Research Paper on The role of women in agriculture for reducing hunger and malnutrition in rural communities | IJAAR 2022

Research process, conducting focus group discussions at a of the household in Matabeleland South

Author Name: Douglas Marowa

 Journal Name- International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research | IJAAR

 Publisher- International Network For Natural Sciences | INNSpub

 Abstract 

There has been less recognition to women contribute to agricultural and food security. Women’s work in the agriculture and food security often remains invisible. The research sought to investigate the role of women agriculture in providing household food security and reducing of hunger and malnutrition in rural communities. The research used a survey research design, quantitative and qualitative data was gathered. Findings were that social and economic constraints place barriers around women’s access to agricultural land and empowerment. Women had a high positive attitude to the variables on; interest in contributing to household, understanding of food security and socio-economic development. Men own land and livestock at household level, livestock for women were realized through payment of the bride prize. The country was not food secured, 68% of the household could not afford three meals per day, malnutrition remains at 9% and the four dimension of food security were averaging 23.25%. Given equal treatment, women could produce high crop yield and can play role in food processing, in nutrition, gardening and agricultural cooperatives. Farming and agricultural policies need to address factors that were affecting the potential of women in improving food security. This would help in fully utilization of the roles of women in providing and improving household food security and reduce hunger and malnutrition in the rural communities. Noted implications of not involving and empowering women in agriculture was food insecurity in the rural communities as food availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability was to achieved year around in the communities.

A small crop field manual prepared and yam field adjacent in Mashonaland East.

Introduction  

There has been less recognition to women contribute to farming and agricultural programmes, especially food production as man has been generally recognized. Ibnouf (2009) indicated that the reality in most Sub- Sahara African countries is that more than 50 percent of the active female population works in agriculture. Women’s work in the agricultural sector often remains invisible because the products of their labour are for the largest part intended for household consumption and do not reach the market economy. According to FAO (1996), around 75% of plant genetic diversity has been lost since the beginning of the century as farmers around the world have forsaken their own multiple local varieties in favour of high-yield, genetically uniform varieties. Gracia (2013) also indicated that farming and agriculture helps to maintain biodiversity, yet is also one of the primary activities, which may lead to its loss.

Many modern agricultural practices aimed at high crop yields are endangering the biodiversity in our crops, due mainly to single-crop systems, which do not allow for rotation, the use of improved varieties or hybrids to the detriment of traditional ones and the overuse of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. However, it is important to note that women are good natural resource manager, as the real of natural biodiversity in the form of firewood, fruits and food, medicinal and social cultural site.

Ibnouf (2009) revealed that normally, for anyone, food security depends not only on availability of sufficient food supply, but also on sustainability of permanent access to food. Achieving food security refers to access by all people to safe and nutritious food in adequate quantities to meets their dietary needs and leads an active life. However, this in itself does not confer adequate nutrition. A person's nutritional status involves accessibility to resources for food and translating the food obtained into satisfactory nutritional levels. 

A woman keeping Roadrunner chickens at a household in Masvingo Province.

 

 

Therefore, food security is a situation in which both food supply and effective demand are sufficient to cover nutritional requirements (Mittal, 2006). According to Ziblim (2014), the debate on the role of women in societies and their participation in economic activity has sparked a lot of controversy for a considerable time. Different groups of people such as women groups, government, development partners, and civil society groups have forwarded many arguments to support their stand on access by all people at all times to adequate food of good quality for active and healthy life. Food security can be explained as an access by all people at all times to adequate food of good quality for active and healthy life (World Bank, 1986). However, not all people have access to adequate food at all times for active and healthy life. Hunger and food insecurity are widespread in most developing countries including Zimbabwe. The 1996 World Food Summit (FAO 1996) which states that food security is met when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

 

Yams produced and a small intercropped maize field in Manicaland Province.

This definition puts the notion of access to food centre stage. Ziblim (2014) suggested that gender differentials in the farm household also play a significant role in the economic performance of a given household. A great deal of empirical research has convincingly demonstrated that gender is important in defining the economic role of rural people in Africa (Ziblim (2014). This in turn has resulted in a growing recognition that men and women often have very different rights and responsibilities with respect to resource use and decision making in the processes of agricultural programmes. Doss (2018) suggested that the development literature abounds with claims about the benefits of targeting agricultural investments at women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. These claims take many forms, but in general it is argued that increasing women’s agricultural productivity is key to increasing overall agricultural productivity, empowering women and reducing poverty. 

Agroforestry, intercropping and gardening at household in Mshonaland Central.

The problem sought to be addressed in this research was the fact that women contribute to farming and agricultural programmes, especially food production and processing at household level, but the contributions and the roles are yet to be generally recognized. The role of women’s work in the agricultural sector often remains invisible and not recorded, extend of contribution towards providing and improving household food security, remain unnoticed.

A nutrition garden where horticultural crops are grow in Midlands province.

 

This research sought fill this knowledge gap on yet to be recognized performance of women on food security to household in rural. They contribution in household food security, kind of agricultural activities was assumed to have influence on sustaining rural people’s livelihood, the socio economic and cultural factors that affect women in farming and agriculture activities. 

Get the full articles by following the link The role of women in agriculture: Implications in providing, improving household food security, for reducing hunger and malnutrition in rural communities

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