In 2009, the gross domestic product (GDP) was about US$5 939 million, with a value added in agriculture in 2008 accounting for 35 percent of the GDP. In 2009, the total economically active population was almost 3.1 million, of which 50 percent were women. The population economically active in agriculture was around 2.3 million inhabitants, approximately 75 percent of the economically active population. Of the population economically active in agriculture, 52 percent are women.
Women are major contributors to agricultural production. They do most of the farm work (planting, weeding and harvesting crops), tend livestock, and spend long hours performing off-farm and household chores such as collecting firewood, preparing meals and caring for children. Traditionally, men plough, make bunds and prepare seedbeds. In some areas the traditional task division is changing because of the lack of male labour.
Women are often unpaid, but their contributions are crucial for household food security and the rural economy. Nevertheless, their activities are often excluded from economic accounts and their contributions remain invisible and therefore greatly undervalued as a result of lack of sex-disaggregated data. The Government has enacted conducive policies to promote gender equality. In the agricultural sector, gender concerns are being integrated into specific programmes and projects through a number of measures (FAO, 2010).