Finally, the feminization of agriculture also occurs by women taking up waged employment on
large plantations, sometimes located at some distance from the home or even requiring her to
migrate for long periods: it is then linked, not to the small-scale family farm sector, but to the
shift to more capitalized forms of agriculture, and often to an increase in land concentration.
Though both forms of "feminization of agriculture" will show up in statistics as increases in the
female agricultural workforce (in proportion to the employment of men or even, though less
frequently, in comparison to the female employment in other sectors), each in fact will result in
a very different set of gender relationships, and each will correspond to a very different type of
agrarian transition.
These different forms of "feminization of agriculture" call for separate questions, that this
article seeks to address. The following section examines the nature of the discrimination that
women face as small-scale, independent food producers. But, though these various forms of
discrimination can and should urgently be addressed, not all the constraints women face can be
removed at once, particularly when those constraints relate to existing gender roles: the
various types of support given to farmers, therefore, may have to be made "gender-sensitive",
taking into account the specific constraints women face. But here emerges a dilemma:
recognizing such constraints, and organizing the support given to women farmers to take such
constraints into account by relieving them from some of the burdens that they shoulder, may
The situation of women as food producers provides therefore a useful vantage point from
which to assess the general direction of agricultural development in low-income countries. The
agrifood systems today hardly allow female independent producers to thrive, instead relegating
them to a form of agricultural production that is often characterized by its low productivity and
that is geared towards own consumption or meeting the needs of the family. Though such
homestead-based production can represent an important contribution to food security and
deserves support, it also presents the risk of confirming existing gender roles and it does not
favor the economic independence of women ; nor does it truly expand the choices for women,
who should be allowed to decide whether to produce for local markets or to remain confined to
subsistence agriculture. Instead, the approach proposed here would reshape the markets at the
same time as it would support women as small-scale independent food producers seeking to
produce to satisfy the needs of their families and communities : both approaches should be
pursued at the same time, in order to allow women to make real choices. The adoption of
measures to improve the situation of women farmworkers is an integral component of this
strategy, given the links between these two worlds of farming: the current exploitation of
women on plantations is a form of unfair competition that undermines the ability for smallscale
food producers, among which women are increasingly represented, to make a decent
For many women who become agricultural workers, working on farms represents a first
opportunity to have access to income. But the benefits are not unmitigated. First, although
most studies available seem to indicate that women have a considerable say in how their wages
are spent (Kabeer 2005), this is not necessarily the case. On tea plantations in Sri Lanka, for
example, females who are the majority of tea pickers evidence high rates of illiteracy and lack
of numeracy skills ; customarily it is their husband or male kin who collects the daily payment at
weighing time, with little of it accessed by the woman worker
Finally, the feminization of agriculture also occurs by women taking up waged employment onlarge plantations, sometimes located at some distance from the home or even requiring her tomigrate for long periods: it is then linked, not to the small-scale family farm sector, but to theshift to more capitalized forms of agriculture, and often to an increase in land concentration.Though both forms of "feminization of agriculture" will show up in statistics as increases in thefemale agricultural workforce (in proportion to the employment of men or even, though lessfrequently, in comparison to the female employment in other sectors), each in fact will result ina very different set of gender relationships, and each will correspond to a very different type ofagrarian transition.These different forms of "feminization of agriculture" call for separate questions, that thisarticle seeks to address. The following section examines the nature of the discrimination thatwomen face as small-scale, independent food producers. But, though these various forms ofdiscrimination can and should urgently be addressed, not all the constraints women face can beremoved at once, particularly when those constraints relate to existing gender roles: thevarious types of support given to farmers, therefore, may have to be made "gender-sensitive",taking into account the specific constraints women face. But here emerges a dilemma:recognizing such constraints, and organizing the support given to women farmers to take suchconstraints into account by relieving them from some of the burdens that they shoulder, mayThe situation of women as food producers provides therefore a useful vantage point fromwhich to assess the general direction of agricultural development in low-income countries. Theagrifood systems today hardly allow female independent producers to thrive, instead relegatingthem to a form of agricultural production that is often characterized by its low productivity andthat is geared towards own consumption or meeting the needs of the family. Though suchhomestead-based production can represent an important contribution to food security anddeserves support, it also presents the risk of confirming existing gender roles and it does notfavor the economic independence of women ; nor does it truly expand the choices for women,who should be allowed to decide whether to produce for local markets or to remain confined tosubsistence agriculture. Instead, the approach proposed here would reshape the markets at thesame time as it would support women as small-scale independent food producers seeking toproduce to satisfy the needs of their families and communities : both approaches should bepursued at the same time, in order to allow women to make real choices. The adoption ofmeasures to improve the situation of women farmworkers is an integral component of thisstrategy, given the links between these two worlds of farming: the current exploitation of
women on plantations is a form of unfair competition that undermines the ability for smallscale
food producers, among which women are increasingly represented, to make a decent
For many women who become agricultural workers, working on farms represents a first
opportunity to have access to income. But the benefits are not unmitigated. First, although
most studies available seem to indicate that women have a considerable say in how their wages
are spent (Kabeer 2005), this is not necessarily the case. On tea plantations in Sri Lanka, for
example, females who are the majority of tea pickers evidence high rates of illiteracy and lack
of numeracy skills ; customarily it is their husband or male kin who collects the daily payment at
weighing time, with little of it accessed by the woman worker
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