Women may be the backbone of Africa's agricultural production, but they are not profiting as much as they should from agroforestry
Women in Africa may be the backbone of the continent’s agricultural production, but they are not profiting as much as they should from agroforestry – the growing of trees on agricultural land, according to a study by the World Agroforestry Centre.
It recommends women increase their income by moving into producing high end items like soap and wine from the same products they currently sell as raw materials.
Women typically farm the food crops that feed the family, fetch firewood used for cooking and are often involved in the collection of fruits, nuts, leaves (used as vegetables), fodder and mulch, but they are hardly ever involved in the sale of trees for timber which is economically more valuable and seen as a male domain.
“Despite their important role in agricultural production, women in Africa are still disadvantaged in the agricultural sector due to cultural, sociological and economic factors,” said Evelyne Kiptot, co-author of the study and senior research scientist at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute.
Agroforestry can enhance soil fertility, prevent soil erosion, deter pests and provide shade for crops, among other things. Products from the trees themselves - eg fruit, animal fodder, compost, fuel, timber, resin and medicines - can also boost farmers’ incomes.
But the study,Gender and Agroforestry in Africa: Are Women Participating?, says where women are involved in marketing agroforestry products, they are usually confined to the small retail trade, while men dominate the wholesale trade.
The profit margins on the sorts of products women sell are also smaller than on those that men sell.
The authors recommend women diversify into high value products such as oil, soap, juices, body lotions, wine, and leaf meal.
For instance, women in West Africa are already using leaves from the hibiscus plant to produce a popular juice in the region, known as Bisap or Folere. In eastern Africa, Tanzanian women collect leaves from the wild tamarind shrub (Leuceana leucocephala) which they dry and turn into leaf meal to be sold as fodder to animal farmers.
The authors of the study recommend that governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) make a concerted effort to link women with markets and industry. They also say the range of products sold by women needs to be increased to give them an edge in marketing.
But women face many hurdles including a lack of investment, low education levels and weak land tenure rights. In many parts of Africa only men are allowed to own and dispose of land.
Despite the challenges, agroforestry has directly benefitted many rural women in Africa, the study said.
“In Tabora, Tanzania, women are earning between $12 and $30 a week through the sale of juice processed from indigenous fruits,” Kiptot said in a statement.
“And in Cameroon, income from the vegetable Gnetum africanum is substantial with an average of $ 2,629 per household per year,” she added.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says if women farmers had the same resources as men, they could increase their yields by 20 to 30 percent. This increase in production would not only increase women’s income it could reduce the number of hungry people worldwide by 12 to 17 percent.
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