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Gender, AIDS and Food Security Culture and Vulnerability in Rural Côte D’Ivoire

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Gender, AIDS and Food Security Culture and Vulnerability in Rural Côte D’Ivoire Gender, AIDS and food security Culture and vulnerability in rural Côte d’Ivoire Mariame Maiga Gender, AIDS and food security Culture and vulnerability in rural Côte d’Ivoire Mariame Maiga Thesis committee Thesis supervisors Prof. dr. L.E. Visser Professor of Rural Development Sociology, Wageningen University Prof. dr. A. Niehof Professor of Sociology of Consumers and Households, Wageningen University Other members Prof. dr. J.W.M. van Dijk, Wageningen University Prof. dr. J.D.M. van der Geest, University of Amsterdam Dr. M. Kaag, The African Studies Centre, Leiden Dr. M.P.M. van der Burg, Wageningen University This research was conducted under the auspices of the Graduate School CERES. Gender, AIDS and food security Culture and vulnerability in rural Côte d’Ivoire Mariame Maiga Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor at Wageningen University by the authority of the Rector Magnificus Prof. dr. M.J. Kropff, in the presence of the Thesis Committee appointed by the Academic Board to be defended in public on Thursday 14 October 2010 at 11 a.m. in the Aula Mariame Maiga Gender, AiDS and food security: culture and vulnerability in rural Côte d’ivoire PhD Thesis Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands With references and summaries in English, French, and Dutch iSBN: 978-90-8585-789-1 iSBN: 978-90-8686-159-0 This thesis is dedicated to the memories of my heroes my sweet dad, Zakaria Maiga my sweet mum, Djenebou Maiga Maiga who have devoted all their life to assist orphans and vulnerable people Acknowledgements Coming from a community where girl’s education is not a priority, doing a PhD was not only an ultimate dream, but also a personal commitment to challenge cultural barriers and gender disparities in women’s education in developing countries. i am highly indebted to several persons and institutions without whose support it would not have been possible to accomplish my PhD studies. i am thankful to the Netherlands government who funded my PhD studies, through the African Women Leaders in Agriculture and Environment (AWLAE) program of Winrock international. Sincere thanks to the leaders of the AWLAE PhD program at Nairobi and Wageningen: Professor Anke Niehof, Dr. Lisa Price, the late Professor Julia Gitobu, and Ms. Norah Muthike. Many thanks to Ms. Hedy Munro and Ms. Margaret van Wissen for their hard work for this exceptional and huge program, and for being so supportive to me and always willing to help. i am indebted to the Anne van den Ban foundation for their financial support and to UNU-WiDER at Helsinki for an internship, from which i learned a lot. i am grateful to my internship supervisor Dr. Amelia Santos Paulino, to the Director, Deputy Directors, research fellows and the staff for making this internship an invaluable experience. My special and profound gratitude goes to my supervisors, Professor Leontine Visser and Professor Anke Niehof. i learned so much from their leadership skills, the strong commitment to their students’ work, and their humanism that allows one to take into account both the students’ academic and social needs. Dear Profs, you have been such a source of motivation for me, not only for this PhD program but also for other achievements in my life. i would like to thank Mariette van Staveren for the English editing, Roy Jordaan for critically going through the manuscript, Mike Jacobs and Marijn van der Gaag for the work put into the production of this book. Dr Kwikkel, i cannot find enough words to express my gratitude for taking care of my health. Steven and Monica, Kadi Ouattara and Laurie Goodman, many thanks for your support. To the staff and colleagues of Rural Development Sociology Group, i am grateful for the friendship we shared. Special thanks goes to Jos Michel for being so supportive and always making sure i was comfortable in the group, to my brother Katani and my sister Lilian with whom i shared the office, and to the yoga team Carolina and Laura. Katani, thank you so much for your assistance with the quantitative data analysis. Gender, AIDS and food security 7 The AWLAE PhD program allowed me to strengthen my academic and professional career and made me part of the network of AWLAE sisters: Fatimata, Aifa, Namizata, Kidist, Susana, Stephanie, Ekaete, Faith, Rose, Joyce, Monica, Gaynor, Regina, Lydia, Corrie, Hirut, Doris, and Carolyne. Although i do not have children of my own, the AWLAE babies Bineta Sow and Awa Niane made me a proud mother. Oumar Sow, Bineta, Mariame, and Kady from Belgium, Nana, Assane, Jean-Claude, Alfred, idrissou, Petronella, Michel, Adinda, Juanwen, Zida, Djack, Amadou, Esther, Melissa, and Hom, many thanks for your friendship during my stay at WUR. Tata Oumy Khairy, thank you for your support, and Doortje Wartena, thank you for your hospitality. Many thanks to Gemma, Annelis, Hilde, Lucie, and Mieke of DiS. i will never forget the Denmark trip that Ellen so generously undertook with me. My sincere thanks go to my English teachers Loukou Gerard and Yao for their commitment during my training in the American Corner Centre in Abidjan. i express my sincere appreciation to the staff of AATF, Nairobi, and particularly the board of trustees that i am part of, for their support to my work and for making my joining the board a success. My sincere gratitude goes to all those who assisted me in the research process and made the fieldwork possible: Dr. Diabaté Joséphine, Dr. Dieneba Coulibaly-Traoré, Agnero Raphael, Dr. Touré, Dr. N’cho, Dr. Kassoum Traoré, Babalasso, Sam, Kakoutié, Paterne, Dr Aka, and the whole research team. Dr Kassoum Traoré and Babalasso, i am highly indebted to you for the special and great contribution you made in this thesis. i thank you so much for your commitment and non-stop support to fill the gaps during the writing up of the thesis. i express my sincere appreciation to Kaddy Kamaté, Bintou Yara, Dr Doumbia Diénéba, Nadine Assémien, Djedji Cathérine, fatou Koné, Emma Assamoi, Mariame Traoré for their love and support i never missed. My special thanks go to issa Sanogo, papa Moussa Sanogo and their family, for housing me during the fieldwork. i thank you for giving me a second family. i am highly indebted to my sisters, brothers and cousins Alima, Baba, Bah Cissé, Baroh, Tenin, Ben, Alassane, Jean, Mina, Fatoumata, Abdoul, Aida, Kara, Nass, Ousmane, Sali, Kouroundou, Oumou, Modibo, Balobo, Oumar Fofana, Adiza, Saydou, Abou, Mariame Kima, Béré, Astou, Bako, Adja, Amina, Awa Ouédraogo, Ami, Madjara, Oumou and Mariame Diop, Alama, Fanta, Bintou, Kadia, Odile, Mariame Tembély, and Fousseni for their support. Special thanks go to Mamadou Cissé, without whom i would not have been able to go to the university, and to Astou Diabaté, Fadima Keita, Kady Korsaga for supporting my schooling. 8 Gender, AIDS and food security i express my sincere appreciation to Check Cherif Oumar Aziz, ibrahim Zon, Massamba, and Abdoulaye for their spiritual support which made me confident during this long journey. Clara De Sousa, you remain a role model for me. Last but not the least, my very special gratitude goes to ibrahim Magazi, ibrahim Sy Savané, isidore Boutchué and Phanse Mariko, who believed in me and never doubted that i could make it. Besides my dad and my mum, i dedicate this thesis to my adorable niece Oumou Cathérine Traoré. Mariame Maiga Gender, AIDS and food security 9 Table of contents Acknowledgements 7 List of tables 15 List of figures 15 List of acronyms 16 Glossary 17 Chapter 1. Introduction 19 1.1 Motivation for the study: why is it so difficult to defeat AiDS? 19 1.2 The research problem 20 1.3 Research objectives and questions 21 1.3.1 Goals 21 1.3.2 Objectives 22 1.3.3 Research questions and sub-questions 22 1.4 The structure of the book 22 Chapter 2. Country and study area profiles 25 2.1 Country profile 25 2.1.1 Geography, population and migration 25 2.1.2 Ecological background 26 2.1.3 National, institutional and socio-economic context 26 2.3 The AiDS epidemic and AiDS policy in Côte d’ivoire 30 2.3.1 international agencies and programmes on AiDS 31 2.3.2 AiDS policies and interventions and leadership problems 34 2.4 ANADER, agricultural extension services and the response to AiDS 36 2.4.1 The Fonds-Mondial-ANADER programme 36 2.4.2 The PEPFAR-ANADER programme 37 2.5 Description of the study area: modernity and tradition 37 2.5.1 Location, social structure and socio-economic characteristics 37 2.5.2 Migrants among the Agni: the integration issue 42 2.5.3 AiDS awareness and intervention programmes 43 2.5.4 Environmental degradation in the study area 44 Chapter 3. Conceptual framework 45 3.1 Livelihood 45 3.2 The household 48 3.3 Gender and AiDS 49 3.4 Matrilineal and patrilineal kinship 52 3.5 Vulnerability 54 3.6 Resilience 57 Gender, AIDS and food security 11 3.7 Human agency 58 3.7.1 Giddens’ structuration theory 59 3.7.2 Bourdieu’s theory of practice 59 3.7.3 The actor-oriented approach 60 3.8 Food security 61 3.9 Forest degradation 63 3.10 Research framework 66 Chapter 4. Research design and methodology 69 4.1 Phases of the fieldwork 69 4.2 The study design 71 4.3 The methods of data collection and analysis 72 4.3.1 Secondary data 72 4.3.2 The household survey 72 4.3.3 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) 75 4.3.4 Key informant interviews 76 4.3.5 Case studies and observation 76 4.4 Ethical considerations and problems encountered during data collection 77 Chapter 5.
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