The Gender and Social Dimensions to Livestock Keeping in Africa: Implications for Animal Health...

TheGenderandSocialDimensionstoLivestockKeeping inAfrica:Implications for Animal Health Interventions

Prepared forGALVmedByBethA.Miller, DVM7March2011

Acknowledgements andDisclaimer

Copyright Beth A.Miller, DVM. Any viewsexpressed, do not necessarily representthose of GALVmed.

All photographs are copyright of the followingindividuals, (to whomGALVmed expresses itsthanks) andmay not be reproduced:

JamesGlossop for The Times – front cover;inside cover; p.4 (second& third images)pp.7; 15; 16; 18; 19; 22; 31; 33; 39; 47

Steve Sloan – p.4 (uppermost image); pp.17;26

Anita Swarup – p.4 (lowermost image);pp.11; 24

Getty Images – p.8

Contents

The gender and social dimensions to livestock keeping in Africa I Page3

Acronyms 4

ExecutiveSummary 5

1 Introduction 9

2 Definitions 10

2.1 Gender 10

2.2 Household 11

2.3 Ownership and property rights 12

3 Rolesof livestock 14

3.1 Priorities 14

3.2 What is work? 14

3.3 Livestockmanagement 14

3.3.1 Daily chores 15

3.3.2 Slaughter 16

3.3.3 Breeding 16

3.3.4 Animal health 18

3.3.5 Indigenous knowledge systems 18

3.3.6 Assessing gender roles 19

3.4 Zoonoses 20

4 Speciespreferences 21

4.1 Cattle and Camels 21

4.1.1 Dairy Cattle 21

4.1.2 Draft Oxen 22

4.2 Small Ruminants 22

4.3 Swine 22

4.4 Poultry 23

4.5 Microlivestock 24

4.6 Equids 24

5 Constraints towomen’saccesstoanimalhealth services 25

5.1 Women’s “deficits” 25

5.2 Institutional culture and policy 25

5.3 Government policies and priorities 25

5.4 Animal health delivery 26

6 Constraints towomen’saccess tomarkets 27

6.1 Credit and financial services 27

6.2 Commercialization andmale appropriation 27

6.3 Market information 28

6.4 Meat sales 28

6.5 Government regulations 28

6.6 The Private Sector 28

7 Solutionsandstrategies to increasewomen’saccesstoanimalhealth services 29

7.1 Institutions 29

7.1.1 Commitment 29

7.1.2 Policy 29

7.1.3 Staff training 29

7.2 Partner institutions 30

7.2.1 Government 30

7.2.1.1 National Promotion of gender equality 30

7.2.1.2 Agriculturalministries 31

7.2.1.3 National policies 31

7.2.2 Universities andResearch Institutions 32

7.2.3 Producer organizations 32

7.2.3.1 Women’s groups in villages 32

7.2.3.2 Producer groups and cooperatives 33

7.2.4 The Private Sector 33

7.2.5 NonGovernmental Organizations 33

7.3 Program level strategies 34

7.3.1 Planning 34

7.3.2 Training programs 34

7.3.3 Accountability and assessment 35

7.3.4 Hiring Female Staff 36

7.4 OneHealth 36

8 Strategies to improvewomen’saccess tomarkets 38

8.1 Groups 38

8.2 Technology 38

8.3 Integrated services 38

8.4 Credit and financial services 38

8.5 Formal ownership 39

8.6 Newproducts 39

8.7 The private sector 39

8.8 Focus onwomen 39

9 Trends for the future 40

9.1 Globalization 40

9.1.1 Religion 40

9.2 Livestock confinement 40

9.3 Population pressure 40

9.4 Climate change 40

10 Lessons learned 40

10.1 Invest in institutions and people aswell as technology 40

10.2 Market incentiveswork best after women’s skills areupgraded to be competitive 40

10.3 Social attitudes and behaviors change over time 40

11 Recommendations toGALVMed 41

11.1 Gender Strategy-Institutional 41

11.1.1 Gender Audit 41

11.1.2 Gender Policy 41

11.1.3 Staff Issues 41

11.1.4 Central Coordination 41

11.1.5 Board of Advisors 41

11.2 Gender Strategy- Project level 41

11.2.1 Goals and objectives 41

11.2.2 Monitoring and assessment 41

11.2.3 Advocacy 41

11.2.4 Integration of vaccines into packages 41

11.2.5 Species focus 41

Bibliography 42–47

Acronyms


AAHH AIDSAffectedHouseHold

AIDS Acquired ImmuneDeficiency Syndrome,caused by theHuman Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

BMGF Bill andMelinaGates Foundation

DFID Department for International Development of theUnitedKingdom

EADD East AfricaDairy Development Project

ECA Economic Commission for Africa

FAO Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations

HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus

IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development

MHH Male headed households

MIL Mother in Law

PLWA People LivingWith AIDS

SR Small Ruminants

TB Tuberculosis

VPH Veterinary Public Health

WHH WomenHeadedHousehold

WHO WorldHealth Organization

ExecutiveSummaryThe gender and social dimensions to livestock keepingin Africa: implications for animal health interventions


GALVmedhas commissioned this report toevaluate the role of gender in livestock insubSaharanAfrica as an initial step towardsformulating its gender strategy andimplementation plan.Women’s contributionis essential to successful livestock keepingbecause they already supply themajority oflabor and expertise on small holder farms,and in the peri and urban setting. In pastoralcommunities, bothmen andwomenhavewelldefined and essential livestock responsibilities.Intentional outreach towomenwith assets likeinformation, vaccines and other supplies,training, andmarket linkageswill improveproductionmore than outreach tomen alone,and is an opportunity to raisewomen’s socialstatus and opportunities. Gender trainingwithbothmen andwomen can increasewomen’suse of income from livestock enterprises,whichis linked to improved family nutrition, healthandwelfare. In order to reach and benefitwomen livestock keepers, it is necessary forall programs and activities to includewomen’sempowerment as an explicit goal, with stafftraining, budget and accountability.

Although theAfrican household is the placeof production and consumption, assets like cash,food, tools, labor, and decision-making power arenot shared equally. Therefore intra householdanalysis is necessary to ensure thatwomenaswell asmenget the tools they need, and can enjoythe benefits from theirwork.

1 Importanceof livestock towomenPoor rural families aremore dependent on theirlivestock than the better off, and women are themajority of the poor in Africa. In addition, womenheaded households (WHH) and AIDS Affected HouseHolds (AAHH) are themost vulnerable to foodinsecurity and poverty. Increasing and protectingtheir livestock assets is a key survival strategy, yetintentional effort to reach them is required becauseof theirmarginalized social position.

The gender and age division of labor withinhouseholds depends on ethnicity, tradition and class.In pastoral societies, women care for all animalskept near the home, and are responsible for thehealth of animals when they return from pastures atnight. Herding responsibilities are often gendered,withmen herding larger animals andwomen andchildren herding sheep and goats. Decisions aboutmoving animals to pastures or water sources, aswell as selling or gifting livestock are usuallymadebymen.

Inmixed crop livestock systems,men andwomentypically own different animals and farm differentplots of land, and keep the income from their ownsales. Intensification and commercialization of dairyand poultry typically increase women’s workload andshift income fromwomen tomen, which results inless spending on food and household welfare.

On a daily basis, women typically cleanmanure,feed animals, and treat sick individuals. Since theyspendmore time on the farms than their husbands,they observe the animalsmore regularly for signsof disease. Milkingmay be done ether bymen orwomen, but domestic processingmilk is always thedomain of women.

Because of their exposure tomanure, offal, milk,rawmeat and often animal birth fluids, women aremore exposed to zoonotic disease such asbrucellosis, tuberculosis, taenia and echinococcus.Slaughter and tanning hides exposes eithermen orwomen to anthrax depending on the ethnic group.HIV/AIDS patients are especially vulnerable to allzoonotic diseases, include cryptosporidiosis.Althoughwomen do not get infected with TB orBrucellosis at a higher rate thanmen, they areslower to seek treatment and takemedication.Women are now themajority of HIV/AIDS patients inAfrica. Women are key to the prevention of zoonoiticdisease but only if education efforts target themspecifically. Women cannot protect themselvesfromHIV until their social and economic status isstrengthened.


2 Species preferencesAlthoughwomenwork with all species and sizesof livestock, they are often able to own andmanagesmall ruminants and poultry withminimalinterference frommen.Milk andmilk products hastraditionally been the domain of women, whetherfrom cows, goats or camels.

Vaccine and health care improvements for smallruminants and poultry will have the greatest positiveimpact on women, since they often can control thebenefits from the animals. Women often depend onfood and income from dairy cows and camels,evenwhen their husbands have formal ownership.Women prefer to own larger andmore valuableanimals to increase their economic security,which takes deliberate effort withmen to ensuretheir support.

Men own themajority of livestock in Africa, fromcattle and camels to small stock and poultry, so theyalso will benefit from improved health care for allspecies. Intentional outreach to women alsoincreases animal health care for poormen andmarginalized groups, and for the better offproducers, due to overall increase in services.

3 Constraints to accessinganimal health care

Althoughwomen usually are not denied access toanimal health care through deliberate decision,menreceive the bulk of training and replacement stock.Information is shared through dip tank committeesor livestock producer groups, which are nearlyalwaysmen. Transmission of information or trainingfrom husbands to wives isminimal. Livestocktraining and Farmer Days usually are not targeted towomen, and rarely focus onwomen’s animals likesmall ruminants and poultry. Veterinarians andextension agents are usuallymen, whowill not orcannot interact with women.

Women’s other constraints are a longer workday,illiteracy, lack ofmobility and lack of confidence.Theymay need permission from husbands totravel. They need to purchase health productslikemedicine in the village or near the home,and preferably from another woman.

4 Constraints to accessingmarketsfor animals andproducts

Women lackmarket contacts and informationcompared tomen. Livestock coops rarely includewomen, so they cannot influence groupmarketingto their benefit. WHH and poorer HH in East Africaare less likely to have cell phones, which are nownecessary for effective livestock trading.

Illiteracy, innumerancy, inexperience and lack offinancial skills all hinder women’s success in themarket place. Traders offer lower prices to womenbecause they have fewer options for selling becausethey cannot travel far. Women have less access tocredit, or are limited to the tiny amounts availablethroughmicrocredit lenders, which husbandsmayappropriate.

Women often need permission from a husband tosell an animal, evenwhen he is away from a farm,so they are disadvantaged by delayed decisionmaking. If a husband ormale relatives sells awoman’s animal or products, not all of the incomewill return to her. Commercial dairy collectionplants usually send amilk check to the head ofhousehold, limitingmarried women’s access toincome they once enjoyed.

Government regulations on informal sales ofmilkand other foods of animal originmay further limitwomen’smarket opportunities.

5 Improving access to animal healthservices andmarkets forwomenandothermarginalizedgroups

Groups of women ormarginalized groups canaccess information, training, credit, supplies andmarketsmuchmore easily than individuals, but theyoften need assistance to develop leadership andmarket skills. Groups that integrate technical andsocial objectives, and providemultiple services suchas livestock production and literacy are themostsuccessful. Women belong to asmany groups asmen, butmen’s aremore agriculture andmarketoriented, while women’s tend to focus on familyhealth andwelfare.

Animal health information can be shared throughexisting women’s networks such as PTA’s, religiousorganizations, the wives of traditional leaders andtheir own groups or societies. Women need to beexplicitly invited tomeetings and training, andmenneed to support their participation.


Animal health training should be in the village, lessthan a day, in the local languagewithout technicaljargon or reliance onwrittenmaterials. Women onlytrainings are useful to encouragewomen to askquestions and practice new skills. Frequent follow upand self monitoring are also helpful.

Institutions such as government and universitiesoften do not have the commitment and capacity todesign and implement effective training for women,so effective partnerships with themmay requireadditional sensitization and training. The best sourceof information, animal health products and care forwomen producers is village based and from anotherwoman, so female CAHW’s are critical, but requireintentional efforts to recruit and retain.

Institutions which effectively deliver animal healthcare products, services and training to women havedeveloped gender policies, and explicitly designated

gender equity as a goal for all activities. Theiraccountability systems look beyond the household,and in addition to income generation or animalproduction, include child nutrition and change ingender division of labor and decisionmakingas indicators of success.

Additional strategies to reachwomen includejoint activities with human health services, andpartnerships with social welfare organizations.Increasing the number of women asmembersand leaders in producer organizations or coopstakes intentional training ofmembers, change ofmembership criteria and quotas.

National issues which especially impact womenare property rights, informalmarket regulationand statistical assessment of women’s labor andparticipation in the national economy.


6 Recommendations toGALVMed

1 Develop a Gender Strategy through a participatory process includingmanagement,staff, field offices, and partner organizations. Address both institutional issues such aspersonnel policies, and project issues such planning,monitoring and evaluation.

2 Ensure a common understanding of and commitment to gender equity andwomen’sempowerment for all staff and partners.

3 Designate one person to coordinate and harmonize gender related programming,training and assessment, with adequate authority, time and budget, althoughresponsibility for gender integrationmust be shared by all staff and programs.

4 In addition to formal surveys, use informal data on intra-household division of laborand control. Analyze gender data in each activity location because of the differencesacross cultural groups.

5 Based on the literature review, and evidence of systematicmarginalization of womenand AAHH from animal health care activities, assume a proactive strategy to reach them,even before baseline data is collected.

6 Bundle vaccine interventions into packages that include animal health training,marketing, credit and leadership training for women

7 Prioritize vaccines and training for small ruminants and poultry which represent agreater share of women’s assets and livelihoods


Gender issues are central to the achievement ofGALVmed’s goal of Protecting Livestock-SavingHuman Life in Africa. Women are keymanagers ofmost livestock, and increasing their access to animalhealth care will improve productivity, and enhancetheir status. Althoughwomen in general own fewerproductive animal resources compared tomen, theymanage all types of livestock from cattle and camelsto sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. Women uselivestock to generate food and income to enhancefood security and family welfare. Nearly all ruralfamilies have some livestock, and livestock areincreasingly important to the urban and periurbanhouseholds (HH) as well. Two-thirds of the world’s600million poor livestock keepers are rural women(Thornton et al. 2003).

There is common agreement among developmentagencies that gender inequality limits economicgrowth and sustainable development in Africa, soenhancing recognition of the value of women andtheir activities, and increasing their productivityand decision-making alleviates poverty (WB, FAO,IFAD, ADB). Donors such as The Bill andMelindaGates Foundation (BMGF), and Department forInternational Development (DFID) of the UnitedKingdom insists that all development efforts explicitlyenhance the status andwell being of women.

Poor families are disproportionately dependent onlivestock for their livelihoods compared to the betteroff (Heffernan 2003). Women headed households(WHH) and AIDS Affected Households (AAHH) areamong the poorest across Africa, so their livestockare a key strategy for survival. In addition, women inconventional households or compounds provide laborand expertise thatmake livestock production viable,andwould benefit from increased information,technology and social contacts.

SubSaharanAfrica is a vast placewherelocal customs and attitudes are diverse.There are some valid generalizations aboutgender and livestock, but there is nosubstitute for gender and social analysisin each targeted location, both to improveservice delivery, and to help local peopleassess their own situation and plansustainable solutions.Stewart 1998

Historically, the household (HH) has been used asthe unit of impact analysis in development, assumingshared resources and benefits amongmembers.More recent research shows that householdmembers have different preferences, and do not pooltheir resources or labor (Quisumbing 2010), sobaseline and impact studies on resources, work loadand benefits need to be disaggregated by age, genderand HIV status to bemeaningful.

Throughout Africa,men andwomen farmseparate fields, keep separate budgets andhave different responsibilitieswithin thefamily. Theymay owndifferent livestock,whichmay ormay not bemanaged together,andwhose productsmay ormay notbe shared.TheAfrican household is the place foragricultural production and consumption,but information, incomeand benefits arenot pooled.Kabeer 2003

Development interventions that result in increasingresources controlled by women improve agriculturalproductivity, as well as family health and nutrition(Quisumbing 2010). However, without deliberateplanning, livestock interventions can shift resourcesfromwomen tomen, to the detriment of familywell-being. Therefore, gender analysis and focusedtargeting of information and resources is essential toproject success.

Successful outreach towomenmustintentionally overcomegender basedconstraints, and has the added benefit ofmaking resourcesmore available to othermarginalized people, such as poormen, andmembers of AIDSAffectedHouseholds.FAO 2005

Access to and benefits from animal health servicesand livestockmarkets are also gendered, sostrategies for success and case studies from otherorganizations will be examined, leading torecommendations to GALVmed.

1 Introduction


2Definitions2.1 GenderGender refers to the socially defined roles andresponsibilities ofmen andwomen in a given placeand time, in contrast to biological sex which isuniversal and unchanging. Age, class and ethnicityare also social constructs that affect individuals’roles, resources and rewards. Another importantsocial variable in Africa is HIV/AIDS status, whichcarries a strong social stigma in addition toconsuming family resources due to health care costs,lost labor and knowledge, and funeral expenses.

In Africa, many development workers use theterms gender, sex andwomen interchangeably.“Women’s Projects,” or “Gender Projects,” to helpwomen generate income to compensate for theirmarginalization are still popular butmostlyunsuccessful because ofminiscule funding andfailure to address the root cause of women’sdisadvantage, which is the lack of power in the familyand community. Past women’s projects typicallygenerated low profits, or if successful, could notprevent husbands from taking over. Now the phrase“gender project,”more properly refers to compo-nents of any project that teaches staff and partici-pants how to analyze gender difference, and to closegaps so that women as well asmen benefit from allproject activities.

Rather than simply generating income, the goal of“women’s empowerment,” includes women’s controlof agricultural decision-making andwomen’sparticipation in and leadership of farmerorganizations (BMGF 2008).

2.1.1Genderdifferences are not necessarily aproblem, if they are recognized and respected.For example, women aremore likely to view livestockasmeans to ensure food security for the family,whereasmen value livestock tomeet present anduture cash needs (Heffernan 2003). However ifdevelopment interventions reward only incomegenerating activities at the expense of foodproduction, andwomen do not have the cash tobuy food, family welfare declines.

2.1.2GenderAnalysis is an examination of genderdifference to identify bottlenecks to production andequality at the household, community and nationallevel. Themost useful analytical categories areworkload, access to and control of resources andcontrol of benefits in the home, andmembership andleadership in organizations. This type of analysis ismost effectively done in a group setting, whichmakeswomen’s work visible tomen as well as the womenthemselves, highlighting the obstacles whichmustbe overcome, and leading to specific local strategiesto be implemented.

2.1.3GenderConstraints are obstacles to women’sparticipation or benefit from an activity that arespecific to gendered roles and opportunities in agiven society. In Africa, women have less formaleducation, less land and other natural assets, lessaccess to credit and other financial resources, andlessmobility compared tomen of the same age,class and ethnicity. They typically have a longerwork day thanmen, so time is a serious constraint.Local traditions and customary lawmay allowmen to appropriate women’s labor, cash andlivestock. Their lower social status,measured bydecision-making and community equality (Smith2003), leaves them vulnerable to violence andfurthermarginalization from productive assets orcommunity services.

2.1.4Gendermainstreaming is the strategy ofintegrating gender equality objectives into everyaspect of an organization’s work, includinginternal practices and policies as well as projectdevelopment, monitoring, evaluation and funding.This legitimizes gender equality as a fundamentalvalue and choice of the organization, and is botha vision of a better future and ameans to accomplishit (UNDP 2000).


2.2 HouseholdAfrican households are diverse, dynamic and resisteasy categorization. A household generallymeans agroup of people who eat and live together. In Africa, itis also the basic unit of production and consumption,although resources are not shared equally (Kabeer2003). In some polygamous households, severalwivesmay occupy the same compoundwith thehusband’s family, but eachwomanmanagers herown household, with varying degrees of support fromher husband and grown sons. In other cultures,co-wives live far away from each other. Inmatrilocalsocieties in Ghana, a woman lives close to her natalfamily, which increases her social capital, or thepeople she can depend on in times of need.

In some studies, eachwoman cooking for her ownchildren is considered a woman headed household(WHH), although there is an official male head ofhousehold (MHH) as well. If aman is present, he isconsidered the “head of household,” and finalauthority on family decisions, although some official“MHH,” are youngmale children. Women can headtheir own households following death or divorce(“de jure,” or legal heads), although they often arestill subject to the authority of the husband’s brothersor father, their own fathers, or brothers or sons.Manymenmigrate for paid work, andmay returnhomeweekly, monthly or rarely. Their wives become

de facto heads of household, taking on bothmale andfemale agricultural tasks, but decision-making isoften delayed, since a womanmay fear to take adecision without the husband’s consent.

In pastoralist societies, when husbands take herdsaway for distant grazing for weeks ormonths at atime, womenmanage their households as de factoheads. Often they are active in themarketplace,especially selling dairy products, butmay lackauthority to buy or sell live animals.

Child headed households, or children living withelderly relatives are becoming increasingly commonas AIDS kills one or both parents. AIDS affectedhouseholds (AAHH) are among the poorest. Inmanyparts of Africa, women aremore vulnerable to HIV,due to female biology, low status, and customarydeference tomen. The practice of vaginal dryingherbs in Southern Africa increases the likelihood offemale infection from amale partner. The stigma ofAIDS furthermarginalizes these households fromlivestock and other support services (FAO 2005).

Livestock are especially important for People LivingWith AIDS (PLWA), since they provide nutritious food,and income formedicine. Small ruminants andpoultry are often easiest for them to acquire andmanage, because they are inexpensive compared tocattle, and reproducemore quickly, while stillproviding valuable products (FAO 2005).


2.3 Ownership, property rightsand inheritance

Development reports in Africa often note that themale head of household is usually the “owner” ofland and livestock, but women have some rights touse them through relationships. Increasing women’sassets is key to women’s empowerment. Livestockaremore available and sociallymore acceptable thanland, but intentional efforts are needed to build andsafeguard women’s livestock assets (Kristjanson2010).

The term “ownership” is still used inmost surveysand government statistics, although differentiatingbetween access and control of resources ismoreuseful to development planners. Smith-Oboler (1996)notes “that the concept of ownership ismisplaced inspeaking of indigenous African property systems.There is no single individual who has the kinds ofrights inmost cattle that are implied when anEnglish speaker talks about “owning” something.In the case of cattle, the rights of control by anyindividual are constrained by the rights to the sameanimal held by other individuals.”

Men andwomen differ in the types of rights theyhave to livestock. Meinzen-Dick et al (2005) explainsproperty rights as overlapping “bundles,” which canbe grouped as use rights (usufruct) and control ordecisionmaking rights, such as sale, slaughter orgifting. These rights are flexible and dynamicdepending on social relations, the weather conditions(drought or non-drought) and the value of the animal.Several individuals or groupsmay have differentkinds of rights over the same resource.

For example, in some cases women control cattlemilk when it is used for home consumption, howeverthey cannot sell it and keep the income (Valdivia2001). Guèye (2000), in a review of backyard poultryin Africa, notes that women often own and care forpoultry; however, they can seldom take sole decisionover the use of the birds or eggs (consumption,selling, exchange etc.). McPeak and Doss (2006)found that, amongmobile pastoralists in northernKenya, women had the right to sell milk; however,menwere responsible for the overall herd, and chosewhich animals tomilk or sell.

Buhl and Homewood (2000) notes that there isalways a household headwhommust be informed ofdecisions, and there are further levels of subordinatedecision-making. Every householdmember has arange of rights and obligations determined by sex,

age and status. Often a young bride’s access toresources is determined by hermother-in-law (MIL)rather than husband, although theMIL’s control isnot as profound [or detrimental] as in South Asia.Senior wives often can assert authority over juniorwives.

Competing preferences or interests within ahousehold can be settled through negotiation,intermediaries or force. Although themale has finalsay in the African context, and his use of force isculturally sanctioned, a woman’s bargaining poweroften increases with the assets she brings to thehousehold, and the income she generates(Quisumbing 2003). First wives often havemoreinfluence in polygamous households, and age bringincreased respect and influence to bothmen andwomen. However, women tend to be an average of15 years younger than their husbands, less educated,raised to defer tomen, and undervalue themselvesand their work (EADD 2010). They lack confidenceand are often unable to recognize or assert theirconcerns, preferences or rights.

Menare expected tomake decisions forthe entire household, but often lackinformation onwomen’s activities, especiallythe time and resources needed to producefood for the family, and provide cooking,cleaning and healthmaintenance.Men oftendo not intend to overload theirwiveswithwork or deprive themof resources, butcommunication norms in the traditionalhouseholdmake transparent sharing ofinformationbetweenmenandwomendifficult.Quisumbing 2010

Although themodern sense of “ownership,”meaningabsolute decision-making and control of property isincreasing across Africa, customarymeanings stillprotect rural women’s right to livestock. Formal andrecognized ownership rights would bring womengreater protection, but this is often beyond theirmeans. Since ownership systems are in transition,women easily lose control of livestock, especiallyafter a husband’s death, due to “property grabbing,”by his relatives. Governments are aware of this, andBotswana has tried to outlaw it, with limited success.SomeNGO’s have workedwith traditional leaderswilling to enforce “joint ownership,” contracts sowidow’s property rights to livestock can be preserved.(Heifer Zambia 2010).


Inmany places in Africa including Ethiopia, upholdingfemale property and inheritance rights helps prevent“leviratemarriage,” of a widow to the dead husband’sbrother, because shewill have resources tomaintainherself (Flinan 2008). Preserving women’s propertyand inheritance rights are key for women actingas heads and/or primary caregivers of HIV/AIDSaffected households (Kabeer 2003).

InMuslim areas, girls are supposed to inherit half asmuch as their brothers after the death of a father,but thismay not occur in practice, and questioningmale decisionsmay not be tolerated (Kabeer 2003).

Women often own livestock in name only, and theiranimals becomemingled into the family or clan herd.Talle (1988) notes among theMaasai, womenostensibly own cattle and small stock but don’texercise any real control over off take. If her husbandis not present during an emergency, a woman needsto consult amale relative prior to selling stock, whois responsible for defending the decision upon thehusband’s return.

Women often receive gifts of livestock from relatives,which are thenmanaged by theirmenfolk on theirbehalf, but women are forbidden from enquiring afterthem. In southern Africa, themother of a brideusually receives a cow from the groom’s family, andsomewomen have becomewealthy as these cowsreproduce over the years. However, most of the“mother’s cattle,” are taken into the family herd andare not seen again. There is a bitter joke amongwomen in Zambia that during hard times, the“mother’s cattle,” die or are “carried off by wildbeasts,” at a higher rate than others (Miller 2002).However, among Fulani pastoralists in Burkino Faso,no woman complained [to the anthropologistauthors] thatmale familymembers cared less wellfor her animals than the herder’s own (Buhl 2000).

Kristjanson et al (2010) found no published evidencethat women lose animals to drought, disease or theftat a higher rate than domen, but this has not beeninvestigated systematically, nor have self-managedandmalemanaged animals been compared. Givenwomen’s limited access to livestock-related inputsand services, it is likely that they do losemore of theirself-managed animals, which could decimate theirasset base.

Large animals such as cattle often need to be“registered,” in parts of Africa where dipping iscommon to control tick borne disease. In practice,nearly all cattle are registered in aman’s name, andhe is responsible for bringing animals to the dippinglocation, and interacting with animal health staff.

Zimbabweanwomen’s cattle are generallyregistered in their husband’s nameswiththeDepartment of Veterinary Services fordipping, and this excludes them frominformation and other livestock initiativesChawatama et al. 2005

Transmission of information fromhusbandstowives about livestock is unreliable, and isestimated at under 5%.Maarse 1999

Therefore, dip registration could be an opportunityto document ownership of individual animals, andincrease transparency in ownership which womenindividually cannot demand. Improved registries willnot only help women assert claims to benefits fromthese animals (although theymay also inherit feesfor services), it will help epidemiologists understandherdmingling patterns which affect diseasetransmission, and trace epizootics back to theirsource.

Livestock or land ownership is often necessary to joinLivestock Associations, where technical andmarketinformation is shared, and decisions on prices aretaken.Women are effectively excluded due to lack offormal ownership (Waters-Bayer 2010).

Women’s ability to claim ownership of valuablelivestock andmakemanagement decisions varywidely across ethnic groups. Tuareg women inNiger have long been autonomous in their livestockmanagement, and can becomewealthier than theirhusbands (Niamir-Fuller 1994). Ethiopian womenincreasingly participate in open livestockmarketsby buying and selling live bulls (Rubin 2010).However, womenmust have starting capital,financial information and a supportive cultureto assert their rights to livestock.


3Rolesof livestock3.1 PrioritiesWomen prioritize keeping livestock to provide forfamily food, and usemilk, meat and eggs to feed thefamily, or purchase foodstuffs with cash from thesale of surplus, whilemen keep animals for income,emergencies, social status, and gift giving (Heffernan2003).

Traditional or sacrificial uses of livestock areimportant to bothmen andwomen, and althoughthese uses do not show up on an economic ledgeror survey, they influence people’s preferences anddecision-making. For example, poultry often have asignificant customary role in addition to homeconsumption and exchange for goods and services.In Ghana chickens play a special leading role incementingmarriages, friendships and even resolvingquarrels and enmity between neighbours, lovers,brothers and comrades. Referring to a specifictraditional society of theManprusi in Ghana, Veluw(1987) report the functions of poultry as 35%sacrifice, 28% sale, 15% consumption, 13% gift and10% breeding stock. In Niger, home consumptionand ceremonies account for 35%, gifts 20%, sales orbarter 45% (Kaiser 1988). In the case of Ghana as awhole, 71% of poultry eggs are kept for hatching,18% for sale, 5% for gifts and 5% for consumptionKitalyi (1996).

When cattle or goats aremilked, women prioritizehome consumption whilemen prefer to sell it.Increasing commercial opportunities can turnmilkproduction into a “cash crop” at the expense of childnutrition, creating intra household conflict (Maarse1999). Therefore, child nutrition is a better indicatorof family welfare than income.

Bothmen andwomenwill sell chickens or a goatto pay for school fees or buy food ormedicine. Themajority of cattle in Kenya are sold by pastoralists topurchase food and other basic needs such as paraffinfor lamps and cooking oil. (Heffernan 2004). Bothmen andwomen keep livestock as a form of savings,which can be sold in times of need.

As banking and financial services improve acrossAfrica, and pasture resources shrink, the “non food,”function of livestock is predicted to decrease.Modern production practices include chemicalfertilizer rather thanmanure,mechanical power overanimal traction, and bridepride in cash rather thancattle. Themarket for food of animal origin iscontinuing to grow, but as formalmarkets overtakeinformal local sales, women’s participation in andbenefit from sales tend to decrease, unlessintentional provisions aremade (Gerber 2010).

3.2 What iswork?Government, the United Nationals (UN) andacademic surveys have long underestimatedwomen’s contribution to all aspects of agriculturewhen using the narrow International LabourOrganization (ILO) definition of “work,” as activitiesdone for pay or profit. Women’s unpaid work withinthe household was therefore invisible and unvalued,andwomen’s activities received neither attentionnor resources to improve productivity or reducedrudgery. Today there is broad agreement that“work,”must include both paid and unpaid laborin the household and both formal and informalmarkets (Latigo 2004). NGO’s are increasingly usingthis strategy, and someUnited Nations indices aretrying to use it, but older definitions prevail,continuing to hide women’s labor from nationaland international attention, and thereforeresources (Kabeer 2003).

3.3 LivestockmanagementGender roles in livestockmanagement vary by class,age and ethnicity. Themain activities are feeding,watering,milking, cleaning, slaughtering, breedingand animal health care.

Among bothmobile pastoralists, and settledagropastoraists, from a very young age, children areinvolved in herding, with girls herding small stockwith boys, and youngmen responsible for cattle(Bekure 1991).


Girls aremore likely to be kept home from school tohelp theirmothers with agricultural tasks includinggathering feed andwater for livestock. Whenchildren are orphaned, and live on their own, theyoften do not know how to care for animals, andproduction declines. Theymay not be strong enoughor wealthy enough to provide inputs such assupplemental feed, vaccines or animal healthproducts (FAO 2005).

Oldermenandwomenwith weakened physicalstrength can still be seen herding sheep and goats,and also sharing information inmarkets and publicmeeting places. Age is greatly respected in Africansocieties, andwomen especially find their statusimproves after they become themother of sons andthen grandmothers. When their childbearing yearsare over and they become “more likemen,”(Rasmussen 2000), they can havemore autonomy.Due to the AIDS epidemic, however, manygrandparents find themselves caring forgrandchildren and orphans, which deplete householdresources. If they do not have the strength to care forlivestock, theymay be forced to sell them. If illnesslimits theirmobility, theymay havemore difficultyaccessing information and inputs to keep animalshealthy. When they die, the orphaned children haveno one to teach themhow to grow crops ormanagelivestock, increasing their vulnerability.

3.3.1Daily choresLivestock need daily food,water, sanitation,observation for disease, and for dairy animals,milking. In general, women aremore responsible

for the daily on farm activities. Men attend to the offfarm activities, such as herding, or purchasing inputssuch as supplemental feeds, veterinary drugs andnew animals. However, this varies greatly dependingon ethnicity, proximity to shops, and education(Heffernan 2003).

For example, women dairy farmers in Tanzaniareported that if an item such as concentrate ormedicine were available in the village, they wouldwalk there and purchase it directly. However, if travelwere out of the village, the husband or sonwouldpurchase it, but the arrivalmight not be as timely asneeded. Muslimwomenwhosemobility was evenmore restricted, always relied onmale relatives fordairy purchases, but often found the incorrect itemhad been purchased for them. They would prefer tohave supplies directly delivered to their homes.Literate womenweremore confident aboutpurchasing recommended items, since they couldread the labels (Kirui 1994).

Men providemost of the herding of larger animalslike cattle and camels, while women and children aremore likely to herd small ruminants. This varies bydistance from the homestead, pasture availabilityand ethnicity. When large animals are kept close tothe home, women aremore likely to be in charge ofgrazing or cutting and carrying feed to them.Menandwomen both have specialized knowledge aboutfeeds and pastures, howevermen aremore likely tohavemodern knowledge of improved pastures anddisease control due to increased contact withextension agents (Heffernan 2003).


Increased confinement especially with dairy animalscan increase women’s workload as they physicallycollect and carry feed andwater to the animals. Asingle cow can drink 50 litres of water a day, andcarrying water by headload is an onerous and timeconsuming task. Asmore boys and girls attendschool, the workload for individual women alsoincreases. Therefore, reducing women’s workload isessential to improving livestock production as wellas quality of life for women (Kirui 1994).

Cleaningmanure is universally a female task.Womenmay collect it tomake dung cakes for fuelor housing, or compost it or use it for fertilizer.Sanitation and clean barns or kraals are especiallyimportant for confined animals, since internalparasites are easily transmitted back to animalsif manure builds up.Women and girls who cleanmanure with bare hands are vulnerable to zoonoticdisease and fecal contamination of the familyfood supply.

Inmost pastoralist societies, womenmilk animalsand process it for home use or sale (Talle 1988),butmilking responsibilities do vary widely Africa.Among the Fulani, menmilk and bring it to thewomen, who can use it as food ormarket it andkeep the income. Among settled Ugandanagropastoralists, men typicallymilk the cows, andbring some to their wives, while keeping knowledgeof total production to themselves, to prevent wivesfrom demandingmore for household use(Kirui 1994).

3.3.2 SlaughterSlaughter of larger animals like cattle is typicallydone bymen, although there ismore flexibility inpractice than generally acknowledged (FAO 2005).Women usually slaughter chickens and sometimessmall ruminants. Women typically cook themeat,and are responsible for sanitary handling to preventzoonotic disease. They are also responsible forhandling the offal, or unused internal organs suchas intestinal contents, bones or lungs, which isanother source of zoonotic disease transmission.Tanning hides into leather is also gendered, but insome cultures it is the exclusive activity ofmen andin others it is women (Robinson 2003).

3.3.3 LivestockbreedingMany studies claim that livestock breeding isthe domain ofmen, but when animals are confinednear the home, it is womenwho notice signsof heat indicating the animal is ready for breeding.In addition, women are expected to knowmoreabout dystocia (birthing difficulties) and otherfemale reproductive disorders because of theirpersonal experience as females. Womenmanagingstall fed dairy cattle in Kenya where artificialinsemination (AI) is available have to contact theAI technician to breed the cows.Womenwereas likely to contact the AI tech asmale dairymanagers (Maarse 1999).


Pastoralist menmay spend a large amount of timeselecting the propermale to breed to each cow,balancingmany desirable genetic traits such asappearance,mothering ability, fecundity andlongevity. For women, themost valued genetictraits are those allowing animals to survivewithminimal inputs, and are typically found inindigenous breeds, while exotic breeds that areless hardy requiremore labor to supply themwithadditional feed andwater (Köhler-Rollefson 2000).

Among settled dairy producers in East Africa,the introduction ofmale cattle (bulls) with thegenes for increasedmilk production couldsignificantly increase output per daughter,if she is fed andmanaged efficiently. By tradition,uncontrolled breeding of cows to any availablemale was the norm amongst dairy farmerssurveyed (EADD 2009). After training and theavailability of improved or exoticmales to geneticallyupgrade local cows, controlledmating of cowsincreased. Among dairy producers in Kenya, Ugandaand Rwanda, controlledmating was used by 26%of the sampled households, and highest in Kenyawhere 39% of female headed and 33% ofmaleheaded households reported practicing it.

Castration of non-breedingmales is arecommended technology to improve the geneticquality of a breeding herd of animals, makingcontrolled breeding easier. In 2009, the East AfricaDairy Development (EADD) project found that 24% offemale headed and 19% ofmale headed householdsusing castration of non-breedingmale cattle inKenya, while in Uganda, 16% of female headed and15% ofmale headed households reported doing so.Although the survey did not ask who performed theoperation, or confirm how often it was done, theFHHweremore likely to adopt the practice.

Nearly all Artificial Insemination (AI) technicians inAfrica aremen, who can oftenmake a comfortableliving from providing the service. Livestockmanagement procedures requiring trainingor physical strength such as branding or insertingnose rings in bulls are typically performed bymen(Ayoade 2009).

Bekure (1991) found that pastoralist men identifiedthemselves asmanagers and supervisors oflivestock activity, and assigned subordinates(male and female) to actual tasks. Theirmainresponsibilities were gathering information onrange conditions, water availability, and themarket.Theymade the subsequent herding decisions, aswell as decisions on the sale and slaughterof animals.

In Kenya in the 1980’s, theNational DairyDevelopment Program (NDDP) recommendedcastration of non-breedingmale cattle andgoats to improve dairy herds. The procedurewas typically performedbymen, althoughwomenwere quite capable and interestedin learning.

A female livestock officer inKenya reportedthat shewas prevented fromdemonstratinggoat castration to amixed sex group offarmers because her supervisorwasuncomfortable. In the 1990’s, thiswas stillconsidered unremarkable, although she didprotest the decision as undermining herexpertise and utility.Maarse 1998


3.3.4Animal health activitiesAnimal health responsibilities within the householdvary widely as well. Bekure (1991) noted that inmostpastoralist societies, women are responsible forcaring for the young stock and any sick animals.They are expected to observe animals returningfrom pastures in the evening for problems. Amongsettled agro-pastoralists, women are on the farmmore thanmen, so they aremore likely to noticesigns of illness like poor appetite, nasal dischargeor lethargy.

Bothmen andwomen report inadequate public andprivate veterinary staff and extension officers tomeet their animal health needs. Therefore, themainhealth care activity for both was the purchase ofmedicine to treat sick individual animals (Okumba2010) or consultation with a traditional healer.

In Heffernan’s 2003 study in Kenya, bothmen andwomen livestock keepers purchase veterinary drugsfrom dukas or agrovet stores. Themajority ofwomen interviewed stated a preference for buyingdrugs close to home. There was a perceivedopportunity cost of travel time for women asmosthad household and child-rearing responsibilities.Also, womenweremore often involved in curativetreatments and hence had amore urgent need tosource drugs close to home.Menwere generallyresponsible for preventative animal healthcare e.g.the purchase of tick dip and dewormers. Moremenstated that price was a factor in purchases, but bothvalued advice from the seller. More women thanmen chose specific providers due to issues of trust.

In Rwanda and Uganda,male headed householdsspentmore on animal health than female headedhouseholds. WHHs spent $62/year whileMHHsspent $89/year. There were no significantdifferences inmale and female headed householdexpenditure on artificial insemination or bullservice in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda combined(EADD 2009).

Men andwomen both purchase inputs such asconcentrates or hay for their animals, butmenpurchasemore. Womenwould like to purchase

more, but cited lack cash or credit tomake thepurchase (Hill 2009). Men are alsomore likely toownwheelbarrows and barn boots thanwomen.Bothmen andwomen usemanure on forage cropslike napier grass, but there can be competition forthis resource. Women aremore likely to usemanure on napier when they keepmilk income,but will divert it to food crops if they do not realizeany benefits from dairy production (Kirui, 1994).

Animal healthmonitoring and delivery systemsinmost countries tend to bemale-dominated,thus contributing to the exclusion of “women’slivestock,” from organized animal health activities.Participatory appraisal techniques provide the idealmeans of gaining a deeper understanding of thedynamics of women’s farming activities, andparticularly of the diseases affecting their livestock(FAO 2000). These techniques tend to be used byNGO’smore than government or largemultilateraldonors.

It is generally true that an interview conducted by amale animal health worker with amale householdheadwill yield little information of any value onlivestockmanaged by womenmembers of thehousehold (FAO 2000).

3.3.5 IndigenousKnowledgeSystemsBothmen andwomen are repositories of localknowledge, including grazing areas, local namesfor disease and traditional remedies. In Cameroon,traditional animal healers aremostlymen, while inEast Africa, women are equally likely to possessthis knowledge (Hill 2009). Young people are oftenuninterested in traditional ways, and governmentand private veterinarians and animal health agentsoften look down upon traditionalmedicines,although they are used by themajority of livestockkeepers. The best animal health programs buildon existing andworkingmethods and add newtechnologies like vaccines to them (Heffernan 2003).

Often livestock research on local knowledgeexcludes womenwhich limits the understandingof the system. (Waters-Bayer 2010)


3.3.6Assessinggender rolesin livestockproduction

Themagnitude and importance of women’slivestock activities still perplexes researchersand front line extension and veterinaryprofessionals. Ayoade et al (2009) found thatwomen in northern Nigeria perform fodder cutting,watering and feeding of animals, shed cleaning,milking and dung cakemaking on a daily basis.Oddly enough, they conclude that themajorityof the women rarely participated in livestockproduction! Their survey identified 14 differentmanagement practices, and they askedwomenif they ever performed each activity. They didnot ask about the frequency of each task, orhowmuch timewas involved. Since womenrarely castrated or branded stock, and saidthey diagnosed disease or vaccinated “rarely,”the authors calculated a participationindex scoreminimizing women’s participation.Men’s activities, which occurred once a year suchas castration and branding, rather than daily,were notmeasured at all.

The English word “participation,” can be usedtomean either work or decision-making, andhas been used to justify lack of specific outreachto women since they already “participate,” inlivestock through their (unpaid) labour. Wives aswell as husbandsmay becomemembers ingroups such as producers’ organizations to satisfya donor’s request to increase women’s participation,without changing their subordinate status orlack of decision-making. It is the quality of theparticipation, including decision-making, whichindicates whether women have the resourcesand control to improve their lives and that oftheir families.

Surveys on gender division of labor can also bemisleading if respondents’ answers are notconfirmed. For this reason, Participatory RuralAppraisal (PRA) and related tools are preferredbecause the facilitator and other participants canprobemisleading assertions. For example, theEADD 2009 baseline survey reported that in Ugandaand Rwanda,men domost of the dairy work,although the responses were not genderdisaggregated.

While interviewingmen for her thesis onlivestock extension forwomen, Amuguninoted that oneman said he completesmostof the duties relating to animal care.Meanwhile, hiswifewas carrying out thetasks as he spoke.When askedwho shewas,he responded, “When I said I do thework,I actuallymeantwedo thework.” It is typicalforwomen to under report their contributionsand formen to over report theirs.Amuguni 1999

The English word “shared,” or “joint control,” can bemisunderstood in surveys on gender and livestock.Manymen reported shared decision-making withtheir wives on the EADD 2009 survey, but this wasnot confirmed by their wives. Dairy farmers havehad enough experience with donors in East Africa toknow the “correct” answer. In Tanzania, womenreported being informed of decisions after they weremade, by husbands who claimed to “share,”decisionmaking. This was still consideredmoreprogressive than traditional households wheremendid not routinely inform their wives of anything, andsimply gave orders (Kirui 1994).

Among the Kikuyu in Kenya, there is a saying“Ciamucii ti como,” or home affairs cannot be toldto the public, which limits the value of responses tointra-household survey questions with strangers.Participatorymethods, especially with single sexgroups can raise difficult questions in a safersetting, yielding valuable information to projectplanners, andmore valuable insights amongparticipants (Maarse 1998).


3.4 ZoonosesOwing to their close proximity to animals and theirhandling of raw animal products, women are inmany casesmore exposed to zoonotic diseases.(Kristjanson 2010)

Awareness ofmen andwomen’s different roles inlivestock production and food handling can increasethe effectiveness of Veterinary Public Health (VPH)educational campaigns. For example, Echinoccocusis transmitted through dogs eating offal frominfected ruminants, and infecting humans throughtheir feces.

The echinococcosis eradication campaigninMorocco targeted existingwomen’s groupsfor training in safe offal disposal becausetheywere the oneswho actually handled it,andweremost concerned about their childrencontracting the disease. Thiswas consideredextremely innovative becausemost VPHmessageswere disseminated through allmale producer groups ormale veterinariansor extension agents.(Robinson 2003; Kachani 2011).

Since women handlemilk for family use and sale,sanitation training will have greater impact whengiven directly to them. Pasteurization of cow andgoatmilk will prevent transmission of brucellosis,tuberculosis and other zoonotic agents, but will onlyoccur whenwomen understand its importance.

Endemic zoonotic diseases such as anthrax,tuberculosis, brucellosis, cysticercosis,echinococcosis (hydatid disease), rabies andzoonotic trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) occurthroughout the African continent where conditionsfor theirmaintenance and spread exist. Thesediseases perpetuate poverty by attacking not onlypeople’s health but also their livelihoods. Women’sactive participation in educational andmonitoringevents will be critical for successful control, but willtake greater effort than currently exists (WHO 2009).

Anthrax infection is associated with tanning andhandling of hides, which is strongly gendered inmost cultures, but not predictablymale or female.

TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) notesthat socioeconomic factors have an impact ontuberculosis (TB) control efforts, especially forwomen, who suffer from disproportionate poverty,low social status, less education (which impedesseeking diagnosis), and barriers to health care.Tuberculosis is often linked to HIV infection in Africaand is the third leading cause of death amongwomen of reproductive age (15–44 years) inlow-income countries (WHO 2009).

In general, when awoman is sick with TB, theimpact on her household is greater thanwith an illman, and food production and preparation decline.Female children are expected to take on farmorehousehold responsibility thanmale children,limiting their education. Further, women aremostlikely to be guardians of sick patients and thusmorelikely to lose time for income-earning opportunities.(Kemp 2005).

Womenmay find it more difficult to comply withtreatment once symptoms subside, especially if theylive far from health services, and there are actualand opportunity costs to being away from home,even if the cost ofmedicine is subsidized. Oftenuneducated women do not understand the course ofthe disease, andmay equate decline of symptomswith a cure, whilemen aremore likely to be literate,and read the literature offered at the health clinic(WHO 2009). When facedwith inadequate resources,women tend to decrease expenditures on their ownfood and health first (Quisumbing 2010).

Women, children and ethnicminorities, especiallythose living in remote areas with restricted accessto services, aremost at risk of all infectious disease,including zoonoses. In general, women aremoreexposed to communicable diseases than aremen –and suffermore in terms of both illness and death.Women also face additional barriers to seekingand receiving treatment. The consequences ofstigma attached tomany neglected tropicaldiseases [especially TB] are oftenmore severefor womenwithin their families andwider society(WHO 2009).

People LivingWith AIDS (PLWA) are especiallysusceptible to zoonotic diseases, such ascryptosporidiosis, which is not generally a problemfor healthy individuals. Therefore, AAHH needmore education and resources to prevent zoonoticinfection (FAO 2005).


4SpeciespreferencesMen tend to ownmore livestock thanwomen,especially large and valuable animals like cattle andcamels. Women often find it easier to assert rightsto smaller animals such as sheep, goats, pigs orpoultry which are perceived as less valuable. Whentheir livestock enterprises become commerciallysuccessful, men often take over both themanagement and profits (Miller 2001).

4.1 Cattle and camelsThere is a cattle bias in Africa. Cattle are valuedbeyond their economic or food security function.This bias goes beyond the traditional cattle cultureslike theMaasai that define themselves by their cattle,to include researchers, government and donors.To best address women’s needs in animal health,it is necessary to look beyond cattle, and includesmall ruminants and poultry. In Tanzania, 51% of thewomen interviewedmentioned that they wanted toreceive information on small ruminant productionbut extension agents were only interested in cattle(Kristjanson 2010).

Ownership, use and contact with cattle is linked toboth ethnicity and gender. Among the Samburu inKenya,men own all the cattle, but in Ethiopia amongmixed crop livestock farmers, bothmen andwomenowned cattle, sheep and goats, althoughmen ownedmore of each (Yisehak 2008).

In Afra and Oromiya regions of Ethiopia, men ownand look after the camels that need to be taken todistant pastures andwater, while women own andlook after small stock that ismanaged close to thehome (Care Ethiopia 2008). Touareg women inAlgeria, Niger andMali may own and herd cattle andcamels as well as small ruminants, while Somaliwomenmanage the cattle, sheep and goats and theirmenfolk care for the camels (Niamir-Fuller 1994).

In Botswana,men andwomen both own cattle andgoats, butmen own 5 timesmore cattle and 3 timesmore goats thanwomen. However, goats constituteda larger share of women’s livestock portfolio(Oladele 2008).

Livestock interventionsmust tailor their activities tolocal conditions and behaviors. Heifer International’sSamburu Camel Project in Kenya distributed camelsto women to addresses gender inequality becausethey could be owned andmilked by the women.Cattle and other species are considered the propertyof the husbands. The camel has become known as“the women’s dairy cow,” (Heifer International 2001).

Due to changing economic circumstances, such asmalemigration or death due to AIDS, women aretaking on responsibilities for livestock that had beenin the realm ofmen, such as cattle in southernAfrica. Women fromEthiopia to Zambia are learningto use cattle to plow (Waters-Bayer 2010).

4.1.1DairyCattleMilking cattle is often the domain of women,such as among the Karamojong and Jie in Uganda(Niamer-Fuller 1994), although the cowmay beowned ormanaged by her husband or othermalerelative. Many women have full control of themilk,including sale and use of income.

Women increasingly own exotic dairy cattle,especially in East Africa, although they often receivethem as “living loans,” fromNGO’s whilemen tend topurchase them outright. Dairy cattle under women’scontrol performed better than thosemanaged bymen, provided they could keep some or all of theincome generated (Maarse 1999).

Likewise,milk processing andmarketing in theinformal sector tend to be women’s work, evenwhere women are not involved in the actual taskofmilking. As chilling plants and factories becomemore common, dairy income tends to shift fromwomen tomen because checks are sent weeklyto the head of household. The East Africa DairyDevelopment (EADD) project is considering requiringmembers of the cooperatives to use “family bankaccounts,” that both husbands andwives couldaccess, so that womenwould not have to askhusbands for cash, but this has not yet beenimplemented (EADD 2010).


4.1.2Draft oxenAnimal traction has been introduced to Africa fairlyrecently, but has the potential to increase cropacreage and income. Oxen are usually consideredmen’s animals, and they facilitatemen’smostimportant agricultural task, preparing land forplanting. Cotton and other cash crops are favoredfor this newly cultivated land. However, gender blindanimal traction projects can be devastating forwomen and their children. Women’s labor getsreallocated to weeding the cash crop, leaving lesstime for food crops and healthmaintenance.

Due tomalemigration to cities in search of paidlabor, and the resulting “femininzation,” ofagriculture, women are increasingly using oxento plow land and transport goods.

Gokwe, ZimbabweDraft AnimalProjectHeifer International supplied draft oxen tomarginalized Tonga families in Zimbabwe, andhousehold income rose 400% in just 5 years,due to expansion of the cotton cash crop. Groupmemberswere delighted, butwhen visited intheir homes, theirwiveswere troubled. Childrenwere sick and hungry becausewomen could nolonger produce enough food. They feared to askformoney from their husbands, considering itdisrespectful.Much of the profit had gonetowards brideprice for newwives, to producechildren toweed the crops,making olderwives’situationmore precarious. AIDS infection rateskyrocketed due to cotton profits used to payprostitutes.This one project galvanizedHeifer Internationalto accept that inattention to gender can bedetrimental to familywelfare, and that incomealone is a poor indicator of development success.This led to the development of their proactiveGender Program in 1996.(Miller 2000)

4.2 Small Ruminants (SR)Womenwho cannot own cattle are often able toown,manage and control the sale of smallerlivestock, such as sheep and goats. Goat projectsfor food and income in Africa are often focused onwomen, because they are the ones usuallyresponsible for looking after them (Peacock, 1996).Althoughmen ownmore sheep and goats inabsolute numbers, they aremore important towomen since theymake up a larger share of theirlivestock portfolio (Oladele 2008). Poorer householdswhich have fewer cattle aremore dependent onsmall ruminants than their wealthier neighbors,making diseases and losses of them relativelymorecostly and potentially devastating (Perry 2009).Women value themilk from small ruminantsbecause they know it is nutritious for their children.Men are less likely to intervenewith their sales ofsurplus because amounts are so small. However,they do become interested when operations expandand larger profits are generated.Small ruminants, like swine and poultry, are“short cycle,” animalsmeaning they reproduce fairlyquickly, bringing a quick return on investment.For poorer women andmenwho need cash, this isa great advantage, since the wealthy aremore likelyto have other resources to live onwhile waiting fortheir cattle to reproduce.

4.3 SwineSwine production is increasing in parts of Africa dueto the strongmarket in non-Muslim areas, andmanywomen find themgood investments. Pig productionis increasing in Uganda (EADD 2009), Cameroon,Central African Republic and Zimbabwe (PigTrop).Most pigs are raised in a semi-intensive scavengingsystemwhere owners provide shelter andwater, andabout half of their food. In Botswana,most of the pigraisersweremarriedwomen over 40 years old (Cirad2005). Although African Swine Fever is endemicthroughout subSaharanAfrica, outbreaks are sporadic.As swine populations increase, and productionintensifies, the risk of outbreaks increase (PigTrop).


Pigs reproduce quickly and can be kept near thehome,making them a good animal for poor women.There are fewer cultural taboos about owning andselling pigs (for nonMuslims) compared to cattle,which can be tied to aman’s or clan’s status. Mostswine in Africa are raised without any healthcareinputs, disease surveillance or training for the womenwhomanage them (PigTrop). InWestern Kenya,women raise pigs for income rather than family food,butmarketing can be difficult. Pigs grow best withsupplemental feed, but the increasing cost of feed hasmade profitsmore challenging (Cirad 2011).

4.4 PoultryThe familymembers who keep backyard poultry areoften the women and girls. Inmany parts of the world,women can decide about vaccinating, slaughteringand selling of poultrywithout consulting their husbands,and they can control the income from selling poultryproducts. Although IFAD (2007) generalizes that ruralwomen traditionally are in control of the whole poultryprocess from feeding tomarketing, Kitalyi (1996) notesthat the threemainmodes of poultry ownership (family,individual and shared) depend on themode of acquisitionof the chicken (purchase, inherit or gift). Thereforegeneral statements on ownershipmay bemisleading.

Industrial or vertically integrated poultry productionis still unusual in Africa. In Nigeria family poultryrepresents 83 percent of the estimated 82millionadult chickens, and in Ethiopia, rural poultry accountsfor 99 percent of the national total production of poultrymeat and eggs (Tadelle 2000). In sub-Saharan Africa,85 percent of all households keep poultry, withwomenowning 70 percent of the poultry (Guéye 1998). Familypoultry production is defined as units of less than 100birds and no paid labor. In practice, most flocks are5-20 birds scavenging formost of their feed, and notall provided with shelter. Limiting time or spending oninputs ismore important thanmaximizing outputs orproduction (Sonaiya 2004).

Income generation is usually the primary goal of familypoultry keeping rather than home consumption. Eggscan provide a regular, albeit small, incomewhile thesale of live birds provides amore flexible source of cashas required (Sonaiya 2004). Home consumption of eggsis generally not high, due to the greater value they bringatmarket, which can purchase cheaper grains. Therearemany taboos limiting women’s egg consumptionamong ethnic groups, especially during pregnancywhentheir protein requirements are highest (Kitalyi 1996).

In a study in the region of Niamey, Niger smallholderswith less than 20 layers which were situated beyond2.5 km from amain paved road, could supply eggs andmeat to the citymarket at a competitive price [withimports]. Eggs are not an important food item at thevillage level, as it is a relatively high-priced protein

food but themarket is good in town. Marketing requirescooperative efforts by producers to transport eggs tolarger towns. Live birds were easier to transport overlonger distances (Kobling 1989).

Whenwomen do enter commercial poultry production,they often lose control tomen once the enterprisebecome profitable, due to less knowledge ofmarkets,finance and negotiations. As the number of birdsincreases, so doesmale control (Sonaiya 2004).

Training inmanagement, including feeding, geneticimprovements,marketing, predator protection, accessto production inputs, infrastructure and capital, farmerorganization, and, foremost, conducive institutionsand governmental policies are all sorely needed tomake family poultrymore productive (Mack 2005).

The greatest risks to backyard or family poultry areinfectious disease, primarily Newcastle disease (ND)and then predation. Unfortunately, most poultryvaccination campaigns in the past focused exclusivelyon disease control, so improvements were negated byinadequate housing, with predators taking up to 70%of surviving chicks (Bourzat and Saunders1987).Generally, the costs of an isolated vaccination campaigncannot be justified unless actions to improve housingand feeding are also taken (Sonaiya 2004). Since buildingshelters or sheds is usually aman’s job on the farm,poultry projects for women can overlook the fact thatwomen do not have the skills, materials or permissionto build a shelter on their own. Menmay not prioritizebuilding a shelter if they are not the project participant(Kitalyi 1996).

TheMalawi Department of Animal Health and Industryimplemented amodified version of the Bangladeshsemi-scavenging poultry productionmodel. Theysimplified the elements to accommodate the decreasedpopulation density, and the relatively undevelopedstate of the grassroots NGO’s, whichmobilized poorfarmers,mainly women, and provided training andmicrocredit. The hens, inputs and services were allavailable in the village (Chinombo 2001).

During the participatory assessment, the poorestfarmers all identified poultry keeping as their toppreference for an income generating activity, followedby goat raising, pigs, cattle and finally sheep(Chinombo 2001).

Among successful women’s poultry projects in Africa,scaling up traditional scavenging systems usingindigenous breeds have beenmost successful,compared to South Asia, wheremore intensive systemswith purchased feeds and improved breeds wereworking. Themost likely reason is the broad coverageof good quality extension, supply andmarketingchains provided by NGO’s or cooperatives in Asia,which are not yet established in Africa (IFAD 2004).


4.5 MicrolivestockSmall and non-traditional animals like rabbits,snails, grasscutters and cuyes are often easy forwomen tomanage, and require only a small amountof capital to get started. Profit is smaller but so isthe risk (Miller 2001). There are few infectiousdiseases of these species, although proper feedingand sanitation is essential. InWest African countrieslike Cameroon and Liberia, women canmarketthem freely and keep the income.

4.6 EquidsLike women, donkeys are simultaneouslyubiquitous, invisible and overworked. Donkeys andhorses share few infectious or parasitic diseaseswith ruminants, so their health care needs arerarely on the agenda. This resistancemeans theycan be used for work in tsetse infested areaswithout the danger of trypanosomiasis.

Since poorwomen’s livestock assets areheavily dominated by small ruminants andpoultry vaccines against infectious diseasesof these specieswill have the greatestimpact against poverty(Perry 2009)

The donkey is a key transport animal acrossAfrica, andwhen used for plowing, canimmediately increase crop production. Donkeysare especially important for women, since theysave time and labor for transporting water andfuel to the home, and goods tomarket. Ownersrarely spend time ormoney caring for donkeys,althoughmany suffer from skin infections,lameness and harsh beatings, which limit theirwork potential.


5 Constraints towomen’saccesstoanimalhealth services

It is well established that women have less accessto public and private livestock services thanmen(World Bank 2009). Animal health providers includeveterinarians, veterinary assistants or technicians,livestock extension agents, owners of agrovet shops,Community Animal HealthWorkers (CAHW’s orparavets), traditional healers, and neighbors.

5.1 Women’s “deficits”Themost common reasons given for the gender gapin access to animal health care are women’s longworkdays, which preclude them from engaging with,or searching out, extension officers, or participatinginmost training activities. Widespread femaleilliteracy limits the value of writtenmaterials,andmay prevent women from being confidentenough to seek out information on their own(Waters-Bayer 2010).

5.2 Institutional culture andpoliciesIlliteracy and lack of time are excuses which focusattention onwomen’s deficits, but the underlyingproblem is lack of institutional will and capacity toreachwomen livestock keepers, even in the face ofdecades of research on the benefits of training andempowerment for women. Public and privateinstitutions are slow to change and chronically shortof funding, so structural changes often require apush from the outside.

Human health clients aremainly womenwhoarrange both preventative and curative treatmentfor their children. Although there is room forimprovement and greater expansion at thecommunity level, the humanmodel shows it ispossible to reach illiterate and time-constrainedwomen. Therefore, animal health outreach forwomen can use successful elements of humanhealth provision as onemodel.

Existing extension and training services do not servepoor womenwell when they aremultiple days, in adistant location, given in the national (rather thanlocal) language, andwomen are not explicitly invited.Livestock professionals often use technical languagethat is useless and intimidating to uneducatedwomen andmen (Stewart 1998).

In addition, lack ofmobility and lack of awarenessthat services even exist further decrease women’sopportunity to learn about animal health and diseaseprevention. Many are unaware of the presence ofeither government or private health care offices,evenwhen they are close by (Rota 2007).

5.3 Government policies andprioritiesTechnical issues dominate national policies in thelivestock sector, and gender or other social issuesare rarely raised. Production, infrastructure andmarketing were reported by agriculturalministriesas themost important, while broader issues such asenvironmental effects, poverty alleviation andinternational issues were rarelymentioned. Theseresponses suggest a policy focus on short-termissueswith an emphasis on the potential for immediateeffects rather than an appreciation of longer-termmore complex issues (Riethmuller 2002).

Most of the governments of African countries aresignatories to the Convention on the Elimination ofall Forms of Discrimination againstWomen (CEDAW),the Beijing Platform for Action, theMillenniumDevelopment Goals and the United Nations SecurityCouncil Resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peaceand security. The principle of equality andnon-discrimination betweenmen andwomen isenshrined in the founding legal instrument of theAfrican Union (AU). The AUHeads of State andGovernment have specifically addressed genderissues through The Protocol to the African Charter onHuman and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights ofWomenin Africa adopted in 2003 inMaputo; and the SolemnDeclaration on Gender Equality in Africa adopted inAddis Ababa in July 2004, which require States torespect normative standards onwomen’s humanrights. However, effective implementation especiallyin the rural areas is not occurring in any systemicfashion (AfricanWomen’s Decade 2011). Typically,responsibility for implementing ormonitoringnational commitments to women’s equality isdelegated to poorly fundedMinistries ofWomen(or gender or welfare), which have little authorityor influence over themore powerful andmaledominatedministries of agriculture or livestock(Balakrishnan 2005).


5.4 AnimalHealthDeliveryIn Tanzania, 40%of women farmers preferred toworkwith female extension agents although lessthan 5%of livestock officers arewomen. ForMuslimwomen, contact with unrelatedmen precludes anytraining since nearly all agents aremen.Mostwomen can attend demonstrations and trainingcourses only if thesewere conducted in their villagesyet this is often not as convenient for the trainer whoarranges the schedule (Kristjanson 2010).

Animal health trainings are usually “genderblind,” in that they don’t deliberately excludewomen, but choice of language, time, locationand duration effectively prohibit women fromparticipation.Oftenwomendonot know that they are invited,since publicity is rarely throughwomen’snetworks, such as parent associations atschools, religious institutions or humanhealthclinics. Bothwomenandmen tend to assumethat livestock training is formenonly.

(Stewart 1998)

Many animal health technicians or veterinarians donot regard women as farmers or producers, and ifthe husband is not home, will not speak to the wife,even if she is themainmanager of the animals(Amuguni 1999).

Livestock information is usually disseminatedthrough producer organizations or dip tankcommittees, whosemembership is usually limitedto legal owners of animals or land, usually themen.The EADD automaticallymade both husband andwifemembers of dairy committees, but noted thatwomen did not participate inmeetings (EADD 2010).This is probably due to inexperience with speakingin public, and being raised to defer tomen, as wellasmen dismissing women’s ideas. Evenwhenwomen are permitted to joinmarketing coops,

meeting timesmay be inconvenient for them, suchas 5 pm, when they are home preparing dinner(Kirui 1994).

In Sudan village livestockmeetings,many womenreport that whilemen are praised for assertingthemselves, whenwomen rise to speak, they areignored or belittled. Other womenwitnessing thisbehavior become convinced that their opinions arenot wanted, and do not waste their time at suchmeetings (Amuguni 2002).

Animal health information can be disseminated byradio or TV, but even in households that own them,men use themmore thanwomen. After dinner,women report thatmen listen to radio programswhile they clean up and prepare the children forbed (Kirui 1994).

Utilizing private veterinarians or animal healthtechnicians can be a greater burden for women,who have fewer productive assets and less access tocash thanmen (Hill 2009). In addition, bothmen andwomen cited unavailability of staff rather than costas themain barrier to use of veterinary services(Heffernan 2003).

In Kariobangi, Kenya, those with the least amount ofknowledge regarding appropriate animal husbandryandmanagement techniques tended to buy thelargest amount of human drugs to treat theiranimals. Human drugs were readily available andinexpensive, yet least effective formost animaldisease. (Heffernan 2003).

AlthoughCommunity Animal HealthWorkers(CAHWs) have been trained and deployed inmanyAfrican countries, surveys in Kenya showed thatmanywere not active, due tomultiple donors contributingshort duration trainingwith little follow up.Mosttraining programs did notmake the effort to recruit,train and retain female CAHW’s, although this is areone of the best ways to increasewomen farmers’access to livestock services (Heffernan 2003).


6 Constraints towomen’saccess toandbenefits fromlivestockmarkets

Women participate inmarket activities, despiteconstraints inmobility, information, contacts,experience and financial training. As distances tomarket increase,male relatives tend to take overmarketing of livestock or products, appropriatingsome or all of the income.Womenmay have littlefinancial experience, which can decrease theirprofits. Theymay have less experience negotiatingwith buyers ormiddlemen, resulting in lower prices.Husbands can become interested in women’slivestock enterprises when they become profitableand take them over, and take the income.

6.1 Credit and financial servicesFemale dairy operators in Kiambu, Kenya, reportedthat their enterprises would have beenmoreproductive had they had access to financial resourcesto purchasemore feed and feed supplements andmore land onwhich to grow forage (Tangka 1999).Formal credit is limited to those with land forcollateral, nearly alwaysmen in Africa. Microcredit,or non-collateral loansmade to small groups ofneighbors rather than individuals, is one way toprovide credit to poor women, but does not reach themajority of poor rural women. Althoughwomen tendto repay their loansmore quickly thanmen, andproviders ofmicrocredit can realize a healthy profit,the private sector rarely offers these services, soNGO’s are themain providers. Quality can varywidely. Other financial services that poor womenwould like to use are savings andmobile banking.

Non-governmental organizations have offered poorwomen an additional option of receiving an animallike a goat or cow on credit, which is repaid by“passing on,” an offspring to another poor woman inthe group. Generally womenmust join or form a selfhelp group, and attend training on feeding, breedingand health care, and have access to land to plantfodder. These schemes have the added benefit ofbuilding social capital in addition to valuable livestockassets. These living loans are administered by NGO’ssuch as Heifer International, Send A Cow, Bothar,FARMAfrica and Irish Aid.

6.2 Commercializationandmale appropriation

In dairymarkets, women’s greatest challenge iskeeping the income they have traditionally enjoyed,sincemore formal and commercialmarkets tend toshift income tomen.Women traditionally soldmilkand dairy products on the informalmarket for cashat the time of sale, which they kept and used forhousehold purchases. However, in East Africa, milksold to chilling plants is paid for by weekly check tothe head of household, usually the husband, evenwhen the woman is themain operator of theenterprise. A study in Kenya, Rwanda and Ugandashowed that women received dairy income in only16% of households that soldmilk to collectioncentres (EADDReport 6 2009). Althoughwomenweremore likely to have access to eveningmilk,they tend to use it for home use rather than sale.

Somewomen divertmilk to the informalmarket toregain cash, which limits the plant’s economicviability (EADD 2010), or they simply take less goodcare of the cows, since they receive no benefit fromincreased production (Maarse 1999). In a recent casein Kenya, a cow in a Land O’Lakes project diedbecause the woman stopped feeding her whenthe husband started to receive dairy payments(Quisumbing, personal communication).

Studies conducted among the Fulani in northernNigeria (Waters-Bayer 1985, 1988) demonstrated howthe industrialization ofmilk processing has erodedwomen’s traditional control overmilk products,thereby decreasing their power within the household.

Commercial dairy processors in Kenya said theypreferred to purchasemilk directly fromwomenbecause they felt that the product was cleaner andhigher quality. They understand that women do thework, and cash incentivesmatter (Rubin 2008).However, male dominated producer groups cannegotiate a better price with processors becausethey can guarantee a larger quantity ofmilk.

Poultry sales show a similar shift of income fromwomen tomen as commercialization and profitsincrease, unless deliberate steps are taken toprevent this, such as income going into group savingsfor the women, alongwith gender training formen.


In addition to production declines in qualityand quantity, the shift in income is harmfulto family nutrition, sincemen tend to sellmore of themilk rather than keep it for homeuse. Sincemen are not feeding the children,or even allowed in the kitchen area, they donot knowhowmuch food is needed, orwhatis optimal for children. Sincemen are fedbefore children, and encouraged to eat alltheywish, theymay not know that the childrenare hungry, or thatwives are limiting theirown intake.Africanwomenare raised to defer tohusbands’ decisions, andmay be ashamedto ask formoney for food that they used toproduce. Challenges to a husband’s decisioncan result in violence.

(Kirui 1994)

6.3 Market InformationAll small scale producers are disadvantagedregardingmarket information such as currentprices and pending policy shifts. Women tendto have less time to listen to news on the radio orread newspapers, and aremore isolated on theirfarms compared to theirmenfolk. Cell phones arenow essential tools formarket information, butwomen andWHH are less likely to have them thanmen (EADD 2009).

6.4 Live animal andMeat salesIn SouthernNigeria, althoughwomenwere notexcluded frommarketing or processingmeat,they earn less and are excluded from abattoirs(Ajala 2005).

Ndungu (2004) found that Kenyanwomenpastoralists paymore as individuals than domenfor information – whether for livestock extensionmaterials, for animal-disease warnings or forlivestockmarket updates. Women also receivedlower prices for live animals at themarket.

6.5 GovernmentRegulationsIn Africa, most street-food processors and vendorsare women. Asmuch as 60% of themilk sold in Dares Salaam, Tanzania, is produced in and around thecity, and peri-urban dairy production has increasedas cities have grown.Women are frequently seenbuying and selling live poultry in all African cities.

Public health officials concerned about diseasecontrol fear the informalmarkets (Canet andN’Diaye 1996).

Regulations on street food can be seen as genderinsensitive because poor women dominate theinformal sector and often cannot comply withexpensive phytosanitary requirements (Kristjanson2010). They are rarely included in policymaking,although their livelihoods are at stake. Hill (2009)cautions that legitimate health concerns as well asindustrial fears of competition have generatedregulations that favor large scale food producersrather than small scale women producers andvenders. In East Africa, restrictive regulations on theinformalmilk trade are in place, but the Kenya DairyBoard (KDB) finally embraced the informal sectoras legitimate participants in shaping policy andregulations, aftermuchNGO pressure. Ugandanand Tanzanian policymakers remain hostile to theinformalmilkmarket, affecting the livelihoodsof themany women active there (Kurwijila 2011).

6.6 ThePrivateSectorAn examination of contracts with international foodcompanies shows that fewer women thanmen aremembers of contract farming schemes. However,companies note that women smallholders producebetter quality products, andwould prefer to dealwith them, but they are not organized into formalproducer groups which negotiate the actualcontracts (Chan 2011).

Njuki (2010) notes thatmen andwomen havedifferent preferences in livestock commodityvalue chains, which can inform project development.Generally women prefer to sell to neighbors whomthey knowwhilemen prefer brokers or shops.


7 Solutionsandstrategies to increasewomen’saccess toanimalhealth services

7.1 Institutional Issues

7.1.1CommitmentMeaningful improvement in women’s access toanimal health services is the result of institutionalpolitical will and commitment to resources, stafftraining and accountability explicitly designatedtomonitor impact on women’s income, decision-making andworkload. Otherwise, the pattern ofrhetoric to satisfy donors but producing no realchange continues.

CARE Ethiopiamade a public commitment towomen’s empowerment as a goal in itself, ratherthan simply ameans of overcoming poverty(CARE Ethiopia). A commitment to women doesnot take away resources frommen, it just assuresthat the extra effort to reachwomen ismaintained.Efforts to increase and safeguard women’s livestockresources have spillover benefit in improving accessto animal health services for poormen, AAHH andwealthier families.

7.1.2GenderPolicyAwritten gender policy affirms an institution’scommitment to gender equality andwomen’sempowerment and provides an action plan andbudget to accomplish it (Hammerschlag 1998).A zero tolerance sexual harassment policy, andfollow through on enforcement is essential(EADD 2010). Sometimes it necessary to designatea senior femalemanager to hear complaints, sincemany women hesitate to bring harassment issues totheirmale supervisors, since theymay be ignored,ridiculed or fired. Measures to increase recruitment,hiring and retention of women in seniormanagement positions can demonstrate internalcommitment to gender equality.

A gender audit is used by both private and publicinstitutions to review existing practices, and generatestaff input into a gender policy, which covers bothinternal and external policies, and project planning,approval, monitoring, evaluation and funding(Hammerschlag 1998).

7.1.3 Staff trainingStaff will differ in their attitudes and behaviorregarding gender relations, so training in gendersensitization (“what is gender?”) and analysis(“how dowe close gender gaps?”) is essentialfor a common understanding and implementation oforganizational goals. Annual staff evaluations shouldinclude gender and reward positive attention towomen’s issues. Ongoing training and discussionsare necessary to help staff deal with the expectedfrustrations from real life attitudes and behaviorsdetrimental to women’s status in the field.

The word “gender,” has been used tomean somany different types of interventions in the last fewdecades thatmuch confusion exists.

TheEADD learned that it could not assumethat everyone understood its gender strategyautomatically. Lessons learned:> Train people first, before starting activities.People need to understand the projectapproach before implementing it.

> Provide guidelines, or steps, to simplifyapproach as laid out in the project plan.

> If existing staff fromother institutionsare used, pay special attention to trainingand change ofmindset.

(EADD 2010)

In a 2008 workshop on gender in Tanzania foragricultural development workers, including dairystaff fromNGO’s and government, participantsexpressed relief at finally having tools to analyzeand communicate about gender to farmers.They requestedmore such training, since they were“aware that womenwere inhibited from effectiveparticipation inmany facets of agriculture, and knewthey were expected to increase women’s benefits,but had no idea where to begin.” (Rubin 2009).


7.2 Partner institutionsPartner institutions will affect the outcome of anyproject, and vary widely in capacity, commitmentand size. Committed partners with eitherexperience or willingness to train their staff andhold them accountable for outreach to women arebest, and often include small NGO’s, such as FARMAfrica, VSF-Belguim, CARE andHeifer International.Government partners often have severe constraintsof all types, and need training, follow up andincentives, butmay have the biggest impact.

7.2.1Government7.2.1.1 National Promotion of Gender Equality

Despite official commitments to internationalresolutions onwomen’s equality, implementationhas been sparse and sporadic. A new initiativecalled the AfricanWomen’s Decadewas launchedin 2010 to focus on progressmade in theimplementation of national programmes of AfricanUnion (AU)member states [to promote genderequality and highlight the] achievements, gapsand challenges. It is designed to provide direction,especially where actions and initiatives are in needof acceleration (AWD 2010). This kind of publicmonitoring can be helpful to enhance accountabilityfrom government.

In addition to commitments and the establishmentof women’sministries and programs, some Africangovernments have implemented political quotas toincrease the number of women in government.Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda are prominentexamples. By 2003, approximately 19 AUmembercountries had adopted some form of legislativequotas for women (Tripp 2004).

Despite difficulties in implementation, applying andmaintaining quotas, they help establish the necessarycriticalmass to get gender on the agenda, and tobring about policy and institutional changes. Theynormalize women’s active participation and providerolemodels to other levels of society (IFAD 2010).

Quotas for women in government bodies are oftena necessary but not sufficient step to promotewomen’s equality across the country. Other strategiesinclude increased lobbying and organizationalcapacity so existing national women’s groups canbecome a political force, andmainstreaming genderconcerns into other national groups such asproducers’ union (Hassim 2005).

Women politicians in Rwanda have attempted togive voice to all women through a national networkof women’s committees based in every village, toprovide a link with women in government (Hassim2005).

Mozambique and South Africa impose genderquotas on the political parties, but womenMembersof Parliament (MPs) have found challenges inbalancing the commitment to the political partyagainst the commitment to gender equality. Womenare after all elected to represent the party and notwomen as a constituency (Hassim 2005).

Local government has been expected to be thelevel at which political party commitments to genderequality and parity in decision-making wouldproduce positive results yet the obstaclesmay begreater. For example, traditional authorities in SouthAfrica have significant powers over resourceallocation at the local level because of politicalaccommodationsmadewith the ruling ANC. As aresult, the features of good governance that arepromoted at the national level are not alwayspresent locally (Hassim 2005).

Ugandawas one of the first African countries toreserve 30% of the positions on local councils forwomen. Yet this has not necessarily translated intoan appreciation of women’s role in decision-making.The election of women councilors is an add-on to theelectoral system, so voter turn-out has been poor,and voters demonstrate ambivalence about thelegitimacy of women councilors, and confusion aboutthe constituencies they represent (Hassim 2005).

There has been little systematic study of the impactof national leadership, laws and policies on ruralwomen’s daily experience and the gap betweenpronouncements at the capital and implementationin the village. National policies promoting genderequality would benefit from a budget and strategyfor outreach into rural areas, building consensusand capacity among traditional leaders to protectwomen’s rights and livelihoods, and training womenhow to exercise legal rights (Kabeer 1993).

Traditional leaders still provide themajority ofjudicial decisions onmarriage, property anddomestic lawwhich impact rural women’s lives.As local leaders are increasingly concernedwith national politics, andmay even be selectedby national parties and not by the local people, theirinterest and ability to protect and uphold women’sbasic rights, both traditional andmodern, declines(Kirui 1994).


7.2.1.2 AgriculturalMinistries

Ministries of Agriculture and especially livestockdepartments rarely receive had any training ongender and are not held accountable on outreach towomen unless a donor demands it for a specificprogram. Therefore, orientation for governmentpartners is key for any gender responsive livestockintervention.

7.2.1.3 National policies affectingwomenand livestock

Infrastructure and services to combat livestockdiseases is a public good, which needs agovernment component to ensure coordinationand consistent standards (Otte 2004) in additionto NGO and private sector participation.

East African governments recently used aparticipatory process to developmore fair dairyregulations, but womenwere conspicuously absent.Producer groups were blamed for not representingtheir constituents (Kurwijila 2011). Due to NGOlobbying in Kenya, accommodation of the femaledominated informalmarket was accomplished.

TheNational Dairy Development PrograminKenya, operating from1980–1995,wasfunded by theDutch government, and providedfunding, training and research to theMinistryof AgricultureDairy Extension program.They quickly realized that the quality ofwomen’s participationwas a key determinantin the success of zero grazing enterprises.After a series of gender investigations andworkshops, they started referring to the“BlackBox ofMr. Gender,” to remind fieldofficers of the importance of gender in theirwork and their home life. This playful butconsistent attention to genderwas one of themost significant outcomes of the project.

(Maarse 1998)


Other national policies that particularly impactwomen livestock producers are expansion andenforcement of their property and inheritancerights, prevention of domestic violence, educationfor girls, and assistance to AIDS AffectedHouseholds. Surveys on economic activity that willinform policymust recognize women’s roles asimportant economic actors, evenwhen theirproduction is within the household or informalmarkets (Hill 2009).

National statistics are rarely gender disaggregated,so that women’s economic contributions and genderconstraints remain hidden. Attention and budgetsonly accrue to issues that getmeasured. When datacollection uses the household as the unit of impact,women are invisible. Therefore, the unitaryhousehold researchmodelmust be replaced inboth assessment systems andmindset (Hill 2003).

Hill (2003) developed a Gender Disaggregated Data(GDD)module for Agriculture andRural Developmentfor “engendering statistics,” after finding that not alldata specialists are experienced using, interpretingor presenting gender data.

7.2.2Universities andResearch InstitutionsLivestock professionals like veterinarians andanimal health technicians are often poorly preparedfor the social context of animal health delivery topoor people, especially women. They need explicittraining to become the agents of change thatdeveloping countries require. Training in sociologyand gender is particularly important for VeterinaryPublic Health (VPH) programs, historically very weakin Sub Saharan Africa, but essential since animaldisease patterns are related to human behavior asmuch as biology and climate (Robinson 2003).

Useful policy changes affecting higher educationinclude strengthening of curricula to include gendersensitive participatorymethods in disease diagnosis,treatment and bio-containment. MakarereUniversity in Uganda has pioneered a gendertraining curriculum for veterinary and otheragricultural students (Hill 2009).

Inmany developing countries, only commercialintensive chicken and large scale cattle productionare part of the agriculture curriculum in schools.Small scale production is not considered at any level.

Since themajority of rural people depend on smallscale agriculture for livelihoods, and themajority oflivestock products consumed comes from smallscale producers, it will be important that this subjectbe included in the regular education and trainingschemes of agricultural generalists, as well aslivestock and poultry specialists (Sonaiya 2004).

It is necessary for continued, deliberate and detailedefforts within agricultural research and development(R&D) institutions to focus attention onwomenthrough their policies. It is also necessary totranslate policies into their day-to-day practices,so that women canmake a greater contribution tolivestock R&D and can derivemore benefits from it.The quality of epidemiological data will improvewhenwomen livestockmanagers as well asmenare included in routine disease surveillance andoutbreak investigations (Waters-Bayer 2010).

7.2.3Producer organizationsGroupmembership and collective action enhancesthe ability of both poormen and poor womenlivestock keepers to access resources and influencedecision-making, butmen andwomen often belongto different groups (Peterson 2010).

7.2.3.1 Women’s groups

Village basedwomen’s groups are popular acrossAfrica. They provide information and capacitybuilding as well as a safe place tomeet and learn.They often pool small amounts ofmoney as informalcredit. It is easier to organize training for groupsrather than for individuals. (DeHaan 2002).

Women’s existing organizations are a good startingplace for new livestock activities, especially whenthey have had developed leadership skills, literacy,and confidence. Most women prefer to belong towomen-only groups until they have become confidentenough to speak in front ofmen (Miller 2001).

Groups of women producers are better able toaccess information and services, because they canbargainmore effectively than they could alone(Kristjanson 2010). However, they often need sometraining to help develop their skills.


7.2.3.2 Livestock producer groups and cooperatives

These groups aremostlymale, and need trainingand incentives to becomemore inclusive andmoreeffective. If their objective is to represent producers,women’ voicesmust be heard, since their concernsmay be different from theirmenfolk. IFAD (2010)identified the following steps to increase women’svoice in producer groups.

1 Training for all members in identifying genderbased constraints and developing solutions andgender accountability.

2 Changemembership criteria from formal landownership to animal ownership, or animalusage.

3 Establish quotas for women in leadership, toincrease visibility, and establish the necessarycriticalmass to bring about policy andinstitutional change. Addwomensubcommittees to build women’s capacityand identify concerns.

4 Form networks of producer groups to shareinformation and strategies on gender andother issues.

5 Lend assistance to legalize women’s communitybased producer groups, which tend to be informal

If producer groups are not amenable to representingtheir female constituents accurately, womenmayform their own organizations.

Promoting gender equality strengthens producerorganizations by increasing transparent anddemocratic decisionmaking, and also benefits poormen and othermarginalized groups. Pro-poorpolicies are also needed since inclusion of wealthywomen does not necessarily benefit poor women(IFAD 2010).

Adairy cooperative inKenya changed itsmembership requirements from landownership to cowownership,which increasedthe number of femalemembers, in responseto a single gender trainingworkshop.Themenwere not hostile to the idea, butno one had challenged the status quo until theworkshop created the opportunity to examinegender dynamics.

(Rubin 2009)

7.2.4 ThePrivateSectorSince the era of Structural Adjustment Programs(SAPs) in the in the 1980’s and the privatization ofanimal health services,most livestock producersuse the private sector for animal health services,inputs and products. Although somewomen haveopened their own agrovet stores or animalpharmacies, themajority of providers aremen, sincethey aremore likely to have the required financialcapital, education and business contacts.

The private sectormay not think of women aslivestock producers, but when they start to targetwomen and especially women’s groups, it should beprofitable for them. Even if women spend less thanmen on animal health products, they are still willingand able to spend cash to protect livestock health(EADD 2009).

Shop owners could benefit from training in targetingwomen customers,making their shops comfortablefor women by hiring women clerks, and providingverbal as well as written instructions to illiteratepatrons. Selling animalmedications in single dosesis appealing to women producers who cannot affordthemultiple dose packages frommanufacturers(Chan 2011).

7.2.5NonGovernmental OrganizationsThere are thousands of non-governmentalorganizations across Africa, constituting “civilsociety,” and providing information, services anddiscussion space for change. They can becategorized as community based, intermediateand national level, and promote all types of issuesfrom religion to literacy to gender equality. Somehave funding from national or international sources,and some are completely self sponsored. Men andwomen in Africa belong to the same number oforganizations, butmen’s aremore commercialand provide productive resources while women’stend to focus on family welfare (Peterman 2010).

NGO’s will be key partners in grassroots campaignsto vaccinate livestock, butmany will need capacitybuilding in leadership, record keeping and overallgroup development.


7.3 Program level strategies

7.3.1Project planningProject planning is strongest when local people haveinput. However background researchmeans thateach project does not have to start from scratch andrepeat past errors. There is often a wealth of datafrom government, the UN, the literature and otherdevelopment projects to inform gender responsiveplanning.

EADDwaited for the completion of anexpensive baseline survey in 2009 to learnthat commercialization of dairy collectionleads to shifts in income fromwomen tomen.This has been documented acrossAfrica sincethe 1980’s (Waters-Bayer,1986, Oboler,1985,Mullins, 1992). This background researchcould have informeduse of family bankaccounts, women’s group savings or specifictraining formenonwomen’s need for cash tocare for the family.(EADD 2009, Report 6)

7.3.2 Trainingprograms that benefitwomenUse of GALVmed’s new vaccinesmust be integratedwith animal health training somen andwomenwillknow how, when andwhy to get their animalsvaccinated, and to ensure adequate nutrition andmanagement to safeguard their investment in theiranimals.

Curry (1996) noted that by “knowing who does what,one can discover who is in the best position toobserve clinical signs of animal health problems.Thismakes women’s role in livestock visible andtheir training essential.”

Interventions focused on areas where women areresponsible (e.g. milking, tending young stock,poultry feeding) need to be targeted to women if theyare to have impact on how animals aremanaged,whether or not women are the owners. This impliesthat women need to bemore involved in technologydesign and testing, and in dissemination processes.(Kristjanson 2010).

It will take extra effort to design and deliver animalhealth training to women, since “just addingwomen,” to the existingmodel will not be enough.Training that reaches primarilymen should alsoinclude gender topics, so thatmen can learn aboutthe workload and cash needs of their ownwives.

To reachwomen livestock keepers,workwithwomen’s groups, use the local language,hold the training in the village, avoid technicaljargon and include a gender component ateverymeeting.(Stewart 1998)

Men’s support is essential for women’s participationbecause they not onlymust give permission, theymust also help out with both livestock and domesticchores so that women have the time to attend.Groupworkshops are the easiest place to raise theissue of women participating in training programs,since an individual womanmight be afraid on herown. Respected leaders can engage reluctanthusbands individually by persuading them of thebenefits of their wives’ improved productivity.

Working with preexisting women’s groups thataddress literacy, human health, and leadership arealso helpful. Women’s networks such as schools,parent teacher associations, human health clinics,mosques and churches, andNGO’s working onwelfare issues are typical networks that reachindividual women. The latter can also help identifyAAHH and other vulnerable groups that couldbenefit from special outreach (Peterman 2010).

Often the wives of traditional leaders can helporganize women in a community. InWest Africa,women often belong to all women societies whichcan get the word out about vaccination campaignsor health trainings.

Stewart (1998) reminds us that technicaltraining programs are never value neutral.They can eithermaintain the status quoor challenge harmful or unjust practices,such as ignoringwomenand theirwork.

The introduction of participatorymethods for directfarmer training, as well as organizational and policydevelopment is associated with greater impact andsustainability. However, the basic assumption thatexperts can learn from farmers rather than tell themwhat to do is still antithetical tomost governmentand university structures, and requires deepinstitutional commitment to change, and consistentrewards and backstopping (Hill 2003).


Meaningful livestock extension for women can alsobe enhanced by cross-training existing femaleextension agents, usually in home economics units,so they can help improve livestockmanagement(Colverson 1995). Women need cash as well asfood supplies, so training for women should not belimited to subsistence activities but involvemarketcomponents as well (Mehra 2008).

Livestock extension needs to offer training basedon the actual roles ofmen andwomen, while alsorecognizing that no community is homogenous.In addition, the opportunity for women to learnmaleskills can increase their livelihoods. Bundling oftraining for the same groupsmay involve differentinstitutions orministries, so careful coordinationand sensitivity to rivalries is important.

Heifer Zambia introduced draft cattle forwomen into Southern andCentral provincesin Zambia after East Coast Fever devastatedcattle numbers, andmenmigrated forwork.Everyone learned that gender roles aredynamic, andwomen could plowand care foroxen aswell asmen. Partnerships includedbothMinistry of Agriculture andCooperativesfor veterinary care, andMinistry of CommunityDevelopment andSocial Services for trainingin gender issues and leadership development.Governmentministries often face difficultycoordinating and fear stepping on each other’stoes. The project succeeded because theveterinarians and sociologists learned torespect each other, and to reinforce eachother’smessages.(Heifer Zambia 2010)

7.3.3Accountability andassessmentThe goal of women’s empowerment can only beachieved if it is included in the accountabilityprocess, and bothmethod and indicatorsmust bechosen carefully.

For formal surveys, Njuki et al (2011) definedindicators formonitoring project impacts onwomen’s livestock livelihoods, to encouragegreater uniformity in research to gainmeaningfulcomparison, and as a necessary component of anylivestock project or intervention.

In addition, themost important gender indicatorsare workload and control over decisionmaking andassets occurs within the household, and this cannotbemonitored with formal surveys. Therefore,informal annual participatory assessments shouldbe conducted among target groups as part of theaccountability process. With proper analysis, theycan yield quantitative data that is just a strong assurveys, andmuchmoremeaningful.

Cost benefit analysismust include women’s timeas a cost, and benefitsmust include family impactsuch as child nutrition, schooling andmedical carein addition to raw income or production. Improvedchild nutrition is an indicator of women’s controlover household income, but can be expensive andlaborious tomeasure. However, women’s dairygroups in Kenya developed a quick daily test to seeif husbands were selling all of themilk rather thanleaving some for the wife to use as family food.Individualmembers would ask each other’s childrenif they had drunkmilk thatmorning, and if not, groupmembers wouldmobilize at the farm to confront thehusband, and threaten to remove the cow. Fear ofpublic exposure persuaded husbands to sharemilkwith wives, which the wife could not accomplish onher own (Kirui 1994).

Data is only as useful as its interpretation anduse, and the purpose of assessment is to see ifadjustments are needed in the plan to accomplishthe goals. Interpretation and use of data should notbe limited to the headquarters or donor report, butintentionally shared with the people impacted(Stewart 1998).


7.3.4 Hire and retainmorewomenasveterinarians, technicians andCAHW’s

It is easier for women to interact with other womento access animal health care services and supplies.Although the numbers of trained women specialistsare small they are growing. Some organizationsclaim that it ismore difficult to retain womenprofessionals than to recruit them.Women need tohave protection from sexual harassment, and to feelsafe while traveling. Flexible work hours helpwomen balance work and home life since they donot have “wives,” to cook and care for their children(Amuguni 1999).

Some countries such as Ghana have hiredmanyfemale extension agents in response to demand(World Bank, 2009). However, livestock specialistsstill tend to bemale. This suggests greater effort atrecruitment of rural girls for advanced training,since they will bemore likely to return to rural areas.

Female CAHW’s can dramatically increasewomen livestock raisers use of livestock inputs.Organizations like FARMAfrica and VSF-B have hadgood success training and retaining women CAHW’sbut it takes additional commitment and resources.Sincemost CAHWprograms dissolve after donorfunding is withdrawn, the success of these NGO’s,and especially their combination of technical andsocial development is a goodmodel for the future(Heffernan 2003). Themost important predictors ofCAHWactivity after initial training is keeping writtenrecords, and attending three ormore refreshercourses. CAHW’s benefit from business training inaddition to technical training (Mugunieri 2002).

Regulations regarding acceptable CAHWproceduresvary widely across Africa. In some places, there arerestrictions on using needles or doing surgery.Development of vaccinations without needles givenby informally trained women can improve impact.

Womenauxiliaries and the I2 ocularvaccine forNewcastle’sDiseaseVSF-Belguim inNiger successfully piloteda vaccination campaign against NewcastleDisease (NCD).Womenhad been trainedas poultry and small ruminant auxiliaries(AVA/PR) butwere not authorized to giveinjections, yet NCDwas themain constraintfor poultry development.

Luckily the newocular vaccine called I2was available in 2007. Amass vaccinationcampaignwas launched inDakoro, precededby amass sensitization campaign includingposters, drama, and radio programs. Thevaccinewas subsidized at half of its price, thevaccination campaign lasted 3months and atthe end, around 30.000 poultrywerevaccinated versus an average of 4.000 for theprevious years. Thewomen vaccinators had ahuge impact. The vaccine campaignwas alsore-launchedin 2010 in the regions ofMaradiand Tahoua and 57.657 poultrywerevaccinated.(VSF-B 2010)

7.4 Link to humanhealth: OneHealthThe fields of human and veterinarymedicine areincreasingly working together on public health issues,a process now dubbed “One Health.” This isespecially valuable for reaching women in remoteareas who are responsible for the health of boththeir children and their livestock. The potential ismost clear when zoonotic disease can be controlledby sanitation, which is usually the responsibility ofwomen. VPH infrastructure is extremely weak inAfrican countries, so joining forces with humanmedical experts bringsmany advantages likehuman and physical resources and newmodels.

Between 2000 and 2005, Schelling et al. (2007)demonstrated the feasibility of combininghuman and animal vaccination programsfor nomadic pastoralists and their livestockin Chad.

By sharing transport and equipment costs,medical doctors and veterinarians reducedtheir total costs. Joint delivery of human andanimal health services is highly valued byhard-to-reach pastoralists. In interventionzones, for the first time, about 10%of nomadicchildrenwere fully immunized annually andmore children andwomenwere vaccinateddaily in joint human–livestock vaccinationrounds than in vaccination campaignstargeting only people. By optimizing use oflimited logistical and human resources, publichealth and veterinary services both becamemore effective, especially at the district level.


Since 2003, AVSF (Agronomists and VeterinariansWithout Borders–France) have implementedhuman and animal health projects with pastoralcommunities in Niger andMali. Due to lack ofnearly all services, the women have little knowledgeof hygiene, nutrition, and prevention of preand postpartum disease. The proximity ofhuman/animal living increases the incidenceof zoonotic disease, especially anthrax, parasiticdiseases, tuberculosis, and brucellosis (AVSF 2010).

Infant andmaternalmortalities are highest inWest Africa, where populations are poorlyvaccinated. Cattle also are not vaccinated ortoo lightly for an efficient protection. Moreover,extremely contagious diseases are often seen suchas Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP),

Contagious Nodular Dermatitis and cattle pox foranimals; and in humans,measles, tuberculosis,andmeningitis. Proper vaccination can have ahuge impact onmortality andmorbidity of thehuman and livestock populations, and significantlyimprove quality of life of the people who dependon their animals (AVSF 2010).

Although cost recovery was instituted throughmembership fees and vaccination chargesper head, thesemodels will need supplementalfunding before they become established.Drought conditions can interrupt the plannedmonthly visits. However cost savings and increasedcoverage show the advantages of inter-sectoralcooperation of human and veterinary personnel toreach pastoralists (AVSF 2010).


8 Strategies to improvewomen’saccess tomarkets

8.1 LocalGroupsWomen prioritize keeping livestock to provide forfamily food, and usemilk, meat and eggs to feed thefamAmong bothmobile pastoralists, and settledagropastoraists, from a very young age, children areinvolved in herding, with girls herding small stockwith boys, and youngmen responsible for cattle(Bekure 1991).

8.2 TechnologyCell phones are now an essential tool to accessmarket information, especially in live animalmarkets, to get the best price. Women’s groupsneed to have at least onemember with a cell phone(Rubin 2010).

8.3 Integrated servicesWomen can thrive in livestockmarkets when theyhave the necessary skills, assets and environment.Livestock remains the investment of choice forwomen in southern Ethiopia. Desha (2006) describescommunity based interventions with pastoralists(primarily Boran) in Ethiopia that linkedmarkettraining, literacy, arithmetic skills and groupdevelopment. They used pastoral women’s groupsfromNorthern Kenya as theirmodel, and found thatEthiopian women have commonly emerged as themost innovative leaders.

Data fromGlobal Livestock Collaborative ResearchSupport Program (GL-CRSP) found that women’s topinvestment choice was livestock, which they tradedor fattened then sold on themarket, or processedproducts to sell as street food. Microcredit wasbundled with other necessary training, such as fieldtrips to livestockmarkets, group development andtraining inmarketing and financial skills. (Rubin 2010).

Women in theMandera Trianglemanaged totransform their saving and credit groups into legallyrecognized livestockmarketing cooperatives, andthen to further consolidate them into cooperativeunions despite numerous challenges. Efforts toprovide some basic education and better information,as well as help to forge new relationships amongbuyers and sellers, have been beneficial to jump-start formation of thismarketing chain (AFD 2004).

8.4 Credit and financial servicesCredit is an essential asset for any business.Microcredit or non-collateral loans have beentargeted to women across Africa withmixed results.Themoney often can help a woman start or expand alivestock enterprise, but organizations vary in theircapacity to extend andmonitor loans.

Group based credit, larger amounts for capital,training in numerancy, bank accounts in group nameor individual name to prevent appropriation, andsupport to resist appropriation are all necessary forexpansion of women’smarket opportunities. Themost successfulmicrocredit organizations follow upon use of the loan, to ensure it has not beenappropriated bymenfolk (Kristjanson 2010).

The private financial sector inmany countries stilldoes not viewwomen as a profitable group. Projectdesign should include special procedures forilliterate women, and flexible terms of repayment forlarger animals with a slower rate of reproduction.Other innovations aremobile or cell phone banking,convenient opening hours to accommodate women’sbusy schedules, and appropriate and innovativesavings schemes (Kristjanson 2010).

Extended credit provision, which characterizesmostMuslim societies, is of particular relevance inthe Somali context (Nori 2008), the Sahel and theNorthern belts of Eastern and Central Africa. Thesystem largely draws from traditionalmechanismsregulating livestock trade, where herders give theiranimals on a credit basis and often wait months toreceive their payments. In the livestock trade therole of the broker (dulaal) effectively lowers thetransaction costs associated with this form oftrading (Baumann 1993).

Livestock insurance is increasingly available toprotect poor farmers’most important asset.It is usedwidely in Asia, but is not yet commonplacein Africa. Women, who tend to bemore risk aversethanmen, seemmore interested in this productwhen available (Rubin 2010), although there aresome concerns that the increased cost can excludethe poorest women.Working and paying in groupsis one solution (Hill 2009).


8.5 Formal or legal ownershipFormalizing women’s ownership of animals can helpwomenmake faster and better decisions regardingsales and purchases. Ownership rightsmust beupheld by local courts as well as national ones, andbe supported bymen. Formalizing women’s claimon land to use for fodder can also increase theproductivity of women’s livestock.

8.6 NewProductsAnother strategy for women’s success is tomarket an entirely new product so they are notin competition withmen in existingmarkets.Such enterprises require excellent planningandmanagement.

Case study:Womenenteringlivestockmarkets:The case ofcamel milk marketing in NE SomaliaThe evolution of camelmilkmarketing inNESomalia provides an interesting casestudy ofwomen increasingly playing a newrole inmarkets. Camelmilk representsthemain source of protein and vitaminsto the Somali population, especially tochildren. Camelmilkmarketing is anentirely private systemoperating througha network of agents coordinated bywomen,and organized through complex relationships.Primarymilk collectors arewomen locatedinmobile campswhich follow seasonalpastoral transhumance in order to collectfreshmilk fromsurrounding herders on adaily basis. Collectedmilk is then sent tofemale secondarymilk collectors in townswhodistribute it tomarket retailers.Transport companies –managed bymen–are hired bywomen collectors to carrymilkand related information and goods. Thecommercialization of camelmilk inNESomalia is expanding its outreach aswellas improving its efficiency(Nori et al. 2006)

8.7 ThePrivateSectorPrivate companies prefer to purchase fromwomensmallholder producers because the quality is better,but need for women to organize into producer groupstomake contracts. In addition, there is positivebranding potential from supporting poor women

producers (Chan 2011). Thismay become a hugeissue for specialty products such as camel or goatcheese, for export or the tourist industry.

Some private companies are proactively pursuingwomen producers by requiring that producer groupsincrease womenmembers and leaders before newcontracts will be negotiated. Some provide incentivesformen to give their wives productive resources likecows so they can join in their own right. Also, privatecompaniesmay have the influence to encourageimprovements in basic services and infrastructuresuch as piped water to free upwomen’s time forincome generating activities (Chan 2011).

An encouraging innovation in the private sector is“double bottom line,” business initiatives thatexplicitly seek to provide social and economicbenefits to women smallholders, as well asgenerate a commercially viable revenue streamfor the company. “Social entrepreneurship” or“agi-preneurs,” are seen in the dairy and poultrysector in Bangladesh, but in sub Saharan Africa, arefoundmostly in the coffee, tea and cocoa industries,rather than the livestock sector (Chan 2011).

8.8 FocusonwomenAlthough gender analysismust involve bothmenandwomen, andmen are gatekeepers to women’sparticipation, the International Livestock ResearchInstitute (ILRI) found that interventions with positiveimpact on womenwere those that focused onwomen – rather than simply adding women intoexisting project activities. Projects already designedaroundmen’s priorities are often inappropriate forwomen, so investment in institutional capacityfor redesign, alongwith new activities, is oftennecessary. In addition, ILRI found that themostevidence in the literature for empowering womendealt with dairy production, building women’slivestockmanagement skills, and improvingwomen’s access to livestockmarketing, healthservices and information (Tipilda and Kristjanson,2008).


9Trends for the future9.1 Globalization

9.1.1ReligionGlobalization isn’t just themovement of goods andlabour, it is also the cultural sharing of religious,political, social and philosophical ideas. SecularWestern ideas influenced urban and educatedAfricans in the 20th century, but now religiousdebates predominate.

The impact of religion can be helpful or harmful towomen, depending on the circumstances. Islamic lawcan protect women’s property rights and a husband’sobligation formaintenance, but it is up to localleaders to interpret texts and traditions. In Nigeriawhere some commentators describe increasinglystrict interpretations of Islam as “Sharianization,”there are concerns that new offences are beingcreated aroundwomen’s sexuality, which has anegative effect onwomen’s human rights andmobility.

Christianity likewise can have a beneficial effect whenreligious leaders use their authority to condemnwifebeating and encouragemen to treat women asequals. One result can be an expansion of women’seconomic opportunities as husbands allow them totravel further andworkmore independently thanbefore. This has also increased their economicresponsibility and time spent on livestock and cropduties (Wangui 2003). Other leaders use Biblical textsto demand the subordination of women.

GALVmed and its partners need to work closely withlocal religious and traditional leaders to ensure theirsupport and cooperation in enhancing women’sopportunities.

9.2 Sedentarization and livestockconfinement

Other trends are the increasing confinement ofanimals, which tends to increase women’s workload.When there is pressure on pastoralist groups to settlepermanently, and without herding cattle, menmayencroach onwomen’s traditional income generatingactivities, like dairy. Alternately, as pastoralist menmigrate to cities for paid work, women are left with allof the livestock chores, andmay require specialtraining and outreach. There is increasing economiccompetition from industrial livestock producers, whocan often influence policies to their benefit.

9.3 PopulationpressureIncreasing population pressure is closely tied to thestatus of women, since educated womenwith theirown income tend to have fewer but healthier children.Every year of education typically decreases by one thetotal number of children eachwomenwill bear(World Bank).

9.4 ClimateChangeThe effects of climate change are already seenacross Africa, with increasing droughts and changingrainfall pattern, which impact livestock raising.Environmental changes can impactmen andwomendifferently, and women again find their householdduties increasing as they search longer and fartherfor fuel andwater, and deal withmore householddisease from polluted water (FAO 2000).

10LessonsLearned10.1Invest in institutions and people in addition totechnology, with appropriate budget andmonitoring.

10.2Market incentives are essential for sustainability, butonly after investments aremade to upgrade the skills,contacts, capital and confidence of women and othermarginalized people. Bundling of technical and socialservices provides themost impact.

10.3Social attitudes and behaviors change over time.Market incentives are one tool, but publicitycampaigns, rolemodels, and community baseddiscussions are also necessary (WFC 2000).


11RecommendationstoGALVmed

11.1GenderStrategy – Institutional

11.1.1GenderAuditThe Gender Audit is a widely used tool to helpinstitutionalize an organization’s commitmentto gender equity. Hammerschlag (1998) identifiesthe following steps:

> Review of the organization’s current practices,strategies and results

> Survey staff about the organization’s

• Political Will• Technical Capacity• Accountability• Organizational Culture

> Discuss and analyze the survey results

> Create an action plan, which usually includesa formal Gender Policy.

11.1.2GenderPolicyDevelop a written gender policy, confirming acommitment to gender equality through animalhealth initiatives, partnerships and accountability.Prohibit sexual harassment of staff and providewritten procedures for staff grievances.

11.1.3 Staff IssuesTo ensure a common understanding of genderequality goals and policies, hold a workshop ortraining session for executives and senior staff.Develop training for all staff and partners in genderanalysis, so they have the proper skills to do theirjobs. Provide training in gender analysis andparticipatory techniques for field staff that includevisits to project sites to use new tools with trainers.Ensure that annual staff reviews reward positiveattention to gender issues.

11.1.4Central CoordinationDesignate one person to coordinate and harmonizegender related programming, training andassessment, with adequate authority, time andbudget, although responsibility for gender integrationmust be shared by all staff and programs.

11.1.5GenderBoardofAdvisorsThis could increase the recognition and credibilityof GALVmed’s gender strategy, and their experiencecould informGALVmed’s decision-making.A “Gender Learning Community,” composed of staffandmanagement, including partner organizations, toshare experience and enhance analytical skills, canimprove impact and permit “scaling up,” successfulstrategies.

11.2 GenderStrategy –Project Level

11.2.1Goals andobjectivesMake outreach and benefits to women an explicitgoal of all GALVmed initiatives, with adequate budget,backstopping and assessment. All local work shouldbegin with participatory gender analysis with bothmen andwomen. Benefits tomenmust be veryclear since they are the gatekeepers towomen’sparticipation.

11.2.2Monitoring andassessmentIn addition to formal surveys disaggregated intomaleand female headed households, and AIDS affectedhouseholds, use informalmethods tomonitorintra-household division of labor and decision-making,and child nutrition. Train andmonitor producerorganizations for women’s leadership, inclusion ofwomen’s concerns and participation in nationaldecision-making.11.2.3AdvocacyAt the national level, advocate for revised statisticalcollection, to capturewomen’s involvement in livestockkeeping and economic contributions, to justifycontinued outreach for technical andmarket training.Help strengthen advocacy efforts for policies thatfavor poor women includingmaintenance of informalmarkets, property rights and girls’ education.

11.2.4 Integration of vaccines into trainingBundle vaccine interventions into packages thatinclude animal health training,marketing and credittargeting women.

11.2.5 Species focusPrioritize vaccines for small ruminants and poultrywhich represent a greater share of women’s assetsand livelihoods.

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