritionalstatus declinedslightly. It was discovered hat most ofthe additional income was generated from very energy-intensiveactivities, such asweeding,and that the increasedexpenditureof energy was not compensated or by theincrease n caloric intake.

Three lessonsemerge from these data:There sa very close link betweenmacroeconomicpoliciesand their effectsat thehousehold evel. For example, n the Kenyacase study, he increasedncome associatedwith cash-croppingwas due n large part o the government'spricingpolicyon sugarcane.If this policy were to change, he micro-leveleffectswould very likely alsobe different. Inorder to understand the determinants of household food security, it is crucial tounderstand he links between he macro and micro evels.Increments n nc,omerom cash-croppingmadea statistically ignificantbut modest

contribution o reducing hunger in each of the case study areas. However, ncreasedincome by itselfwas less successful n alleviatingmalnutrition. To have dramatic effectson the nutritionalstatus of individuals---ateast in the short term---programs o increaseagriculturalproduction must be linked o programs o improve householdnutrition.Agriculturalpoliciesand programswill not have positiveeffectson women unlesswomen are specificallyncorporated ntothe planningand implementation f schemes ogeneratencome. Plannersneed o look at the rangeof policiespursuedby governmentsand attempt o assess he effectsof these policies on householdsand on the women inthese households. Basedon this assessment,positive effectscan be enhanced andnegativeones reduced.

PoliciesThat Directly ncreaseHouseholdFood SecurityMacroeconomic;policies aimed directly at improving household food securityshould ry to improve he abilityof vulnerable ouseholds o adopt risk-reducing trategiesratherthan try to redu ,e price fluctuationsor to increaseob security.

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Enablinghouseholds o adopt risk-reducingstrategiesGovernmentpolicycanhelp vulnerable ouseholds educe heir risks by increasing

their capacity o hold more iquid ncome, o raise heir ncomes,and to alter the structureof their income.The obvious liquid assets or households o hold are financial. Financialassetshave the enormous advantageof being socially costless. Since inancialassets are usta networkof offsettingclaims and iabilities,hey do not use up real resources. Of courseit takes time for poor households o put aside enough money out of their earnings,buteven very low savings rates of 2 or 3 percent of income would, over a decade, leavethem in a radicallymore secureposition. The governmentcan encouragesavingsby taxpolicy and by institution building. In parts of Africa much governmentexpenditurehasbeen financedby the inflation ax, which is a tax on savings. In turn, savingshave oftenbeen he only financialassetavailableo poor people n ruralareas. The government anencourage developmentof a rural banking system that offers a range of appropriatesavings nstrumentswith after-taxpositive eal rates of return.Governments can also help vulnerable householdsexpand into higher-returnactivities hrough carefullydesigned policy measures. In Kenya, or example, ea is themost important export activity with potential or expansionbecause it is not subject tointernationalquotas. Yet the abilityof vulnerablehouseholds---especiallyhose headedby women---to add tea production to their income-generatingactivities is severelyrestricted; householdsheaded by women have only half the propensity to adopt teaenterprisesas those headed by men. Since around 40 percent of rural households nKenya are headedby women, his nationaldiminishedpropensity s substantial. Further,

the case of Kenyan ea is particularly evealingbecausemost of the laborof tea pickingis done by women. In householdsotherwisevery similar,extra male abor has no effecton the likelihoodof adopting ea, whereasan additionalwoman n an otherwiseaveragehousehold aises hepropensity o adopt ea growingby around a quarter. Thus n Kenyathe tea sector is characterizedby three apparently ncompatibleacts: women do mostof the work on tea, householdswith more women are more ikely o adopt he crop, andyet householdsheaded by women are far less likely o do so.Constraints hat prevent households rom restructuring heir income also inhibitthe economy rom restructuring. Hence, policies o helpvulnerablegroups to overcomeconstraints mprove the mobility of resources n the economy as a whole and therebycontribute to structural adjustment.

Reducing isks outside he householdIn the past, the macroeconomicpoliciesof manyAfrican governments o improvehousehold food security have concentrated directly on reducing three kinds of risk:variations n crop prices through stabilizationschemes,variations n consumer pricesthrough price controls,and job loss through legal ob security (for wages employeesnthe privatesector) and subsidizedunprofitableactivities for wageemployees n thepublic

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sector). None of these is a good use of resources.Stabilizing crop prices has a long, unhappy history. Marketingboards weresupposed to build up surpluses when world prices were high and then use these to

subsidizedomesticprices when world prices were low. In practice, however, wo thingshappened. First, o cover their administrative osts, marketingboard margins ended tobecome greater, the classic case being the cocoa board of Ghana. Second,revenuefluctuations ended to destabilize he government budget. In Kenya, or example, orevery shilling of windfall revenue he government eceived,public expenditure ncreasedby KSh 1.35. During he coffee boom of the late 1970s,however,Kenyancoffee growerssaved around 70 percent of their windfall ncome. Hence, he poor farmers seemed tobe able to handle the most common kind of large price shock rather well, whereas hegovernmentdid not.Price controls on consumergoods were used extensively n Tanzaniauntil 1984,

but they seemed o increase ather han decreaseoverall isk. By holding prices belowthe point at which supply would equal demand, hey created acute excess demandandseverelyuncertainsupply. Peoplehad to waste ime searchingor queuing or consumergoods---time hat could have been used to generatemore income.Job security confers real benefits on those who have it, but this is paid for bythose who do not, either in the form of taxes to finance he subsidy of public enterprisesor the form of reduced employmentopportunitieswhen private irms restrict recruitmentto provide ob security. Because hose with wage employmentare the least vulnerablegroup in the society, these benefitsare very poorly argeted.

Gathering Information for Policymaking and Program DesignTo enable governments o better design macro policies to enhance women'seconomic activities, a better information base is needed. This can be provided bymodifying their current survey instruments, adding more household and micro-levelstudies, commissioningspecial studies, and seeking nformation rom nongovernmentalorganizationsand internationalagencies. In addition, a conscious effort is needed oensure that this information s used to modify policies. An interministerialcommitteecould regularly examine he effect of policies on low-incomehouseholds and women,and a lead agency could be assigned o interpret his information or policymakers.Accurate information about the status of women and about how policies andprograms affect women plays an important role in efforts to increase household oodsecurity and to raise the incomes of low-income women. However, a framework isnecessary o gather and analyze hat information. Such a framework helps identify heroles of women and men and the differentways policiesand programs affect hem.A framework can be useful to policymakers and project designers for severaldifferent reasons. First, it can help them identify factors that cause or contribute tospecific cases of food insecurity or inequitable reatment of women and the relevantactors or decisionmakersn each area. Second, t can help design policy and program

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interventionsand identify he appropriate arget populationor participants. And, third, itcan help screen policyor program interventions nd their likely effect on individualsandhouseholdsand help monitor he effectsof changes.One such information-gatheringramework s organized around three separate

aspects of household food security: food produced and consumed directly by thehousehold, household income sources and expenditures,and the consumption andnutritionof householdmembers. Within each aspect the factors affecting ood securityand the status of women fall in to three areas of analysis: access to and control ofresources, ask and time allocation,and decisionmaking. The information analyzed nthis frameworkcould come from sectoral eports or from researchat the household evel.The three aspects of analysisproposed by this frameworkhighlight he elementsamenable o policy or program nterventions o improvehousehold ood security and thestatus of women. A strictly economicanalysiswill reveal actors affectingprices of inputs,outputs, and consumption. By treating the household as an undifferentiatedunit,

however, t willmask he roles of differentdecisionmakers nd actors, he constraints heyface, or their contribution o householdand individual ood security. Agriculturestudiestend to focus on production,while health and nutritionstudiesmay ocus only on womenand children. In contrast, this framework ocuses on the human dimension of foodsecurityand women's daily ife---theactivities, esources,and decisions nvolved n the useof income or output and made by women and men as producers and consumers. Basedon this, governmentscan structure more effective policies and programsto improvehousehold ood security, he status of women, and, thus, their contribution o householdfood security.

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Women'sdual responsibilitiesn MadagascarN.de Palma)

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Programs to Increase Women's Access to Services and ResourcesGovernments hould reassess heir programs n rural areas o make adjustments

that will increasewomen's access o the resourcesand nformation hey need o increasetheir ncomesand thus he food securityof theirhouseholds. Programsoriented owardswomen's needs are now being mplemented n severalcountries n credit and finance; tis important to learn from this experience,but more action is needed in agriculturalextension, echnology,and nutrition.Credit and Finance for Rural Women

Women need both fixed and working capital or agricultural production and fortheir off-farmactivities hat produce ncome. For agriculturalproduction hey need fixedcapital or tools, such as hoes, axes,and wheelbarrows;oxen and associatedplows andweeders; production inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer; storage facilities, ncludingvarious kinds of containersand storage buildings; capital items to process and markettheir agricultural output, such as grinding mills, churns for ghee and butter, hullingmachines,peelers,and smoking and dryingequipment;and transportationvehicles. Foroff-farm activities hey need fixed capital or market stalls and buildings as well as toolsand machinery or cottage ndustries. Ruralwomen also need ixed capital or householdimprovements, water storage facilities, and durable appliances, such as stoves orrefrigerationequipment.To match their fixed capital, rural women also need working capital for suchagricultural production inputs as hired labor, tractor or animal hire, improved seed,fertilizer, pesticides, bags, rent for storagespace, and transport services. In their off-

farm activities uralwomen need working capital or raw materials,equipment, ransporta-tion services,and fees and licenses.Africanwomen face many difficulties n obtainingcredit to start or to enlarge heirenterprises. However, nitiatives are now under way in several African countries toincreasewomen's access o credit.

Expanding ending o women n UgandaAn effort is underway n Uganda o open credit channels o women. Centraltothis effort is the underlyingassumption hat lending to women must be institutionalized.Women cannot be expected o obtain credit at reasonable ates and conditions hrough

any other channel. The effort s not to establisha separatecredit program; rather t is tolook at the factors inhibitingwomen's access to credit from existing nstitutionsand toredress hem. If the obstacles o women's access o credit couldbe removed,no specialinterest subsidywould be needed. Women would then be able to compete on an equalfooting with men for credit.Based on field research hat evaluatedwomen's participationn the credit market,their constraints,and their strengths, he Central Bank s working with two commercialbanks, one cooperative bank, and one nongovernmentalorganization to increase

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women's access o credit. To encourage ending o priority argets---suchas women---the CentralBank grants favorable rediscount acilities or loans.One goal of the effort s to increase he qualityof lending o women. The researchfound that when banks did lend to women, they were so cautious that they tended tounderfinance he proposed enterprise and were not willing to lend even up to theapproved imits. This disturbed he borrower's plansand forced he woman o work morethan plannedat other activities. In turn, this reduced he anticipated ncome rom the newenterpriseand led to difficulties epaying he loan.With the help of the Central Bank, the lending nstitutions mproved he quality oftheir lending or women by modifying he conditions hat were reducingwomen's access..They waived he requirement or collateral,using he reputationof the woman's characterand an analysisof the proposed enterprise nstead. Since so many women had beendenied access to institutionalizedcredit, the banks also waived the requirement hat

women borrowers be previous customers. Applicationswere simplified, and women,especially those who were illiterate, were given extra assistance in making theirapplications. In some cases loans were made to women's groups, which assumedcollective iabilityand receivedspecial raining n the use of credit and record keeping.The program has met with considerablesuccess, and repayment ecords havebeen good. Not unexpectedly, here remain problems. One, of course, s extending hereachof the program. Another s trying to incorporatea strongersavingselement n whathas to date been largely a credit effort. In the view of the Central Bank, however, heprogram has led to a "breakthrough n lending"---somuch so that now the most difficultproblem s the availabilityof loanable unds.

Learning o use credit through group projects n ZimbabweThe Food and AgricultureOrganization FAO) s supporting a project to expandlending o women n Zimbabwe. The projectgrew rom a critiquepreparedby the Ministryof Community Development,Cooperatives, and Women's Affairs, which found thatprograms or womenwere often small,marginalizedwomen n lower-income ctivities, nddrew women away rom higher-income ctivities. Women acked access o land, inputs,credit, and oxen and often did not control the income from their farming activities.Usually,access to resourceswas through men, and women had little direct access toagriculturalextension nformation.The FAO project addresses the problem of credit availabilityby working withgroups, drawing on traditions of labor sharing. The groups usually have between 10and 20 people, select their own members, and include both men and women. Theprogram suggests that more than half the group be women to reflect the reality ofextensivemale emigration. Groups undertakecollective arming activities,but membersalso have ndividualplots.The project considers credit to be a farming nput and believes hat farmers mustunderstand hat borrowing money s a commercial ransaction. The group jointly plans

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all aspects of its production,and the connection between nputs and the use of credit isemphasized. Simple recordsare ntroduced rom the beginning,but they become moresophisticatedduring a four-yearperiod as the group becomesmore experienced. In thefirst year, a group is eligible or a specialsubsidized oan,which matches he group's ownassets and is made on the basis of an agreed cropping plan. The loan is managed bythe group as a whole. If their first year is successful, he group is encouraged o expandtheir enterprisesby borrowing rom theAgriculturalFinanceCorporationat the going rateof 13 percent. No collateral s needed other than the growing crop. The group agreesthat the marketingboard for the crop will deduct the loan from the proceeds of the cropsale and will remit it to the Agricultural Finance Corporation. Thus, the farmersthemselvesdo not have to make he payment.

Although the scheme is in its early stages, he FAO considers t to be reasonablysuccessful. The small groups develop a group cohesion as a result of their jointproduction. The ndividualmembers earn rom their group participationhow o use creditproductively in their own individual enterprises. An advantage of the group-basedapproach s that to some degree he group is removed rom the household, so womenmembers etain much more control over their share of the income.

One weaknesshat remains,however, s hat the program ocuses argelyon creditand is not concerned with savings. The Agricultural Finance Corporation s a creditagency,not a full-servicebank. Groups are encouraged o save hrough postal savingsor a building society, but it would be preferable f the lending institution also mobilizedsavings.EnablingAfrican women to use commercialcredit

Women'sWorld Banking WWB)has nstitutedan nternational ffort o helpwomenlearneconomicallyproductiveskillsand o obtaincommercial redit o establishor expandenterprises. Because women tend to have few assets, normal commercial credit isunavailable.The WWBbreaks his stalemateby guaranteeingoans made to women bycommercialbanks.The program has affiliates n 24 African countries. In Kenya, or example,whereseveral commercialbanks are cooperatingwith the WWB, he internationaloffice of theWWB guarantees50 percent of a loan, the nationalaffiliateguarantees25 percent,andthe commercialbank assumes he remaining25 percentof the risk. Loans are made atgoing rates of interest with normal commercialconditions. The program has been inoperation about six years and has sufferedonly one default.WWB affiliatesput considerableemphasis on training women in economic skillsand the use of credit. For example, he Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT),usingfunds rom the Swedish nternationalDevelopment gency (SIDA), rainedwomen radersin the two largest markets in the country in business management,accounting, andmarketingand then guaranteed oans from a commercialbank. The bank has recentlyrenewed ts loan guaranteeagreementwith the KWFTand is expanding ts lending.

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The KWFT s embarkingon anotherguaranteeschemewith the commercialbankhaving he most rural branches. The program s targeted o rural women and conductstraining courses at many locations hroughout Kenya.The WWB has attracted considerable support from international agencies. InAfrica, for example, t has cooperated with the World Bank, the African DevelopmentBank, UNICEF, 'OrganisationCanadien pour la solidarite dans le developpement,andSIDA,among others.

Orienting Extension toward Women's NeedsMany African specialists believe hat agricultural extension services n Africa donot adequatelyaddress the needs of women armers.Extensionactivitiesare mostly addressed o men becauseof an erroneous belief

that men are the main decisionmakers n agriculture. Furthermore,extension staff aremostly male. For hese reasonsextensionmessagesdo not address he fact that womenare generally nvolved n a much wider range of agriculturalactivities han men and hencerequirea wider range of informationand technology. Such nformationshould cover

Gittinger, J. Price & Sidney Chernick Et Al. 1990 'Household Food Security and the Role of Women'...

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