Milk marketing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Azage Tegegne Gender and Urban MAGAZINE

NUMBER 12, MEI 2004 NUMBER 12, can have positive and/or negative Gender can be defined as the socio-cultural consequences for men and women. This will depend on construction of roles and relationships the situation and conditions. Data gathered on urban between men and women. Gender analysis agriculture demonstrates that it generally has a positive involves the examination of their roles, impact on household security, and thus will be responsibilities, and social status in relation beneficial to women as they most often are responsible. to local cultural perceptions of masculinity This issue of UA Magazine explores exploring how urban and femininity that delineate access to agriculture relates to existing gender dynamics. opportunities and resources in a particular context (Hovorka, 1998). The notion of nitially, the focus of those working with gender has been accepted throughout urban agriculture was on the need for development activities, but is not always I recognition of urban agriculture and on understood in the same way. A focus on putting it on the policy agenda. Now, as power relationships between men and many municipalities have recognised this women, for instance, is very significant for importance, attention has shifted to the different situations in urban agriculture. integration of urban agriculture in Gender can therefore not be taken for municipal development, that many granted, but should be used as an essential different stakeholders are involved as well analytical tool in unravelling the as the need for gender to be addressed in complexities of urban agricultural activities. analysis and implementation. Regardless of Editorial whether men or women predominate in WHY DO MEN AND WOMEN urban agriculture, in this issue it is shown ENGAGE IN URBAN AGRICULTURE? that this differs per country, it is important Millions of urban have managed to to focus research, policies and action produce food in towns and cities without

www.ruaf.org planning on both men and women, and to any official recognition or support. Urban emphasise differences between them, agriculture has many positive acknowledging the inherent diversity. These characteristics: gendered insights will help shape ❖ It enhances household appropriate and relevant interventions. given that produce is less subject to ______Therefore, this UA Magazine attempts to market fluctuations. This is largely Joanna Wilbers, ETC RUAF find answers to questions such as “If women’s responsibility. Alice Hovorka, University of women engage in urban agriculture more ❖ It generates additional income from sales Guelph, Canada than men, does this improve their situation? of surpluses and money saved on food René van Veenhuizen, ETC Why or why not?” and “If improvement of expenditures, which can be used for RUAF the situation is necessary, how can it be other purposes. This may help women achieved for both men and women?”. gain more independence, but also be very URBAN AGRICULTURE attractive for others operating in the inadequacy of their living conditions, such farming, such as in Ghana) or focus more informal sector like young urban as the supply of food, water, health care on generating a cash income (for instance if migrants as shown in the cases from and employment”. Satisfying these, does the products are not considered safe for the Nigeria, Uganda and Ghana. not imply changes in gender relations. household, as in Uganda). Clearly these ❖ It motivates men and women to go Strategic needs “are related to the division considerations vary according to place and beyond subsistence farming and engage of labour, power and control by the time, depending on the specific context. in related activities like small-scale food genders, and can include issues such as processing and marketing or more legal rights, eradication of household The following issues can be considered profitable urban agriculture micro- violence, equal wages”. Satisfying the those of key importance within the field of enterprises. strategic needs by improving gender gender and urban agriculture. ❖ It can be done in combination with other relations helps women achieve greater tasks and close to the home, which is equality and brings about shifts in the ACCESS AND CONTROL OF especially important to women. existing roles. Practical and strategic needs RESOURCES ❖ It only requires relatively low level of are of course inter-related, and Two related issues can be distinguished: capital, technology and inputs attainable involvement in urban agriculture can access to and control over productive and affordable for poor households, contribute to satisfying both needs. resources (including land, credit, labour young urban migrants and women with and information), as well as access to and limited education and resources (see the There is a general notion that more women control over the benefits of production. The cases on Uganda and Nigeria, than men are active in urban agriculture, latter is less prominent in this issue of UA highlighting this issue). although this issue shows that in several Magazine. ❖ It stimulates the use of indigenous (West African) countries this is not the case. practices. The predominance of women urban While both women and men face farmers in other parts of Africa is mostly constraints regarding access to land, Engagement of urban households in urban ascribed to the fact that women still bear women are further disadvantaged because agriculture can generally be divided into the main responsibility for household they traditionally have less access to and two scenarios. First, a family moves from a sustenance and well-being. Women also control over land than their male rural to an , bringing along tend to have lower educational status than counterparts. Men tend to have the first knowledge of rural practice, or the family men and therefore more difficulties in choice of any available vacant plots of land, simply keeps farming on its own land while finding formal wage employment (Hovorka which leaves women with low quality (see the nearby city expands and takes over the 2003). Men and women may differ strongly both articles on Uganda and Nigeria), less formerly rural setting. Second, urban in their preferences and priorities in secure plots of land, or plots that are households already established in the city relation to their main roles and located at a considerable distance from get involved in agriculture by choice or by responsibilities, for example regarding their homes. The physical time and effort need. The articles on Nepal and India production goals (enough food for involved in travel is then considerable and (Kolkata) describe the first kind of situation consumption versus surplus products to therefore proves to be a significant and how the roles of men and women sell at the market), preferred location of constraint for women, especially the elderly change. It is important to understand plots (women with young children often or those with young children. Farming in exactly what changes occur and how they prefer to work close to the home), preferred remote and insecure places can also come into being. The articles on Argentina mode of production (single versus multiple increase the risk for women farmers (as and Peru, describe how urban households cropping), etc. expressed by women in India and Nigeria turn to agriculture, and how men and in this issue). Thus it is important to women take on different roles. In both Especially married women with children acknowledge here that increasing access to cases the work in urban agriculture of the benefit from involvement in urban land as such may not solve the problem of women was eventually valued well, but the agriculture. It can be done close to the inequitable access to urban land between burden on the women in the household did home, little cash is needed, and it combines women and men (Hovorka 1998). not change. well with the prime responsibilities of women. Married women may have other There are a number of external factors that Palacios (2003), following Moser, suggests reasons for being engaged in urban can have a strong effect on gender relations differentiating between practical and agriculture than just improving their in urban agriculture. Inequitable access to strategic interests/needs. Practical needs families’ food supply. For instance, it is land and other natural resources, labour, are “immediate needs related to the within the bounds of what they are information, etc., between men and culturally expected (and allowed) to do and women is highly influenced by structures An urban dairy having access to their own generated or processes at the macro level. Socio- source of income strengthens their economic conditions clearly are at the root positions in intra-household conflicts. By of the involvement of women (or lack growing their own food, women basically thereof) in urban agriculture, for example tend to focus on saving money on family social and cultural norms or the risk cash expenditures, but for various reasons women are prepared or able to take in they may prefer to become active in different economic situations (illustrated in another informal urban sector (like the articles on West Africa). Cultural ideas marketing in order to avoid the risks of determine which roles men and women Azage Tegegne

2 UA-Magazine In this issue play and which responsibilities within the with regard to their knowledge of, for 06 Gendered Urban Agriculture in Greater household both have, or should have. This example, the cultivation of certain Gaborone, Botswana is highlighted in the Ghana article. The and animals, the application of certain 08 Urban Agriculture in Rosario: an opportu- effect of existing inheritance customs and cultural practices and the use of certain nity for gender equality the laws and regulations on land very often technologies. Limited information on and 10 Our Daily Realities: urban organic home- disadvantage women. Often, traditions exposure to the use of modern inputs and in Lima, Peru more than laws prevent women from technologies may also be the result of 12 When the Women Decided to Work the inheriting and controlling land and animals limited access to training courses offered by Gardens on an equal basis with men, but situations institutions or non-governmental 13 Gender in Open-Space Irrigated Urban change under urbanisation and as women organisations. The fact that women are less Vegetable Farming in Ghana take on different roles, as is shown in the likely to benefit from research or extension 16 Women in Urban Agriculture in West articles on Nepal and Kolkata in India. In services that fail to consider gender-specific Africa this regard, the term “gender contracts” differences regarding methods of 18 Gender, Water and Urban Agriculture was introduced by Lee-Smith (1997), which production, species and use of 20 Building Women’s Capacities to Access can be defined as distinct sets of social rules , manure and fertiliser also plays Markets in the Periurban Interface; the that make up invisible agreements an important role. hardware and software required governing what men and women can and 23 Women and Periurban Agriculture in the cannot do, and which can be found in every DECISION-MAKING Niayes Zone of Senegal society. Other factors are local and national Control of resources and decision-making 25 Women in Senegalese Periurban policies, the education system, and power are closely related but Agriculture; the case of Touba Peycouck environmental factors and organisations, distinguishable issues. The role and 27 Gender Dimensions of Urban Commercial like grassroots activism (NGOs/CBOs). bargaining power of women in decision- Farming in Lagos, Nigeria making should be looked at within the 29 Integration of Gender in Municipal Policies It is important to look closely at gendered household and within the community or in Port Harcourt, Nigeria relations of power in legal arrangements, organisation. The decision-making power 30 Urban Production and Gender and to check the relative strength and of women within communities can be in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia security of tenure based on gender. Women highly influenced by the extent to which 32 Gender Analysis of Urban Agriculture in often have rights of renewable use (for women’s group activities exist. These City, Uganda example: harvesting leaves from trees), activities can be viewed as cooperative 34 Gender and Access to Land for Urban while men have rights of consumptive use mechanisms through which women Agriculture in Kampala City, Uganda (harvesting the tree itself). Resources can be successfully pool resources, skills, 36 Urban and Periurban Agriculture in divided into different categories, and information, time and energy (see articles Namibia women and men may have different on Argentina and Senegal). The strength of 38 Gender Perspectives on Periurban degrees of control over each of the women’s social networks and cooperative Agriculture in Nepal categories. efforts are noted as potential areas for 40 Women Fishers in Periurban Kolkata successful development strategies in the 41 Urban Agriculture, Household Besides gender differences in access to urban agriculture sector (Hovorka, 2003). Organisation and Female Autonomy: a productive resources within households, Women farmers may participate in case study in southern one can also find gendered differences governance, local politics and community between female heads-of-households and groups, linking social activism and urban exist. The more arduous activities are male heads-of-households. Often, the first food issues (see the box on Zimbabwe, or performed by the men (see the Ghana case), tend to own resources of a poorer quality the articles on Senegal, Argentina). who usually are more actively engaged in that consequently result in lower Productive activities can help strengthen irrigated dry season agriculture, while production (see the articles on Uganda and the position of women in the decision- women are more involved in wet season Ethiopia). An important disadvantage for making process within the household. For farming. In some cases however, in the female-headed households is the fact that example, in Kampala, farming represents a Nepal case, there is no taboo on men and female farmers tend to limit their labour means of economic self-reliance (see pages women performing similar tasks, despite time in farm activities due to their strong 32-35). this division of tasks. This case, as does the commitment to domestic chores. Other case from Peru, do show changes in these disadvantages are limited education and DIVISION OF TASKS tasks due to urbanisation or due to therefore fewer opportunities for Most of the articles in this issue give a involvement of men and women in urban employment in the off-farm labour market. description and analysis of the different agriculture. tasks men and women perform in the Women more than men face a lack of household and in urban agricultural Women have many household inputs and working capital as well as a lack activities. This division of tasks is subject to (reproductive) tasks for which they remain of access to knowledge (internet, radio, context-specific circumstances. In every responsible when they are assigned or take television, books, magazines) and city the division of tasks between men and on more productive tasks in agriculture (see interpersonal networks (e.g. extension women may depend on the cultural group Argentina) or other formal or informal jobs services, private sector suppliers, they belong to and the socio-economic outside the household. Often more of the consultants, neighbours, teachers/mentors, status of the household or products tasks involved with urban agriculture are friends, relatives). Men and women differ cultivated. However, obvious similarities assigned to the women. There is also a

Mei 2004 3 difference in the division of responsibility Gender, Urban for certain crops (cash crops and larger livestock versus food crops and small Agriculture and animals), and if they are not involved in agricultural production, women take up marketing (as in Ghana). Time is a limited Politics – A Testimony resource and one effective strategy can be to increase the household production of fruit and vegetables, not just for the family’s own consumption but also for sale. The response of women farmers to opportunities to grow more food or better- earning crops will depend on the extent to which they can influence the decisions in Alice Hovorka the household about cultivation, the use or sale of produce, and the distribution of ______benefits within the household. Shingirayi Mushamba [email protected] Furthermore, women farmers not only take up reproductive and productive roles, but In 1997, I was working as a Town Planner in the town of Marondera in Zimbabwe. One also participate in governance, local morning, I was called to the Executive Mayor’s office. When I went in, I could not find a politics, and community groups, linking chair to sit on, as the office was full of women, so I stood. The Mayor told me that because of a presentation on urban farming I had made to the council some time before he had an social activism and urban food issues (see urgent task for me. He introduced the women in the room. They were members of ZANU the case of Touba Peycouck in Senegal, and PF’s Women’s League. They had asked the Mayor to allocate them pieces of land in the the women’s initiative in Rosario). Apart town, which they could use for growing maize, the staple food. from the division of certain activities within For me this was an unusual stakeholder group that I was not used to dealing with. As the the household, it is important to Town Planner, I was often in the company of operators, land surveyors, civil understand that gender issues also go engineers, and business- people looking for land to develop. Now I was dealing with a group of women from a political party that was requesting land for agriculture, in the city! beyond household level and thus have far- reaching consequences. From my office, I gathered the town’s layout map, and together with the Town Planning Technician, we went around identifying some pieces of land in the suburbs that could be allocated for farming. By then we did not call it urban agriculture, but just farming. By the GENDER MAINSTREAMING end of the week, our survey was complete, and we presented our report to the Executive Gender mainstreaming requires a Mayor. The report showed the pieces of land marked on the layout plan, with temporary concerted effort amongst researchers, plot numbers we had allocated, and their approximate sizes in square metres. practitioners, and decision makers in order The Mayor was re-elected for a second four- year term of office in 2000. At the completion to strengthen linkages between research, of his term of office in November 2003, I called the Executive Mayor from my new office in programming and policy/planning where I had moved to in 1999. I called to bid him farewell as we had worked together very well. He told me that at the time he had requested land to be allocated to the initiatives around urban agriculture. women, he was doing so only for political reasons. He had no idea he was reaching out to a Creating a foundation for gender wider population by making land available to the women for farming. The women were mainstreaming around urban agriculture later instrumental in his re-election. Only now, he said, did he realise that urban agriculture was an important part of the urban economy, and that by working with women, he had requires a solid research base, which empowered families to feed themselves. explores conceptual issues and provides empirical evidence of men and women’s For me, the assignment to identify land for allocation to the group of party women strengthened my interest in the linkage between gender and urban agriculture. When I differential, and often inequitable travelled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 2000, I toured the Urban Vegetable Promotion experiences with food cultivation and Project sites. There, I saw young men and women balancing water cans watering vegetables livestock rearing in different cities around they call mchicha. Back home in Zimbabwe, I followed the allocation of roles and responsibilities in urban farming. I realised most of the plots were ‘owned’ by elderly the world. women. Men are involved in tilling the land, and carting away the produce from the fields. The women do much of the planting, weeding, applying of fertilisers, harvesting and selling Gender analysis provides an entry point of produce on the market. into such investigations. This involves a From 2001, I started working with urban farming groups such as Musikavanhu Project in two-tiered process of gender-disaggregated Harare. I learned that more than 90% of the membership of urban farming groups in data collection, and gender interpretation Zimbabwe is women. and analysis of results. Hovorka (2001) Looking back at the scene in the Executive Mayor’s office , I realise the women used their outlines this process as follows. “First, sheer numbers to negotiate with the Executive Mayor, and they were heard. They also used researchers must collect information on the their influence as members of the ZANU PF Women’s League to their advantage to gain access to a resource. different experiences, needs, interests, and access to opportunities and resources of If the truth were told, urban farming is a sector in which women still dominate. In my view, both men and women so as to establish an thus, it provides an opportunity for the empowerment of women. accurate picture of the local context. This stage of the research aims to answer the questions who, what, when, where, and

4 UA-Magazine how urban agriculture systems function their urban agriculture related collective RUAF’s activities on gender with regard to gender dynamics. Second, practices could be promoted and involved In order to provide the partners in the RUAF network with researchers must ask why such gender in the community processes so that they advise and guidance in identifying strategies to better dynamics occur. It is not enough to will be recognised as social and political integrate gender issues in their activities and to “gender document differences; rather researchers actors, thus converting urban agriculture mainstream” urban agriculture, RUAF has initiated a must probe deeper and examine the factors into a citizen’s concern. Gender Advisory Group. This group consists of people that that create and influence differential have expertise and hands-on experience in gender issues and opportunities and constraints for men and Ideally, planning around urban agriculture agriculture in an urban setting. Additionally, three working women at the local, regional and global should address gender issues, and papers have been prepared. A first paper discusses key issues level.” The latter stage is particularly specifically women’s issues in two ways: in the field of gender and urban agriculture, and offers a important for it allows researchers to reveal first, by helping women to cope with their framework for the analysis of such issues. A second paper the “underlying power relations and immediate, and often marginalised, discusses specific gender mainstream strategies for the structures that create imbalances and circumstances, and second, by helping RUAF partners. A third paper describes a number of inequities between men and women” women achieve positive, structural change engendered PRA techniques that can be of use in gender (Hovorka 2001). It is clear from this issue of in their lives (Hovorka 2004). Identifying analysis and planning. Furthermore, the RUAF partners are UA Magazine that more research and the type and scale of intervention (be it currently writing gender case studies, which will a/o serve as discussion, with men and women, is through programme, planning or policy an input to the RUAF expert consultation on gender urban required on this. avenues) should rely on a solid agriculture, which will be held in September 2004. understanding of the local context and The development of appropriate methods structural factors that delineate for urban agriculture and implementation opportunities and constraints for individual mainstreaming. is a key step in mainstreaming gender producers. Short-term and localised analysis. The gender methodology interventions may involve small lines-of- The advocacy of urban agriculture as a developed through Cities Feeding People, credits or extension services, while longer- development strategy necessarily targets IDRC (Hovorka 1998), was an important term and institutional interventions may women in many contexts as the agents of step. This report outlines specific gender require more substantial changes to legal intervention but care should be taken to questions and tools, and has been widely frameworks, land allocations, and social adequately consider how potentially distributed to researchers and project norms that often marginalise women successful endeavours may alter their personnel focused on urban agriculture relative to men (Hovorka 2004). existing circumstances. It is important to activities around the world. RUAF analyse the benefits of urban agriculture to organised a discussion on appropriate It is important to recognise that urban households, especially to women, methodologies for urban agriculture in agriculture projects and related policies can compared to alternative economic and 2001/2002, including gender, which was have differential impacts on men and social opportunities that might be made reflected in UA Magazine, no. 5. The women, depending on the degree to which organisation of a gender expert gender has been taken into account during consultation, later this year, will be a design and implementation stages. It is also continuation of these efforts (see box). necessary to recognise gendered structural Certainly the commitment to gender inequities, which manifest themselves in analysis in urban agriculture research goes urban agriculture dynamics. These issues well beyond the availability of appropriate require an emancipatory agenda in order to guidelines and instruments. Unfortunately, bring about gender equity. Gender REFERENCES it is difficult to gauge the extent to which mainstreaming around urban agriculture - Hovorka, Alice J. 1998. Gender Resources for such methodological tools have been programming, planning and policy thus Development Research and Programming in Urban Agriculture. Cities Feeding People Series, incorporated and/or adapted to research requires having emancipation (or Report No.26. , Canada: IDRC. endeavours and development projects. transformation) as an inherent goal. - Hovorka, Alice J. 2001. Gender considerations for urban agriculture research. Urban Agriculture Magazine 5. Theoretical and empirical research on In summary, gender mainstreaming - Hovorka, Alice J. 2003. Gender and Urban gender and urban agriculture provide a requires a combination of efforts at various Agriculture. In the Bibliography on Urban springboard for programming, planning scales of analysis and intervention. Gender Agriculture, RUAF. www.ruaf.org - Hovorka, Alice J. 2004. Urban agriculture: and policy initiatives. Research can reveal analysis and methods are needed in addressing practical and strategic gender differences between men and women, diagnosing and exploring experiences, needs. Unpublished manuscript (under peer identify the mechanisms that often keep processes and structures associated with review). - Palacios, P. (2002) Why and how should a women in a disadvantaged position, and urban agriculture. Research should set the gender perspective be included in participatory establish the significance of urban course for appropriate technological and processes in urban agriculture. In: Latin agriculture in people’s everyday lives. It also policy initiatives. The integration of urban American Training Course on Urban Agriculture, Session 2, Proceedings. Quito: provides a springboard for support agriculture in programming, planning and PGU-LAC. initiatives whereby, for example, policy development requires a solid - Lee-Smith, D. (1997) “My house is my husband” A Kenyan study of women’s access to researchers can identify the practical and understanding of key gender issues and land and housing. Thesis 8. Department of strategic needs of men and women in order dynamics. This special issue of Urban Architecture and Development Studies, School to formulate action-plans for urban Agriculture Magazine provides a further of Architecture, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Sweden. agriculture activities. Women’s groups and step in the discussion on gender

Mei 2004 5 difference in the division of responsibility Gender, Urban for certain crops (cash crops and larger livestock versus food crops and small Agriculture and animals), and if they are not involved in agricultural production, women take up marketing (as in Ghana). Time is a limited Politics – A Testimony resource and one effective strategy can be to increase the household production of fruit and vegetables, not just for the family’s own consumption but also for sale. The response of women farmers to opportunities to grow more food or better- earning crops will depend on the extent to which they can influence the decisions in Alice Hovorka the household about cultivation, the use or sale of produce, and the distribution of ______benefits within the household. Shingirayi Mushamba [email protected] Furthermore, women farmers not only take up reproductive and productive roles, but In 1997, I was working as a Town Planner in the town of Marondera in Zimbabwe. One also participate in governance, local morning, I was called to the Executive Mayor’s office. When I went in, I could not find a politics, and community groups, linking chair to sit on, as the office was full of women, so I stood. The Mayor told me that because of a presentation on urban farming I had made to the council some time before he had an social activism and urban food issues (see urgent task for me. He introduced the women in the room. They were members of ZANU the case of Touba Peycouck in Senegal, and PF’s Women’s League. They had asked the Mayor to allocate them pieces of land in the the women’s initiative in Rosario). Apart town, which they could use for growing maize, the staple food. from the division of certain activities within For me this was an unusual stakeholder group that I was not used to dealing with. As the the household, it is important to Town Planner, I was often in the company of transport operators, land surveyors, civil understand that gender issues also go engineers, and business- people looking for land to develop. Now I was dealing with a group of women from a political party that was requesting land for agriculture, in the city! beyond household level and thus have far- reaching consequences. From my office, I gathered the town’s layout map, and together with the Town Planning Technician, we went around identifying some pieces of land in the suburbs that could be allocated for farming. By then we did not call it urban agriculture, but just farming. By the GENDER MAINSTREAMING end of the week, our survey was complete, and we presented our report to the Executive Gender mainstreaming requires a Mayor. The report showed the pieces of land marked on the layout plan, with temporary concerted effort amongst researchers, plot numbers we had allocated, and their approximate sizes in square metres. practitioners, and decision makers in order The Mayor was re-elected for a second four- year term of office in 2000. At the completion to strengthen linkages between research, of his term of office in November 2003, I called the Executive Mayor from my new office in programming and policy/planning Harare where I had moved to in 1999. I called to bid him farewell as we had worked together very well. He told me that at the time he had requested land to be allocated to the initiatives around urban agriculture. women, he was doing so only for political reasons. He had no idea he was reaching out to a Creating a foundation for gender wider population by making land available to the women for farming. The women were mainstreaming around urban agriculture later instrumental in his re-election. Only now, he said, did he realise that urban agriculture was an important part of the urban economy, and that by working with women, he had requires a solid research base, which empowered families to feed themselves. explores conceptual issues and provides empirical evidence of men and women’s For me, the assignment to identify land for allocation to the group of party women strengthened my interest in the linkage between gender and urban agriculture. When I differential, and often inequitable travelled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in 2000, I toured the Urban Vegetable Promotion experiences with food cultivation and Project sites. There, I saw young men and women balancing water cans watering vegetables livestock rearing in different cities around they call mchicha. Back home in Zimbabwe, I followed the allocation of roles and responsibilities in urban farming. I realised most of the plots were ‘owned’ by elderly the world. women. Men are involved in tilling the land, and carting away the produce from the fields. The women do much of the planting, weeding, applying of fertilisers, harvesting and selling Gender analysis provides an entry point of produce on the market. into such investigations. This involves a From 2001, I started working with urban farming groups such as Musikavanhu Project in two-tiered process of gender-disaggregated Harare. I learned that more than 90% of the membership of urban farming groups in data collection, and gender interpretation Zimbabwe is women. and analysis of results. Hovorka (2001) Looking back at the scene in the Executive Mayor’s office , I realise the women used their outlines this process as follows. “First, sheer numbers to negotiate with the Executive Mayor, and they were heard. They also used researchers must collect information on the their influence as members of the ZANU PF Women’s League to their advantage to gain access to a resource. different experiences, needs, interests, and access to opportunities and resources of If the truth were told, urban farming is a sector in which women still dominate. In my view, both men and women so as to establish an thus, it provides an opportunity for the empowerment of women. accurate picture of the local context. This stage of the research aims to answer the questions who, what, when, where, and

4 UA-Magazine Gendered Urban Agriculture in Greater Gaborone, Botswana

Three key dimensions of urban agriculture in Greater Gaborone make it an interesting and insightful case study on gender issues: it is predominantly commercial, it is formally recognised, and an equal number of men and women participate. Alice Hovorka Participation in commercial urban agriculture in Greater Gaborone is gender balanced

rban agriculture in Greater Gaborone An equal number of men and women economic, location and environmental has a predominantly commercial participate in this urban economic sector variables that affect their urban agricultural U character whereby the bulk of with 44 percent of the enterprises being enterprise. Data analysis combined produce is sold on the urban market. It did male-owned and operated, 47 percent quantitative with qualitative methods in not emerge as a response to stifled female-owned and operated, and 9 percent order to give the research both statistical economic opportunities in the city but male/female co-owned and operated. This and conceptual significance. rather through a favourable political is an important dimension given that in economic environment, fuelled by other African contexts women are relegated KEY FINDINGS government financial assistance for local often to subsistence realms while men The research reveals that both men and businesses, as well as urbanisation trends predominate in commercial forms of the women have entered into commercial (Hovorka, In Review a). A total of 114 activity. These three dimensions prompted agricultural production in equal numbers in commercial agricultural enterprises operate an initial exploration of urban agriculture Greater Gaborone and view this activity as within Greater Gaborone, varying in scale by the author, and particularly its gender an opportunity for economic and/or social and type of production. Persons involved dynamics, in Greater Gaborone, Botswana. empowerment. At the same time, however, gender segregation and inequality plague The focus should be on This article provides an overview of this urban economic sector and hinder its enhancing women’s ability to research findings and conclusions drawn potential contribution to local economic participate in this urban from the study, as detailed in Hovorka diversification and food security. economic sector. (2003). Fieldwork for the study took place between October 2000 and September The equal number of men and women with this urban economic sector operate 2001 in Greater Gaborone, which includes participating in urban agriculture may be exclusively for income-generating Gaborone City, as well as the periurban attributed to two factors. First, women’s purposes. Past studies confirm this villages of Tlokweng, Mogoditshane, entry into commercial production in (Matsila, 1999; Mosha, 1999; Byerley, 1996). Mmopane, Gabane and Metsemotlhabe. Greater Gaborone has been facilitated in Semi-structured interviews were part by the Financial Assistance Policy, The majority of urban agriculture conducted with owners of 109 (out of 114) which provides special eligibility terms for operations in Greater Gaborone are urban agricultural enterprises, 33 percent of women qualifying for business grants. formally recognised, often initiated by which are located within the city proper. Between 1995 and 2000, seventeen grants government grants, and stand thus in Access to these enterprises was facilitated were provided to women (compared to contrast to many African contexts where by official records from the Ministry of eleven for men) who might otherwise not urban agriculture is an informal activity. Agriculture, Registrar of Companies, Tribal have entered the sector. Second, and Seventy-four percent of these operations Land Boards and Department of Lands, as perhaps more significantly, analysis reveals are registered as companies, with business well as through key informants, private that both men and women perceive of this trade names, under the Financial Assistance suppliers/distributors, veterinarians, sector as accessible and a key means to Policy, or operate on “agricultural” land in farmers’ organisations, and personal empowerment. In other words, urban and periurban areas. The remaining observation. commercial urban agriculture is not viewed enterprises operate within the informal as an inherently masculine or feminine sector yet remain income rather than The key research question focused on the realm. It is not surprising then that subsistence oriented. relationship between gender and individual motivations for entering into ______productivity levels of commercial urban production are diverse and complex but not Alice J. Hovorka agriculture systems. Participants responded specifically gendered (Hovorka, In Review Department of Geography, University of to questions relating to net outcomes, b). Men and women equally draw on a Guelph, Canada including gross earnings and quantity of number of economic motivations, and the ✉ [email protected] foodstuffs, as well as a number of socio- entrepreneurs range from profit-motivated,

6 UA-Magazine including those who want to supplement drawing on their own resources (e.g. social segregation and inequality in this urban their income, to those engaged in survival- networks, homemade equipment) to economic sector threatens to undermine oriented production. Men and women also sustain production at the small scale. Their government efforts to diversify the equally draw on a number of socio-cultural yields are consistently higher than the economy through local entrepreneurial motivations. These relate to increasing yields of those operating at higher income efforts and to enhance social status or perpetuating cultural norms levels and larger scales. Yet their efforts are production. The potential contribution of through a sustained agrarian tradition, as constrained by urban , given that commercial urban agriculture to both well as enhancing self-empowerment or plots are relatively small (on average 4000 economic diversification and food security contributing to local food supply and square metres compared with 4.8 hectares is stifled by gendered production dynamics. national economic growth. Economic for those in the middle-income bracket), and/or socio-cultural motivations are and their ability to accumulate enough Recognising the gender-segregated nature influenced further through networks of capital to acquire larger plots of land is of commercial urban agriculture sets the family, friends, neighbours, private limited. Middle-income men and women stage for an action-oriented agenda offering suppliers, and government channels. operate independently and tend to be tangible tools for redressing the imbalance. Beyond the gender-balanced entry into the constrained by a lack of extension and The equal number of men and women in sector, however, commercial urban support related to agricultural inputs, this sector can be viewed positively given agriculture in Greater Gaborone is clearly including training and information on that in many African nations women are gendered. Men generate higher levels of commercial production and business often absent from commercial production. gross earnings and contribute greater management techniques. Middle-income The focus should be on enhancing women’s quantities and value of foodstuffs to the women in some instances face a double ability to participate within this urban urban market than women. Gender burden because they lack adequate capital economic sector, particularly through differences in productivity levels stem from to support the daily operations of the increased access to productive resources. differential socio-economic status and enterprise, despite acquiring land and fixed For example, financial schemes should be income disparities between male and assets through the Financial Assistance developed that support agricultural female entrepreneurs. Men feature Policy. The few men and women operating operations with capital for operational prominently in middle- and high-income in the high-income bracket rely on their costs, along with fixed asset investment. categories, while women are concentrated own resources, and have significant options Many female entrepreneurs, including in the lower income brackets. Such income for larger-scale and diversified production those who received government grants for disparities are linked to the fact that men systems. infrastructure, expressed their frustration often have higher levels of education, hold with the lack of liquid capital available to full-time employment in addition to their IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE keep daily activities running. Also, greater agricultural enterprise, and live in a two- DIRECTIONS access to technical and business income household. Socio-economic gender Gender segregation and inequality management aspects of agricultural differences have a major impact on associated with commercial urban production could complement such women’s access to productive resources, agriculture in Greater Gaborone is financial assistance in supporting female including capital, land, and labour, and detrimental not only to the livelihood entrepreneurs, as well as their male more women than men operate enterprises strategies of individual entrepreneurs, but counterparts, who struggle with limited informally. These discrepancies impact the to the functioning of the sector itself and access. Strategic planning around practical spatial distribution of male- and female- the nation as a whole. Both men and and strategic needs of men and women, owned enterprises across the urban women view entrepreneurial urban paired with an analytical understanding of landscape, reflecting the strong correlation agriculture as a means to achieving gender inequality, is essential in harnessing between levels of capital and ability to economic and social empowerment. the potential of urban agriculture as a key purchase land for agricultural production. Unfortunately, women’s opportunities dimension of urban development and Men are located on plots of agricultural within the sector are generally more . land that are more expensive, larger in size, constrained than those of their male and located throughout tribal, leasehold counterparts. At the sectoral level, this REFERENCES and freehold tenure categories. Women inequality has profound impacts on the -Byerley, Andrew. 1996. Urban Agriculture in Botswana: A Preliminary Investigation of Extent, Issues and Potential. Working more often occupy tribal land that is type and quantity of foodstuffs produced Paper 307. Uppsala, Sweden: Swedish University of Agricultural allocated free of charge, and in some for the urban market. Not only are women Sciences, International Rural Development Centre. -Hovorka, Alice J. Forthcoming (2004). “Commercial urban instances associated with the residential limited in their ability to contribute agriculture in Greater Gaborone: form & function, challenges & homestead. substantial quantities of foodstuffs to the prospects”. Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies. -Hovorka, Alice J. In Review a. “Urban opportunities: entrepreneurial urban market, they are also marginalised to urban agriculture in Botswana”. Unpublished manuscript. -Hovorka, Alice J. In Review b. “Gendered experiences, changing Analysis reveals that women operate at and within particular sub-sectors. With the gender relations? A feminist political of commercial urban smaller scales, with greater intensity, and broiler sub-sector reaching its saturation agriculture in Botswana”. Unpublished manuscript. -Hovorka, Alice J. 2003. Exploring the Effects of Gender and within limited agricultural sub-sectors point in Botswana, it is questionable Commercial (Peri-)Urban Agriculture Systems in Gaborone, (namely broiler production) while men whether the market can accept expansion Botswana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Worcester, Massachusetts: School of Geography, Clark University. participate more broadly in terms of scale of existing enterprises, let alone the -Matsila, G. 1999. Urban Agriculture: A Survival Strategy for the and type of agricultural production. Gender emergence of new operations in the area. Urban Poor. The Case of Jwaneng. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Gaborone: Department of Environmental Science, University of analysis along class lines reveals that low- This suggests that the future for women Botswana. -Mosha, A.C. 1999. The Practice of Urban Agriculture in Gaborone. income women operate highly efficient and producers, who predominate in broiler Gaborone, Botswana: Department of Environmental Science, effective broiler production systems, production, is uncertain. Finally, gender University of Botswana.

Mei 2004 7 Urban Agriculture in Rosario: an opportunity for gender equality

Since the beginning of the 1990s urban agriculture has been serving as an alternative means of production and social inclusion in the city of Rosario, Argentina, for the victims of the economic crisis. Currently there are approximately 800 community in the city, involving around 10,000 people (mostly women), who are integrated into a commercialisation system made up of five weekly farmer’s markets and an for processing the crops produced. Gunther Merzthal

Women are forced to take up a productive role

OMEN FARMERS OF ROSARIO A survey with a sample of 63% of the In times of crisis, when men as women farmers was undertaken. W well as women find themselves Interviews were held with 401 women of excluded from the labour market, women 120 farms/community gardens, are forced to take up a productive role randomly selected per district. (generally in the form of generating secondary incomes), in addition to their From the interviewed women 66% were NOTE reproductive tasks. Urban agriculture is between 21 and 40 years of age and 75% This article is a summary of a diagnostic study on the roles and functions of women community an activity, which generates indirect had a minimum level of schooling, which farmers in the city of Rosario, carried out in income (through the resources freed up facilitates working with these women in October 2003, by representatives of the Areas of by the family’s consumption of the food improvement of the activities. The Employment, Women, and Urban Agriculture of the Department of Social Promotion of the produced) and direct income. Next to majority of the women were single or Municipality of Rosario and the NGO Rima. these tasks, women are generally also in separated (69%), and a majority had three charge of assuming community roles, for children or less (58%). instance participation in the Community Centres of Rosario. THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN URBAN AGRICULTURE Around 400 of the private and Most of the women in the study feel that community farms in Rosario participate men and women can perform all tasks on in farmers’ markets and capacity- the farm equally, which they do in building endeavours of the Urban practice. Locating the land, fencing, land Agriculture Programme of the city. Of clearing, planting, transplanting, the participants, 63% are women and irrigation, weeding, fertilising, (only) 27% men. This makes it very preparation of compost, pest control, important to work within each of the harvesting, processing and house-to- farms and community gardens, house sales are all performed by men and acknowledging the role of the women, to women alike. The tasks outside the farm, ensure that each worker has the same which require more public exposure and access to the various resources urban interaction, such as buying seeds, agriculture offers. attending training, administering resources, selling in the markets, and ______To improve the understanding of the farm co-ordination are performed by the Gunther Merzthal roles and constraints of the women women. IPES/UMP-LAC/HABITAT in Rosario, a study was It should be noted that 93% of the ✉ [email protected] undertaken during the first half of 2003. women consider the farms as their place

8 UA-Magazine of work, and 92% say that they improve their family’s . Irma Rodriguez,

DECISION MAKING AND CONTROL farmer in Rosario In 50% of the cases the on-farm activities are determined by group-consensus. In 85% of the cases off-farm activities are Irma Rodriguez was born in Esquina, Corrientes Province. She started decided upon by the women themselves working at her first job in Esquina at 10 years of age, and for the past 32 or the group. It is also important to note years she has lived in Rosario, Esquina, where she has worked together that 100% of the women interviewed with her family in the countryside. She attended school up to the seventh participate in the farmers’ market sales or grade (the end of primary education) and is able to read and write. would like to. Regarding the administration of resources, it was owadays Irma marches in think that if we want to make a salad or observed that 59% of the women community demonstrations and something and we go to the , we manage or would like to manage N prepares food for fellow get it there. (.…) I think that produce from finances. One significant limitation, for demonstrators, in addition to all the work the garden is the best there is. It is the both the men and the women, is the lack she does in the neighbourhood, in the most expensive thing today in the fruit of access to and secure tenancy of urban gardens, and in her house. In the and vegetable markets. So now, you can at land for urban agriculture. neighbourhood she helps at the least think about having something to Community Centre, where she is active in throw in your pot….” CONCLUSIONS making bread, sewing, weaving, Women carry out tasks similar to those of organising and preparing lunch for 130 In addition to providing salads for the men and are recognised for their work by kids every day, in addition to her work in family, the vegetables produced in the the group, although the women could the community gardens. garden are sold in the neighbourhood and benefit from additional support in taking at farmers’ markets. The products are on further responsibility and in The first community garden was divided among those who work on the increasing their empowerment. It is established at Battle and Ordoñez, on gardens, used for the meals prepared in therefore necessary to work with women land that a neighbour lent to her. With the the community kitchen or even farmers in building awareness of and help of the knowledge Irma brought with sometimes traded for other goods. democratising the niches that offer them her from Esquina, she and other local the greatest degree of freedom, especially residents began cultivating medicinal Irma says that her personal income is with regard to financial management of . These plants have since been designated for her household. What she processing, marketing and sales. removed because the neighbour wanted spends most on is food: “I mean you have to use the land. Afterwards, they found a to be able to buy yourself a little There is a further need for local larger plot of land, closer by, and started something once in a while, an ice cream authorities to develop adequate to work there. Antonio Lattuca and Raul or a piece of cake.” regulation of land use (by applying the Terrile (technical staff of the municipal ordinances already in force) and at the urban agriculture programme) brought As far as her role as a woman and how same time to promote secure tenancy. the owner of the land, Señor Roviralta, to she feels about it, Irma comments: This should facilitate equal opportunities speak with Juan Carlos (Irma’s husband – “Everywhere they have invited me and for men and women in production, although she introduces herself as single) they have accepted me; I haven’t really processing and commercialisation and they managed to begin the felt discriminated against as far as I can activities. The access to productive paperwork necessary to allow the remember….” Irma was also a candidate resources (land, infrastructure, inputs community to use the land for at least two for City Council: “…I think that we and training), product transformation years. This process is still in progress. women are gaining ground…there were and commercialisation (participation in more women Council candidates….” And the farmers’ markets and management of Irma’s day begins at 6 a.m. She shares the she states that her idea was not to sit on a the income generated) needs to be more housework with her four daughters, aged bench but to work in the neighbourhood democratic and transparent. 23, 18, 13 and 10 years. Her husband in creating a garden/small farm where in chips in. Juan Carlos “…takes care of the addition to vegetables people could gardens, takes care of the municipal produce beef, eggs, and other products. paperwork, teaches the people who are in She also feels that it is urgently necessary the field, brings tools or water….because to keep people busy and get the young he too is one of the workers at the people off the streets. gardens”. Extracted and summarised from the “…Through the gardens we learned about document “Vision Reports of the women a wider variety of vegetables that we can farmers in Rosario on their role and the Gunther Merzthal eat. Before, maybe we went and bought secure tenure of productive land”, written by Many tasks outside the farm are lettuce and tomatoes. Today we have Andrea Mazzuca and others. Rosario, performed by the women these in the garden and more. We have to November 2003.

Mei 2004 9 Our Daily Realities: urban organic homegardens in Lima, Peru

Lima is historically known as the ased on the destination of the province with a high production of “Garden City” (Niñez, 1985). However, products, the urban homegardens in guinea pigs. Most of the migrants live in judging from its lack of greenery it is B Lima can be divided into four groups: the young towns, which have the highest hard to imagine how it earned this those that produce for the household guinea pig production. name. on the Peruvian only; those that produce for the desert with an annual rainfall of 25 mm household and for informal sale to Guinea (or cuy) production in Lima has is a hard task. People have developed friends or family (in small quantities); and some advantages compared to several strategies to irrigate their crops those that produce for the market. production at the migrants’ places of by using water of the Rimac river and origin. These advantages are access to tap water. Urban agriculture has many URBAN AGRICULTURE better breeds (Perú, Intí and Andina) and faces in Lima. As part of a recent research project on access to better and new management agrobiodiversity in urban organic and production techniques. In the study, homegardens, a survey was conducted in it was found that women do the majority two young towns and four in the of the work, while some of the The municipality Chorillos district of Lima (1). Many towns management and production tasks are could be more active like those in the research project, performed by men and women together. in supporting markets (Huertos de Villa, San Juan Bautista and Guinea pigs are fed with leftovers, fodder the shantytowns Delicias de Villa and crops (alfalfa, sorghum, elephant grass) Andrés Avelino Cáceres ) have been and with concentrates like soya bean expanding since the 1950s, mainly meal. The main activity, the production of because of migration of people from the fodder in the homegarden, is the highlands. Due to major cutbacks under responsibility of women (95% of the “Fujishock” in the 1990s, and the respondents in the survey who indicated high cost of living, people took the that they perform this task were women). initiative to grow their own crops in their The women perform the tasks of sowing backyards or in open spaces in these and cutting the fodder crops and feeding young towns. In the same period, NGOs the guinea pigs. In very few occasions took up this initiative and implemented fodder is bought at the market. There are projects to stimulate the establishment of several reasons for this, the most homegardens and the production of important of which is that fodder is too micro-livestock (i.e. guinea pigs, expensive (in the highlands in particular

Tasso Hetterschijt Tasso chickens, rabbits and ducks). there is no money to buy concentrates or Nothing is lost in the homegarden there is no access to this product). Also, Since the end of the 1980s IPAC has in order to buy fodder, the women have promoted urban agriculture with an to leave their homes to go to the market, emphasis on organic homegardens and which is considered a waste of precious guinea pig production. Some participants time. Another reason to feed the guinea already had a kind of homegarden and pigs fodder crops is that guinea pigs fed guinea pigs, ducks, chickens, rabbits and with only fodder crops produce the best- birds. Other NGOs, such as IMAGEN tasting meat. . EDUCATIVA, have also introduced hydroponic production of tomatoes and Guinea pigs are kept in cages or pens lettuce as an economic activity for low- built by the women. These pens are income households in a certain part of cleaned every day, which is the

Tasso Hetterschijt Tasso Delicias de Villa (see UA Magazine no.10). responsibility of the women (98%). Some In Peru there are about 25 million women receive help from their children. guinea pigs GUINEA PIG PRODUCTION The manure is used to make compost, In Peru there are about 25 million guinea which is used in the homegarden; this is pigs (Cavia porcellus) of which 56% can be also mainly done by women, alone or ______found in the provinces of the Sierra together with their husbands. Tasso Hetterschijt (INIA/CIID, 1999). Due to the migration Fundacion CORDES Bajo Lempa, El Salvador of people from the Sierra to the capital, Guinea pigs are consumed from the age ✉ [email protected] Lima can now also be considered as a of two months. They are slaughtered by

10 UA-Magazine the women (100%) and prepared in Resources used in the organic participate, there are many more female traditional dishes according to the homegarden are mainly re-cycled than male participants. Most husbands do customs of the places of origin of the materials. The is prepared with not want to participate because they women urban farmer. Almost all of the compost made of green material and consider the homegarden to be the women questioned in the survey (95%) guinea pig manure. Women who do not domain of women. Men only participate preferred to eat guinea pigs above all the have enough manure themselves also buy when they work together with their wives other types of meat available. Therefore livestock manure from IPAC (1999). In the or partners, or when they have their own guinea pigs are also produced in order to summertime almost no vegetables or businesses in ornamental plants and in sell them to neighbours and family. This herbs are grown due to the intense heat. guinea pig production (only two in this is done on a small scale mainly by the Only some fodder crops are left and survey). Only one man is active in the women. According to literature, watered with wastewater from the marketing and selling activities, and his production of guinea pigs can lead to a kitchen. Crops are harvested when ready wife is more active in production activities. better socio-economic situation, a better and are gradually eaten by the family. position for women, a higher level of self- Only two women in the survey sold their POLITICAL PICTURE esteem, and better relations within the crops at the local market. Leftovers are fed In nearby Villa Maria del Triunfo, the family and the neighbourhood. Guinea to the guinea pigs or used in the compost Mayor supports urban agriculture pig breeding is also seen as a way for the pile. The organic homegarden system is although the municipality has no women to combine household tasks with considered to be a closed system or as one resources to carry out specific projects. In this income-generating activity. In informant put it “aqui se pierden nada” the municipality of Chorillos on the addition, guinea pig production is (nothing is lost). Women perform most of contrary, open spaces are considered to considered an easy and not a time- the activities in the organic homegarden be green zones, public parks only. Urban consuming task. The earned money is put (93%). They took their knowledge with agriculture is not considered important, into the household and spent according them from the Sierra, or obtained it by and although it is permitted to have small to household needs. As one informant observing men sowing or preparing the livestock like guinea pigs, ducks, geese and stated “A veces vendo por 5 soles en un soil. chicken, the legal framework officially día, pero son mis cinco soles para la states that all animals are forbidden in the comida de mi familia” (Sometimes I only GENDERED LABOUR DIVISION city. The municipality could be more earn five sol a day, but this is the money I Traditionally, farmers were generally men. active in supporting markets. These can be spend on food for the family). Producing The women helped them with sowing the markets for the products of organic guinea pigs for the market changes the seeds and harvesting, but were mainly homegardens or other niche markets. The roles and responsibilities of men and responsible for household activities. absence of markets and the unsupportive women. When urban farming families Gender roles have not changed so much attitude of municipalities coincide with have more than a hundred guinea pigs, over the years: men are now working the general political restraints on urban men take over the selling of the guinea outside the house or have small businesses agriculture, including restrictive urban pigs. This is mainly because they do not (like the production of ornamental trees or policies, laws and regulations, uncertainty have a job outside the house and they like guinea pigs), but women are still expected about property rights of land, lack of to negotiate. Furthermore, it is not to work in the house, taking care of supportive services, and lack of considered appropriate for women to go domestic chores and the children. organisation and representation of urban the markets in other parts of the city farmers. because they have to be at home to take The livelihoods of urban farmers can be care of their children and perform their characterised as very dynamic, as the NOTES 1 This article is an abstract of a thesis titled “Our household tasks. The women in the activities carried out by different members Daily Realities: A Feminist Perspective on survey also responded that they do not of the household change rapidly. As one Agrobiodiversity in Urban Organic Homegardens have time for it. woman explained “One day my children in Lima, Peru”. The research was conducted from March to - June 2001 under supervision of have work and the next day for whatever Wageningen University and the International ORGANIC HOMEGARDENS reason they do not have a job and come Potato Centre. The results are based on data The size of the urban organic back to the house”. If the husband or the provided by forty participants of the NGO Instituto de Promoción Agropecuario y Comunal homegarden varies from 25 m2 to 900 children are at home they also perform (IPAC) m2, with an average of 110 m2 (n=109). some tasks. Women are responsible for The most striking differences between sowing crops, especially the vegetables: the different organic homegardens are the ones who cook also decide what to their size, range, number and density of grow. REFERENCES: species and their design. The most - Niñez, V. (1985). “Working at half petential: Constructieve frequently grown species are pacay (Inga Cultivation of crops and production of analysis of homegarden programs in the Lima slums with suggestions for an alternatieve approach”, In Food and feuillei), grapes, guanábana (Annona guinea pigs takes place near the home, Nutrition Bulletin 7, (3): 6-1. muricata), limes, sugarcane, squash, which is easy to combine with the other - InIA/CIID (1999), “Evalución del Proyecto Sistemas de coffee, avocado, cassava, maracuya, household chores. This explains the Produccion de Animales Menores en el Hogar en el Puru”, La Molina, Peru. membrillo (Cydonia oblonga), ricino success of the projects set up to stimulate - IPAC (1999), Proyecto Solidaridad-Villas Informe Final”, (Ricinus comunis), sweet potato, papaya, the establishment of homegardens and the Chorillos, Peru. lúcuma (Lucuma obvota), bananas, production of micro-livestock. Although - Personal communication with Andres Dasso REDE. jackbean, medicinal plants and flowers. everyone in the village is free to

Mei 2004 11 Urbanisation and de-population of rural areas in Peru have advanced dramatically over the past 60 years. Today, almost three-quarters of the Peruvian population live in urban and periurban zones. As a result, the cities’ resources and services, including health care, education, employment, and access to food, have become more and more stretched. REDE Training of trainers in urban agriculture, AUSAN project, When the Women Decided to January 00 Work the Gardens

rban agriculture has steadily increased The initiative of the communal gardens of this group of women provided a lot of in the past few decades in was very well received by the population, weight in the process of legitimisation. U metropolitan Lima, largely brought in which is predominantly made up of by rural migrants. These new urban women who are of child-bearing age and Subsequently, after this recognition, dwellers have maintained their agricultural members of large families. As the husbands and sons started offering their ways, planting crops and raising domestic providers of food for their families, they see moral and physical support to the women’s animals on a small scale on their home urban agriculture as an answer to their groups by participating in the preparation plots. practical needs and as a way to fulfil their of the land, collection of fertiliser and gender role, e.g. the production of irrigation of the crops. The families began This context led the Resources for vegetables and the preparation of the daily to appreciate the project as theirs, and to Development Association (REDE) to family diet. validate it from inside the home. There promote ”communal gardens” in the have been cases in which the husbands or southern cone of Lima beginning in 1994, A team of agricultural promoters was sons replaced the women in the gardens as a way to fight hunger and malnutrition. selected and trained to implement the when they had to other things, like attend REDE observed that the active REDE project, but also to ensure a meetings of their organisations (Clubs of intervention of women’s organisations in multiplier effect through other women’s Mothers, School Committees, Community the projects empowered groups in Lima and the provinces. This Kitchens). these women. The women participate at group of promoters later became the different levels in public life, and this trainers themselves. The invitation to This experience motivated REDE to initiate results in an increase in consciousness, become promoters was extended to men a new stage of work at the end of 2002. well-being and available educational and women, but it was the women who With the help of German Agro Action, opportunities (1). REDE works with a were most interested in this type of work. It REDE launched a new initiative on urban “gender in development” focus in urban should be noted here that there is a cultural agriculture that focuses on women with agriculture. The roles and the needs of men acceptance by men of the idea that women little children (under the age of five years). and women are analysed in order to and children carry out small-scale This project, which is in its initial stages, empower women and improve their gardening and remain in their homes. promotes the strengthening of women’s position as part of the betterment and roles. transformation of society as a whole. CHANGING ROLES The garden became an empowering place for the women: it improved their self- assurance and self-esteem, heightened Farmers in the their expectations of life, and improved the district of Villa division of labour with their spouses. REFERENCES: - Niñez, V. (1985). “Working at half potential: María del Triunfo Constructive analysis of homegarden programs At the beginning, some men protested in the Lima slums with suggestions for an when their wives attended the training or alternative approach”, In: Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 7(3):6-14. provided technical assistance in the

REDE - INIA/CIID (1999), “Evaluación del Proyecto implementation of school or community Sistemas de Producción de Animales Menores gardens. This changed as these men en el Hogar en el Peru”, La Molina, Peru. - IPAC (1999), “Proyecto Solidaridad-Villas ______witnessed the progress and the Informe Final”, Chorillos, Peru. Lic. Marta de Olarte perseverance of the women in the gardens. - Personal communication with Andres Dasso Resources for Development Association – REDE The public recognition given by the REDE. ✉ [email protected] authorities and the community to the work

12 UA-Magazine Gender in Open-space Irrigated Urban Vegetable Farming in Ghana IWMI Ghana

Water has to be conveyed several times in watering cans

As in many other West African any studies, particularly in East show that men dominate open-space countries, men dominate in and Southern African cities, vegetable farming (Obosu-Mensah, open-space urban vegetable M report that the majority of urban 1999; Keraita, 2002). On average, less farming in Ghana, particularly farmers are women. This may lead to the than 10% of the open-space farmers are open-space irrigated vegetable generalisation that in any African city women. Even in household backyard farming. Women are found to urban farmers are predominantly gardening, where the main purpose of dominate marketing of urban female. And this dominance of women is production is subsistence and women farm produce, partly because of often attributed to the fact that women were expected to be in the majority, an the Ghanaian tradition that continue to bear primary responsibility IWMI survey in showed that the marketing in general is a for household sustenance and well being numbers of men and women were woman’s job, but also because (Hovorka, 2001) largely due to nearly equal (57% men; 43% women) Ghanaian women perceive traditional/cultural views and societal with women usually being older than marketing as more profitable, expectations. Women tend to have the men. A similar situation has been and less risky than farming. lower educational status than men, and reported for Kumasi (Ayamba, 1999). thus have fewer opportunities for Various studies have given reasons to finding suitable wage employment in explain why men dominate urban the formal sector (Obosu-Mensah, vegetable farming in Ghana. 1999). It therefore becomes imperative for women to seek other ways to fill the In this study, a focus group approach gap between their cash income and was applied to verify these reasons and what is needed for household survival. to ascertain whether any change had occurred over time. Farmers and However, most of the open-space vegetable vendors were engaged in farmers in West African cities like Dakar, group discussions at the farm and Lomée, Cotonou, Bamako and market levels. The majority of the ______Ouagadougou are men. The situation market vendors were not members of Emmanuel Obuobie differs from region to region, from farm households. The study sought to Pay Drechsel country to country and even among the find out why men dominate open-space George Danso different farming systems (see also the vegetable farming in urban and International Water Management Institute (IWMI), findings of Kessler et al. on page 16). periurban Ghana and why women West Africa Office, Accra, Ghana dominate the marketing aspect. In this ✉ [email protected] STUDY APPROACH study “vegetable(s)” refers to exotic Liqa Raschid-Sally Several studies in the three main cities in varieties like cabbage, carrot, cucumber, IWMI, Sri-Lanka Ghana (Accra, Kumasi and Tamale) lettuce, cauliflower, and spring onions.

Mei 2004 13 ACCESS TO LAND, OWNERSHIP in open-spaces in urban Ghana is the independent women cultivators depend AND TENANCY arduous nature of most of the farm tasks. entirely on male labourers (paid labour) Hasna (1998) reported that Ghanaians, Cornish and Lawrence (2001), Cornish to carry out land clearing and both men and women, “assert and Aidoo (2000), and Zakaria et al. preparation. Women with limited categorically that women do not own (1998) reported that most tasks involved financial resources seek help from male land either in their marital or natal in urban and periurban agriculture are farmers. They cultivate relatively small ancestral home” and implied that women classified as male activities because of plots that can easily be managed. In the are not able to cultivate because they do this. Table 1 shows a typical division of periurban areas, women and children not own land. Our studies in Accra and labour of farm tasks between men and usually carry water over 200 metres to Kumasi revealed that a slightly different women/children in open-space vegetable barrels for irrigation. They do this either situation prevailed with respect to urban farming in urban and periurban areas. as paid labour or family labour. It should open-space farming. Even though some The production of vegetables is labour be noted that the task of carrying water Ghanaian communities disallow women intensive. Land has to be cleared and can also be strenuous if done repeatedly. from owning land, this pertains mainly to prepared, followed by the raising of beds, In effect, women who would like to gain a the rural areas and has little or no effect nursing of seeds, transplanting, weeding, living from urban farming lose many on access to land for farming in cities. watering, etc. The arduous nature of farm opportunities to do so because of the Both male and female farmers explained work is illustrated in the following above difficulties. that most land being cultivated belongs to comments made by a typical woman the government (see for example Obosu- farmer who had been cultivating in Accra In urban Ghana, the standard method of Mensah, 1999) and therefore access does for about 11 years: irrigation is that water has to be conveyed several times in two 15-litre watering Traditional roles of men and “I started with five other women but they cans sometimes for a distance of about women provide supplementary have all left because of the difficulty of the 100 m to irrigate the crops. This is explanation tasks involved. Talking about land clearing physically demanding. Therefore, the and preparation, forking of beds, spraying of male farmers produce the more water- chemicals etc., it takes much determination to demanding and more profitable crops not depend on one’s gender but rather on continue cultivating. I mostly use male hired like cabbage and cauliflower, while the the individual’s ability to lobby. Lobbying labour for land clearing and preparation. female farmers grow less water- is based on one’s relationship (either a When I have not got enough money to hire demanding and less profitable crops like direct relationship or through a third labour, I do the land preparation myself, but okra, yoyos (Corchorus sp) and alefi party) with the owner/caretaker. then I’m able to cultivate only part of my (Amaranths). However, in some periurban areas where plot.” is used as payment for TRADITIONAL ROLES cultivating land owned by individuals, Land clearing and preparation are usually A study of the traditional roles of men landowners or caretakers prefer that men the most arduous tasks in any farming and women provides a supplementary rather than women cultivate their plots activity and are considered as male explanation as to why men dominate because they perceive that men are able activities. Cornish and Aidoo (2000) open-space vegetable farming in urban to cultivate larger plots than women, reported that land preparation, which is and peri urban Ghana. Generally, farming hence providing them with greater carried out almost entirely by manual is considered in most Ghanaian benefit.. labour, is extremely arduous and 94% of communities to be men’s work, those who do it are men. Also, most paid particularly if it is market oriented. ARDUOUS NATURE OF FARM WORK labour is engaged in land preparation. Cultural practice in some of these Our study revealed that the major reason Whereas men could supplement their communities, especially communities in for male dominance in vegetable farming effort by providing paid labour, the Northern part of Ghana, forbids women from cultivating on their own, Division of farm tasks though there are some exceptions in Tasks {x = usually applicable; - = less applicable} Men Women/children which hard-working women may be Clearing the bush x - given land to cultivate on their own Raising beds x - (Danso, p.c). Zakaria et al. (1998) reported Nursery x - that it is still not acceptable for women Planting and transplanting x x who hail from Northern Ghana to farm Weeding x x by themselves in any city. Women mostly Fertilising x - work on the farms of their husbands Spraying x - where they are made to focus on food Manual watering (conveying water from source to a crops for home consumption whilst the medium, usually a barrel) - x husbands concentrate on crops grown Manual watering (direct application to plants using purposely for the market. The production bucket and can) x x of vegetables in open spaces in urban and Mechanical watering (use of pump) x - periurban Ghana is purposely for the Harvesting x - market, which also explains why few Source: Cornish et al. (2001) women are involved.

14 UA-Magazine Access to water is crucial CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Urban open-space vegetable farming in Ghana is dominated by men mainly because of the arduous nature of most farm tasks. Traditional gender roles were also found to be a reason for male dominance in open-space irrigated vegetable farming. In Ghana, market- oriented farming is seen as belonging to

IWMI Ghana men and open-space vegetable farming in this country is market oriented. UNWILLINGNESS TO TAKE RISKS, reported the cost of transportation to and AND DEPENDENCY SYNDROME from the farm as an issue that deters It is difficult for women to cultivate in the Though nursery management is not women from cultivating (most men use urban areas and they are often unable to arduous, it requires special knowledge bicycles, most women do not own one). take the necessary risks, preferring less and/or skills in early detection of These economic reasons were not risky activities like marketing, which is pests/diseases and for the careful study reported in our study. also a specialised area of urban of seedling growth. Vegetable seeds are agriculture. Women who express the relatively expensive and yet one could FEMALE DOMINANCE IN need to enter farming should be provided easily lose the seedlings without the MARKETING with the facilities to do so. Credit necessary nursery skills and knowledge. Women’s dominance in marketing urban schemes and subsidies are two possible Cornish et al. (2001) and Cornish and farm produce is partly attributed to the ways of achieving this. Lawrence (2001) reported that generally Ghanaian tradition that marketing of women do not have this knowledge, vegetables is a woman’s job. Apart from Finally, it is without doubt that there is making nursery management a male task, this, most of the market women held the gender differentiation in urban occasionally assisted by women and opinion that marketing is more profitable agriculture (farming and marketing of children for watering. Our study shows and less risky than farming, as in the farm produce), which makes it necessary that most women were reluctant to take latter case a whole season’s harvest could to include gender in an analysis of urban on the risk of nursing their own seedlings. be lost. Both men and women involved in agriculture. Gender analysis is required in This makes it difficult for even the few marketing vegetables see marketing as a areas such as labour division between women cultivating to become quicker way to make money on a daily man and woman within and between independent cultivators. Our interview basis, unlike farming, which takes some farm and non-farm households. Also of with market vendors (mainly women) months before a farmer receives income importance is the analysis of differences revealed that nursery management also from his farm activities. In our study, in gender differentiation in the division of deters women from engaging in urban some male farmers thought it wise to labour between rural and urban vegetable farming. In their own opinions, their own produce on the market to agriculture. women would not be able to master seed make more profit. However, most of them nursing like the men and depending on were held back by the prevailing tradition male colleagues is not reliable since the that men do not retail vegetables. REFERENCES men have their own farm work to take - Ayamba, I. 1999. Backyard crop production in KMA. In: Kumasi care of. Our study also revealed that generally Natural Resources Management Research Project (KNRMP)-Kumasi Urban Natural Resources Studies. R6799. Ghanaian women prefer trading to other - Cornish, G.A., Aidoo, J.B. and Ayamba, I. 2001. Informal irrigation ECONOMIC STRATEGY jobs. Maxwell (1997), cited in Obosu- in the periurban zone of Kumasi, Ghana: An analysis of farmer activity and productivity. Report OD/TN 103. HR Wallingford. Zakaria et al. (1998) reported that wives of Mensah (1999), reported that urban retail - Cornish, G.A., Aidoo, J.B. 2000. Informal irrigation in the periurban male farmers in Accra gave economic marketing and petty trading are sectors zone of Kumasi, Ghana: Findings from an initial questionnaire survey. Report OD/TN 97. HR Wallingford. reasons to explain why few women are that have long been dominated by - Cornish, G.A. and Lawrence, P. 2001. Informal Irrigation in periurban areas: A summary of findings and recommendations. active in vegetable farming. These wives women in West Africa, so it is not Report OD 144. HR Wallingford. chose to do something different from surprising that these are the most - Hasna, M.K. 1998. NGO Gender Capacity in Urban agriculture: Case studies from Harare (Zimbabwe), Kampala (Uganda) and Accra farming so that in times of crop failure common ways for a women to earn a (Ghana). Cities feeding people series Report 21. there will still be some income for the livelihood in Accra. In coastal West - Hovorka, A.J. 2001. Gender and urban agriculture: emerging trends and areas for future research. In: Annotated Bibliography on Urban household to live on. Cofie et al. (2003) Africa, women handle 60-90% of and Periurban Agriculture. Compiled for the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). Leusden, : ETC Ecoculture. reported that between 40 and 80% of domestic farm produce from point of 165-176. http://www.ruaf.org/bibliography/annotated/007.pdf urban farmers in Accra, Kumasi and origin to consumption. Women pursue - Keraita, B. 2002 Wastewater use in urban and periurban vegetable farming in Kumasi, Ghana. Unpublished MSc. Thesis. Wageningen Tamale consider urban farming to be marketing activities as their primary University, The Netherlands. their main income-generating activity. In means of obtaining cash income for - Obosu-Mensah, K. 1999. Food Production in Urban Areas. A case study of urban agriculture in Accra, Ghana. Ashgate Publishing fact, for some of these farmers, it is their household expenditure. They play a Limited, Gower House, Croft Road Aldershot, Hampshire GU11 3HR, only income source. They simply have not major role in the marketing of vegetables. England. - Zakaria, S., Lamptey, M.G. and Maxwell, D. 1998. Urban succeeded in securing another source of They are usually better at bargaining to Agriculture in Accra: A Descriptive Analysis. In: Amar-Klemesu, M. and Maxwell, D. (eds) Urban Agriculture in the Greater Accra income or do not have extra time for a obtain better prices. Metropolitan Area. Final Report to IDRC. second job. Also, Zakaria et al. (1998)

Mei 2004 15 Women in Urban Agriculture in West Africa

In several West African societies, his article is based on 2 studies in women traditionally cultivated local West Africa. The first covered Lomé, vegetables around the house. In the T Tsévié (40 km north of Lomé), French-speaking countries of West Conakry, Timbi Madîna (a small town in Africa, temperate vegetable farming the Fouta Djalon, Republic of Guinea) and

was introduced in the colonial time. Rufisque (27 km East of Dakar); and was Angelika Kessler Prisoners and local soldiers (men) were done from 1999 to 2002, financed by the Women in traditional fields in Bamako obliged to produce temperate EU-INCO. The second study was requested vegetables for them. Later, these by IWMI and FAO in 2002, and was TRADITIONAL VEGETABLE vegetables were also grown in school undertaken in Bamako, Ouagadougou, PRODUCTION gardens. Cotonou and Lomé. Traditionally West African dishes content a lot of leafy vegetable. For traditional The first study showed an almost constant reasons women are responsible to obtain percentage variation of male and female this vegetables by growing or collecting farmers in each country. Each pair of cities, them for the meals. In Lomé, Conakry and Conakry and Timbi Madîna both in Guinea, Bamako it was observed that women and Lomé and Tsévié, both in the South of farmers in particular grow local vegetables Lomé, has the same percentage of female like Solanum macrocarpum (gboma), farmers (table 1). amaranth leaves (fontété), sweat potato Gender of farmers in various towns of West Africa leaves, Corchorus olitorius (Jute’s mallow, adèmè), spring onions for leaf Gender Conakry Timbi Madîna Rufisque Tsévié Lomé consumption, bean leaves, peppermint, Female 271 67.9% 138 69.0% 114 35.5% 84 20.9% 81 20.3% Hibiscus sabderiffa (osseille de Guinée, Male 126 31.6% 62 31.0% 207 64.5% 317 79.1% 317 79.3% bissap, da), hot peppers, and local Information tomatoes, to name only the most frequently not available 2 0.5% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 2 0.5% grown vegetables. Total 399 100% 200 100% 321 100% 401 100% 400 100% Source: Final Report of INCO Project, 2002 The poorer farmers particularly prefer production of leafy vegetables, as these can Except for the towns in Guinea, urban be harvested several times in one growing farming in cities like Bamako, season, and provide a regular income. For Ouagadougou, Cotonou, Lomé, Tsévié and example, sweet potato leaves are harvested Rufisque is dominated by men. In Timbi every 10 to 14 days. The first harvesting is Madîna the researchers found that many done 40 days after planting. So the invested men happened to be working in Conakry or capital returns rapidly to the grower and in a foreign country (Senegal or Ivory creates a regular income. By way of Coast) and therefore most women were contrast, lettuce is harvested once, 30 to 40 compelled to cultivate in order to provide days after seeding. food for their families. In Conakry the main crop cultivated is sweat potato (leaves), Farmers need fewer inputs for local which is a typical women crop. vegetables and can produce their own seeds or buy them at cheaper prices In West Africa urban farms can be classified compared to imported seeds for the into at least four types of farming systems temperate vegetables. (see also UA Magazine no. 9): Both women and men farmers use ❖ irrigated temperate vegetable farming, fertilisers in the towns where the study which is male dominated; took place, although some differences in ______❖ traditional vegetable farming, which is quantity of fertiliser applied by women and Angelika Kessler female dominated; men were noticed. Women of Lomé use Humboldt University Berlin, Germany ❖ rain-fed staple food farming, which is as well as men, and are well ✉ [email protected] male dominated; equipped with irrigation facilities. Prof. Dr. Friedhelm Streiffeler. ❖ ornamental plant growing, which is male Humboldt University Berlin, Germany dominated. Often, women are not able to invest in Emmanuel Obuobie This article will focus on the latter, female long-cycle or temperate vegetables like International Water Management Institute, Accra dominated vegetable production. carrots, cabbage and eggplants since their

16 UA-Magazine capital will be fixed to the production for at switching over to temperate vegetables.. Men have all kinds of other employment least three months before they get the first activities whereas women are mainly benefit from their investment. For the more In Bamako, women grow vegetables close dealers and/or housewives. Women hardly temperate vegetables more capital is to water sources and housing areas in order employ hired labourers on their fields but needed. As temperate vegetable are more to have access to cheap water for irrigation usually ask their children to help. sensitive to pests, seeds are more expensive and also to travel shorter distances to the and they need more irrigation, which fields. However, this strategy carries the CONCLUSIONS AND requires costly investments in irrigation risk of losing the farms if additional RECOMMENDATIONS facilities or labour. buildings are constructed. Leafy vegetables are inexpensive vegetables with a high nutritional value and are MARKETING EXTENSION AND INFORMATION therefore particularly beneficial for the Leafy vegetables have to be produced close In West Africa for traditional and historical poor. Women earn money, sometimes even to consumers, as there is often a lack of reasons women don’t grow the same crops more than their husbands, and increase adequate storage and transport facilities in as men. They use other networks of their food security by growing these most West African countries to preserve knowledge. Women didn’t go to school vegetables. and transport perishable produce to the where they could have learned about markets. This gives the leafy vegetables a temperate vegetables (especially catholic The use of pesticides for leafy vegetables competitive advantage over expensive schools are a common source of gardening seems to carry some risk. These vegetables temperate vegetables consumed mainly in knowledge in the South of Togo), but are harvested every 10 to 20 days, when the the capitals. instead learned about the traditional level of residues has not been practices from their mother or aunt. Most reduced, since farmers spray up until 3 days Women can raise their earnings by cutting women also don’t obtain information before the harvest. However, since the leaves and selling cut leaves at a higher through labour migration like their men. price than unprocessed leaves. Women They have mainly access to female key Women use other networks of may sell their own harvest - processed or knowledge persons. The transfer of knowledge not - in the market or close to their homes knowledge to women has to take place in in the quarters so they can do some local languages. household work while waiting for buyers. traditional leafy vegetables are less They make more profit marketing the Despite the high number of women with vulnerable to pests, smaller amounts of produce themselves, but nevertheless, most membership in farmer groups, the women pesticides are used on them. vegetables are sold to retailers. are less organised in groups to defend their interests. According to some of the Collaboration with and assistance to In Lomé and Cotonou the marketing of respondents, the wives are asked to join in women farmers who grow leafy vegetables vegetables is dominated by women. They order to raise the percentage of women to are needed to ensure their access to good act as wholesalers as well as retail traders. get more subsidies or other benefits form irrigation water, and unpolluted land (as A study conducted by ICRA in 2000 donors. opposed to former waste heaps) and to showed that vegetable traders in Lomé ensure that they can produce good and earned the largest profit margin. Extension agents usually concentrate on cheap food for poor people. temperate vegetable farming. The study Access to land and water found that only the few women who grow More research focused on women in In Bamako and Lomé, women farmers temperate vegetables have contact with the traditional vegetable farming systems is cultivate smaller plots than male farmers. agricultural extension agents. Other female needed. Emphasis should be placed on They exploit different areas than the men farmers have no access to extension increasing production without the use of do, more often areas with bad , narrow services, except for those in Conakry, while pesticides, which are particularly harmful strips or poor watering conditions. up to 10% of the male farmers have contact to the groundwater and the soil. (Extreme low water quality was observed with extension agents (which is still rather in Ouagadougou: in Kossodo women low). Assistance and extension should be cultivate in the industrial zone of adapted to women’s networks and to Ouagadougou and use industrial sewage.) The comparison of education levels of women’s education levels. A short irrigation period, or precarious land housewives and urban female farmers tenure, and no long-term location of soil shows that illiterate women or those with Collaboration with farmers can result in a use are typical conditions for women primary school education practice urban fair representation of women in farmers’ farmers. A short irrigation period can only and periurban agriculture. Women with organisations and create the opportunity be exploited by short-term leafy vegetables. higher education do not cultivate but prefer for women to gain access to land, water As traditional vegetables require only low less labour intensive work. Men though, of and assistance from development projects starting capital, the risk is lower. These all levels of education and training, are or extension services. competitive advantages allow women to involved in urban and periurban cultivate areas that have poor agriculture. They don’t loose social status REFERENCE Dosso. K., Guira, M. et al., 2000, Intensification durable de characteristics but are close to their homes. by working on a farm even with university l’agriculture urbaine et périurbain à Lomé – Togo, Cas du maraîchage, Such conditions as well as their lower degree, at least as long as they earn enough. Série Documents de Travail N° 91, ICRA, IFDC, Togo; education level prohibit women from

Mei 2004 17 Small-scale food production is vital to the livelihoods of poor people

Urban is an increasing problem. Around 70% of the world’s poorest people are women, many of whom are widows or single mothers who are burdened with the full responsibility of feeding their children and older relatives. Small- scale food production as part of a range of opportunities is vital to the livelihoods of poor people and poor women in the city. Angelika Kessler Gender, Water and Urban Agriculture

he social, cultural, and economic irrigation was new to them and at least wages they have little opportunity to climate of the city moulds the ways half the sample had taken it up in the last engage in more empowering commercial T men and women can use and five years (Hide and Kamani, 2000). activities. The on average low return on benefit from urban agriculture. It is Many farmers find that pumps are agricultural products will undoubtedly widely recognised that urban agriculture essential to their production system, but keep their wages low. provides benefits in the urban arena, but pump-use tends to be restricted for exactly how is not always clear or agreed women because it is often too costly. In both cities irrigators operate largely upon among the major stakeholders. The Women also find pump-use a problem without government support or studies referred to in this article allow for because they lack the technical skills to appreciation of their contribution to only a rudimentary gender analysis. operate and repair the pump reliably. urban food security. Irrigation often Female networks seldom include facilitates income generation beyond EXAMPLES FROM AFRICA contacts with the required technical skills subsistence needs, although results are Under a project funded by DFID as and women find themselves excluded still poor. Yet, if agricultural, water part of the Engineering Knowledge and from male networks, so they remain at management and health advice were to Research programme, HR Wallingford the back of the queue for spare parts and be extended to these informal irrigators, (UK) considered periurban irrigated repairs (Chancellor et al., 1999; Berejena particularly the largely poorly educated cultivation in a study in Kenya (study 1) et al., 1999). Easy sale of produce is women, income generation could be and Ghana (study 2). In another project important to these small producers. In much improved. A cost-effective way to the role of women in irrigation and Nairobi irrigators feel unconstrained by achieve this pro-poor strategy could be gender-sensitive irrigation design in marketing problems and asserted that through irrigator groups, but there is Kenya, Gambia and countries in Southern credit is seldom needed. Pollution levels little evidence of these in either city. Africa were studied (study 3). were recorded to be high. In the studies that focused on the role of An initial survey among 152 cultivators in In contrast, in Kumasi (study 2) the women in irrigation and the impact that Nairobi (study 1) revealed that the majority of the irrigators are men design has on gender issues and majority (63%) were women, mostly working on rented or owned land (86%), periurban women in the Gambia, Zambia between the ages of 20 and 45, the age although large numbers of women earn and South Africa (study 3), women were group with the heaviest responsibility for an income by carrying irrigation water to found to irrigate in groups. These “Group family food security, and 86% of the the vegetable plots, sometimes up to gardens” where each woman has her respondents had no other income source. 200m from the source. Access to markets own plot, are popular in and around The majority of the irrigators had lived in is more problematic than in Nairobi and cities. Women often benefit from the city less than 20 years. Typically incurs transport costs (the periurban area extension advice, particularly if they are was wider than in Nairobi). Pollution supported by an NGO. Marketing is a ______levels are similar to those in Nairobi. widespread problem; the competition Felicity Chancellor Women appear not to face the same from commercial suppliers in urban areas Aquademos, UK production risks as Kenyan women, but is keen, keeping prices low for small ✉ [email protected] despite opportunities to earn labouring resource-poor irrigators. Poor quality and

18 UA-Magazine low price is often the result of unreliable remains theoretical and measurement of poor women, as well as those of gender access to water. In backyard cultivation, improvements and clear gender analysis equity and consumer protection quality tap water is used, although water are impossible. The disparate and control, may well benefit from promotion harvesting systems are increasingly informal nature of urban irrigation poses of group activities or urban-producer attractive as domestic water becomes challenges, such as who has the duty to associations through which information more expensive. Many of the poorest collect information and how attentive and advice could be channelled and women have no access to taps and will they be to a gender-sensitive regulations enforced. cannot afford the basic water harvesting approach. Irrigators themselves prefer equipment. Group gardens meet their not to formalise their activities because Women could potentially make better needs and often use source water from for many it is an opportunistic activity, use of urban resources such as small treatment works or pumped for some (many of them women) it is parcels of land, properly purified storm groundwater with the attendant quality illegal, and for some it is intermittent and water and effluent. With adequate problems. Costs and environmental risks only one of many coping strategies. support their activities could be safer and are high, but cultivators weigh these Irrigators, particularly women, need to more efficient than they are at present. against the reliability of that small vital become aware of how information can be trickle of cash. used to their benefit. More information is needed to understand the impacts of economic and Women in Zambia and Banjul maintain In both rural and urban areas in Africa it political constraints, gender issues and that it is important to sell only a little is unusual for women to have equal education, particularly relating to the each day to meet daily cash expenses access to land and water. Social and management of technology in urban such as school, food and meat. The cultural practice and the economically agriculture. women have difficulty in keeping cash disadvantaged situation of women safe and prefer to earn each day just what contribute to this state of affairs. It is In the current climate of pro-poor is needed. This strategy is not consistent therefore remarkable that Kenyan intervention, it is important that further with economies of scale and quality women are so successful in establishing information be gathered and that new control and helps to keep the small rights over informal plots. Poverty is policy be informed by a clear growers’ margins low. Other issues undoubtedly a strong driving force, but it understanding of the gender dimensions. women mention are their personal also commits women to a highly Although irrigators prefer anonymity, security while working in the plots (rape vulnerable life style. However, they are women could improve their status by is a growing threat), and the security of probably not the poorest, nor the drawing attention to their contribution to equipment and the growing crops. weakest, but relatively energetic and food security and the potential for determined women who are able to improving the health aspects of urban In general the issues raised by women in coordinate agricultural work and risks agriculture. There is now increasing this study were the difficulties of with their other livelihood strategies to pressure for authorities to include urban obtaining resources for irrigation, such as sustain a small business. agriculture their policies and there is a cash for inputs and labour-saving real danger that negative attitudes, fed by machinery, personal safety in the fields In places where women cultivate in fears for consumer health, could deprive and in domestic bargaining, and access to groups, access to information and poor people of an important and feasibly markets, by which they meant not only advice is achieved and personal security safe livelihood strategy. transport of produce to the market but in the field improved. Access to also securing a pitch. information is determined by what is Unless women are involved in making offered, how it is offered and the capacity new policy, they will most likely be GENDER ISSUES of the recipient to make use of the seriously disadvantaged by tighter Lack of gender-disaggregated data is a information. All the studies found legislation on issues such as pollutants major issue (Chancellor 1997). Without women cultivators to be less educated and consumer health. Integration of such information, discussion of the issues than men in the sector, however, since gender analysis encourages a holistic little information is offered at all, they are approach rather than a narrow health or In Kumasi the majority of the irrigators are men not seriously disadvantaged by this. environmental focus. Agriculture ministries notoriously orientate their information flows to male farmers, neglecting women in part REFERENCES Berejena, E., Hasnip, N., Ellis-Jones, J. (1999) Gender- because it is seen as difficult or irrelevant sensitive Irrigation Design, Part 5, OD143 HR to actively involve women and also Wallingford Ltd., OX10 8BA, UK (Study 3) Chancellor, F. (1997) Developing the participation and because the lack of gender disaggregated skills of women irrigators. Report OD135, HR Wallingford Ltd., OX10 8BA, UK data has left the ministries unaware of Chancellor, F., Hasnip, N., and O’Neill, D. (1999) the potential present in women Gender–sensitive Irrigation Design, Part 1, OD 143, HR Wallingford, Ltd, OX10 8BA, UK (Study 3) producers. Cornish, G. A., Aidoo, J.B. (2000) Informal Irrigation in the Peri-urban Zone of Kumasi, Ghana; OD/TN 97, HR Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK (Study 2) RECOMMENDATIONS Hide, J., Kamani, J. (2000) Informal Irrigation in the Peri- urban Zone of Nairobi, Kenya; OD/TN 98, HR The long-term issues of sustainable food Wallingford, OX10 8BA, UK. (Study 1)

IWMI Ghana production and improved livelihoods for

Mei 2004 19 Building Women’s Capacities to Access Markets in the Periurban Interface: The Hardware and Software Required

In the periurban interface immense changes in livelihoods and land use occur. Expansion of cities led by globalisation and privatisation poses risks for existing livelihoods as well as opportunities for new livelihoods that make use of urban employment and markets. Sangeetha Purushothaman Periurban women producers selling in urban markets

he periurban farmers, both markets in India, which are already underway, and rich and poor, produce a represents a vast and untapped respond in ways that turn these T range of products including potential (Velayundan, 2003). changes into opportunities for perishables (fruits and vegetables) There are several unexplored new livelihoods for the periurban and non-perishables (grain). The market niches, both rural and and rural poor. bigger farmers sell the non- urban, which will be quickly filled perishables to regulated markets once they are recognised by Government agencies, banks and and perishables to middlemen or private capital.. For example, non-governmental organisations through contracts to larger today if urban hostels, canteens or (NGOs) working with the poor markets. Smaller rural producers hotels need a large quantity of started in recent decades tend to sell to middlemen, while regular milk of about 25 litres or organising large numbers of poor the smaller urban producers, more, there is no central point people into self-help groups where they can meet this need. (SHGs). In an assessment Government initiatives are rarely One can easily imagine that conducted in 2000 of constraints designed for the poor, or, if so, aggregation centres for milk will and opportunities faced by SHGs, fail to reach them. appear in the future, and it is one major finding was that while expected that these centres will a very large number of poor either market their produce locate themselves just outside the women had now been organised, directly in urban markets or resort city to meet this market demand. few could identify activities to to middlemen. Poor women are Companies will naturally locate improve the livelihoods of poor more involved in production and themselves in the periurban areas, women (Purushothaman, Varma less in marketing. Some women where the cost of land is low and Purohit, 2000). In the past, a do sell directly but tend to be enough to afford the space woman entrepreneur would engaged in extremely small-scale needed to process large quantities compete at best with another selling and have limited informal of food but the location is close rural entrepreneur but today their market access, often utilising enough to the urban centres to competition takes the form of shandy (weekly) markets, road- allow the distribution of multinational and local side spaces and door-to-door perishables, which need to be sold companies reaping large selling, which constitute more quickly. economies of scale, and effectively ______transient, risky marketing cornering the market completely Sangeetha Purushothaman methods under difficult, often Decision makers in urban and and shutting out access to M.S. Subhas unsustainable, conditions. rural government agencies and in markets for poor producers who Mitali Nagrecha There is a growing corporate development agencies alike need produce on much smaller scales. ✉ [email protected] interest in rural and periurban to recognise that these changes

20 UA-Magazine The objectives of the rayethra santha scheme as outlined by What SHGs have done for poor women is companies that produced pickles or other the Agricultural Produce Marketing Commission are to: to rescue them from the clutches of products at much lower rates and in more • establish farmers’ markets without any middlemen; • provide a forum for direct interface between farmers and moneylenders. By creating a parallel attractive packaging and that used consumers and to provide necessary infrastructure banking system that makes flexible advertising and brand names to facilities to enable the growers of fruits and vegetables to untied credit available to women for their successfully corner the market. sell their produce directly to consumers; • ensure a reasonable price to the growers of fruits and consumption needs, SHG members tend vegetables and to increase their bargaining power; to no longer remain indebted. But what To create new options for the poor to • ensure availability of fruits and vegetables at a fair price to the SHGs have not done for women is to access markets, the government and the consumers; • establish a marketing system which would provide an provide them with adequate financial NGOs started several initiatives, two of effective platform for adoption of fair marketing practices instruments for production, because they which are examined below: not only in terms of selling and buying but also in terms of tend to replicate the high interest rate ❖ a pilot initiative to grading, cleaning, packing and so on; • establish a marketing system which would ultimately structures of moneylenders. These high increase access for the poor to the enable the farmers not only to develop themselves as interest rates are then reflected in the raythere santhe, or farmers’ markets, in good growers but also as effective and successful final price of their products, which turn Hubli-Dharwad and Bangalore (“the salesmen. out to be uncompetitive. hardware”) and ❖ a new initiative, entitled MOVE average. There were enough customers Increasingly, production centres are (Market Oriented Value but farmers still sold most of their located in the periurban areas, which Enhancement), funded by Natural produce in the mornings to middlemen. SHGs can link to but with a different set Resources Systems Programme, DFID, In regular markets farmers only spend of financial products, a different type of that brings together marketing their mornings selling to middlemen capacity building and different kinds of management experts and community- (most farmers need to get back to work infra-structural support. This paper based organisations in Dharwad (“the on their farms). Barriers included discusses some of the practices in place software”). inadequate facilities in terms of bathroom which open up marketing avenues for the and childcare facilities and inadequate poor and for women. THE HARDWARE: THE FARMERS’ bus services to the farmers’ market, due MARKET to which farmers were unable to BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY A raythere santhe or farmers’ market was transport goods. In a participatory planning initiative recently initiated in Karnataka based on undertaken in 2000 with the twin goals of the success of similar initiatives in Punjab The raythere santhe is supposed to be natural resource management and (Apni Mandi), Andhra Pradesh and attractive to customers because rates are livelihood enhancement in mind, Tamilnadu. The farmers’ market is lower than those at the regular market. communities in six villages in the conceived of as a forum for farmers to However, prices were found to not be periurban interface of Hubli-Dharwad, directly sell their produce to the consistently lower. Every morning APMC India, drew up action plans. One finding consumer without middlemen. The local officials, together with farmers, should set was that that none of the plans or government in Hubli-Dharwad wanted a rates, which are between the wholesale strategies of the government and NGOs case study conducted to understand the and retail rates to benefit the consumer really worked for the poor barriers to success faced by the rayethra but simultaneously make the market (Purushothaman and Purohit, 2002), but santha, since the state government unattractive to middlemen. consisted of initiatives oriented towards intended to upscale this initiative state- those with land or assets. Separate wide to all districts in Karnataka. Thus a Another finding was that farmers were meetings with landless men and women rapid appraisal was conducted in bringing large quantities of one product, confirmed this lacuna in the action plans. November 2003 including interviews which could not be sold retail, and were Landless women were more tied to the with farmers who had been issued thus forced to sell to middlemen. Farmers villages due to reproductive identity cards to use the raythere santhe should be encouraged to diversify responsibilities and fewer acceptable in Hubli Dharwad and Bangalore. The production so that they can sell smaller options for mobility compared to landless following box highlights some of the quantities of different products men, who have more mobility. results obtained from interviews with consistently at the raythere santhe at this farmers who are regular sellers at the higher rate, which would simultaneously This initiative was followed by meetings market, APMC officials, customers, and provide the variety demanded by urban with poor women’s sanghas (groups) to farmers with identity cards who are not consumers. plan more appropriate strategies. These selling their produce at this market, as meetings revealed that previous income- well as from visits to the farmers’ market Finally, not all farmers can engage in generation efforts failed because markets and the main Hubli market. direct marketing if it means having to sit have changed and products made by the at the market from 8 AM-8 PM. In women’s groups were now obsolete. For participating periurban farmers there Madurai, for example, this is not the case. Unfortunately for potters, plastic pots had are clear advantages, like a market space, The market starts at 6 or 7 AM and all flooded the market, and for basket a clean environment, and a fair rate as produce is sold by noon. Farmers might weavers rubber baskets now had replaced prices are regulated to be “reasonable”. have more incentive to sit at the market bamboo woven baskets, and so on. Even However, there are a number of points to or have a family member do so if there are those who produced food products, such improve upon. In the Hubli market, only more consumers and if they earned a as pickles, were disadvantaged by 20 of the 80 booths were occupied on greater profit.

Mei 2004 21 THE SOFTWARE: CAPACITY depends on many more factors and On the other hand, NGO capacity- DEVELOPMENT TO ACCESS needs to be assessed based on the building initiatives sometimes referred to MARKETS market; as “software”, do precisely the opposite. Under MOVE a small group of poor ❖ understand the consumer: They build people’s capacities to landless periurban women were selected, understanding and establishing a direct understand the market but do not provide who are currently being trained in the relationship with the consumer the necessary infrastructure or credit. In basics of setting up and running small becomes important. fact, credit instruments promoted within and micro enterprises to make themselves CBOs can be detrimental to production self reliant in the free market economy. MOVE is in its inception stages and it will while extremely beneficial for meeting These women are not fully motivated, take another year before it can fully consumption needs. One major and depend on subsidies and doles materialise. Early results show that the contribution of NGOs, however, is the offered by the government and other participating women became more mobilisation of women producers, which agencies, while on the other hand they conscious of prices after visiting different is the building of social capital. There are are unable to face hardships and markets where they learned how to several successful examples of how problems. The project team has negotiate prices. They have also become women, when mobilised, can more attempted to evolve a detailed more confident, have a better effectively negotiate with the market. methodology of converting these zero- understanding of value addition to level potential entrepreneurs into full- products (roasting, of cereals, Building poor women’s capacities to blown entrepreneurs, by increasing the packaging, etc.), and with some understand markets, mobilising them motivational levels and providing them encouragement they also came up with into groups to more effectively deal with with skills to understand the market. new product ideas. Finally, the women other actors in the market, creating and NGOs working with them now innovative financial instruments, and Motivational training is done by the NGOs understand the difference between PRA- providing a marketing infrastructure are and is something that only NGOs can do. based product identification and market- the most important components needed What motivates a woman is different oriented product identification. to facilitate access to markets for women. from what motivates a traditional It is the combination of the software and entrepreneur. Women want to be seen as NEW HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE hardware that will actually make the best being able to contribute towards NEEDED use of the opportunities the periurban household decision making especially Government initiatives like the raythere interface and the new markets afford. financial decision making and as leaders santhe are rarely designed for the poor. who can make decisions in their Even when designed for the poor, they NOTES This is a shortened version of a paper submitted communities. Mobilisation of women fail to reach them. While the farmers’ for the Regional Symposium on Local Governance into sanghas is a first step. These women market reached some farmers who could and the Informal Economy and on behalf of the then need to be taught the value of be considered poor, it would have been Huairou Commission of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Urban sharing risks and labour, and that unity far more advantageous to even poorer Governance Initiative (TUGI), 8-12 December among women contributes towards farmers, who produce a fifth of the 2003, Colombo, Sri Lanka. The full paper is building and sustaining communities. production capacity of existing farmers’ available on www.ruaf.org market users and could then also sell all The training on markets is intended to help their produce directly to urban these women: consumers. ❖ understand the differences between Currently those who sell their products at rural, city and periurban markets in the raythere santhe produce more than order to identify the best market in they can sell directly and thus are still which to sell their products; forced to use the middleman. REFERENCES ❖ - Fisher, Thomas and M.S. Sriram (2002). Beyond learn skills to identify niches in Government initiatives typically only Micro-credit: Putting Development Back into Micro- markets, to distinguish between provide the “hardware”, without Finance. Oxfam, Vistaar Publications, New Delhi. - M.S. Subhas (2003). “What are liberalization and Post qualities of products and identify providing any training to build marketing Liberalized Markets?” Reading paper prepared for where they can best situate themselves; skills of those using the raythere santhe. Training of Trainers in Building Market Linkages and Business Development Strategies using MOVE, August. ❖ understand the value chain, or where While taking the initiative to provide - Purushothaman, Sangeetha (2002). Capacity to enter the market, for example at the infrastructure, transportation and other Development Of Grassroots Networks To Become Effective Partners In Local Governance For Poverty level of selling jowar at 8 rupees a kg, facilities, the government needs to be Eradication: Lessons from Below, written on behalf of the Huairou Commission, Paper commissioned by The selling flour at a higher rate, or rotis at more tailored to the poor, particularly to LIFE Global Programme of IDG/BDP/UNDP, August. 40 rupees a kg. women. Government rural credit - Purushothaman, Sangeetha and Simone Purohit (2002) Participatory Action Planning Process: A Process ❖ broaden their focus from production provision programmes often come to a Document, submitted to the University of Wales, only (and selling the produce) towards grinding halt in the periurban areas, the Bangor, . - Purushothaman, Sangeetha, Rameshwari Varma marketing as a means of making very space where credit is most needed. and Simone Purohit (2000). Women’s Access to and Control over Financial Resources: Towards money; Access to formal banks and other Development and Redesigning Policy. Policy document ❖ learn how to negotiate with retailers; financial institutions for the poor is commissioned by the Department of Women and Child ❖ Development, Government of Karnataka, September. learn about pricing and costing: instead declining in the face of the rapid retreat of - Velayundan, Sanal Kumar (2003). Rural Marketing: of simply adding ten percent to the government programmes, as urbanisation Targeting the Non-urban Consumer. Response Books, New Delhi. costs to determine price, the price spreads and urban municipalities expand.

22 UA-Magazine Women and Periurban Agriculture in the Niayes Zone of Senegal

Any project has to identify its stakeholders, their roles, the dynamics in decision making at different levels, and include the needs, priorities, role and importance of women and men. This gender analysis will show that there are varying levels of access to resources and power. Little research has been conducted on gender and urban agriculture in Senegal. In the following text the role of women in periurban agriculture in the Niayes zone is described based on case studies, and constraints and needs for further research are outlined. Maty Ba Diao

Women actively work in urban and periurban market gardening

he periurban zone of the Niayes has a Women have only recently started to be long tradition of market gardening counted in the modern crop export T and fruit and flower production in systems. The problem of their limited combination with small-scale animal access to production factors (particularly husbandry, both for self-consumption and water and land) is often the reason why sale on urban markets. The first important women tend to specialise in or migrations of shepherds towards the less water- and fertiliser-demanding crops, Niayes zone date from around 1915, like leafy vegetables (the bissap Hibiscus while horticultural activities started sabdariffa, Amarantha Amaranthus spp, etc., the distribution of labour in in 1903 with the garden of Hann see box). periurban zones seems to be (Bellot and Denis, 1989). Nowadays changing several modern horticultural and Women actively work as part of the family animal industries attract or employed work force in urban and development projects. periurban market gardening. Harvesting, sorting and packaging of food groundnuts, WOMEN IN PERIURBAN tomatoes, or green beans (export products) AGRICULTURE are highly labour intensive. Exporters Unlike the other West African countries, appreciate particularly the women in the where the majority of women work in labour force. Women and young girls periurban and urban agriculture, in the represent 68% of the labour force involved Niayes zone, few women own farms. in harvesting activities and 100% of those in Women are involved in horticultural sorting and packaging operations (Ba et al., activities where they account for 20% of 2002). These agricultural activities are an small farm holders, but the area cultivated important source of revenue for the poorest seldom exceeds one hectare. families living in the production areas. During harvest periods for market

Participation of the family members in the management of family livestock in the periurban zone of Dakar.

Tasks No. of households Men Women Children %%% Contribution in equipment 148 60 30 10 Building of shelters 149 61 28 11 Food for the chickens 143 23 62 15 Watering of the chickens 144 21 64 15 Cleaning of shelters 141 19 65 16 Treatment of the chickens 117 32 56 12 Purchase of chickens 114 40 55 5 ______Marketing of chickens 86 37 57 6 Maty Ba Diao Purchase of eggs 24 42 50 8 Marketing of eggs 23 30 65 5 ISRA/LNERV, Dakar, Senegal ✉ [email protected] Reference: Mandiamy, 2002

Mei 2004 23 Production and marketing of bissap (Hibiscus sabdariffa). Keur Pathé Kane is a village located in the Niayes zone, the main horticultural region of Senegal. Situated 150 kilometres from the capital city, it has 944 inhabitants (489 men and 455 women). women a certain autonomy for action not Supporting measures such as the purchase They are very active in market gardening and the main crops only within the households but also within of equipment that can alleviate women’s cultivated are tomato, bissap, eggplant and pement. Bissap is a leafy vegetable exclusively cultivated by women, on or next to the community. They organise tontines (see workload must be promoted. These small their husbands’ farms. Women run very small plots of land (180 - UA Magazine no. 9) and participate in the achievements should be included in the 750 m2) when under . During the rainy season, women take advantage of lands abandoned by their husbands running of women’s organisations, even if requirements for the success of agricultural and the availability of water and cultivate larger areas. these are informal. programmes in which women are involved. Depending on both the season and harvest frequency, the yield in The alleviation of domestic work would leaves is between 100 and 200 kg for each 100 m2. Because of the CONSTRAINTS allow them more time participate in scarce nature of the product, dry season prices are more interesting and can be up to double that of rainy season prices. The sustainable integration of women in training and animation sessions. The marketing does not require long travel. The leaves harvested the economic system faces several obstacles the day before are sold in the local market of (Mboro) or in the surrounding towns’ markets. For more remote destinations, the (Ba and Guèye, 2000 ; Badiane et al., 2002). Understanding the role of women in businessmen (called bana-banas) come to buy the leaves at the In general women have little access to periurban agriculture and supporting them farms. information, training and advice on in achieving this is one of the requirements The average annual income earned by each woman from the agriculture. A limited number of women for the success of any development cultivation of bissap is 340,000 CFA .F (i.e. 520 euro). Their income from bissap cultivation represents 42% of the total have received agricultural technical programme or project. Gender analysis agricultural revenues of women in the dry season and 48% in the training in the zone, but most of them are should not be considered as a separate rainy season. The importance of bissap in the economic life of the village is obvious. This crop, thanks to the revenues it yields, illiterate, despite literacy campaigns. This component when elaborating the allows women to complement the financial contributions of their limits the efficiency of any learning process programmes. It must be taken into account husbands and even in some cases to exceed them. Because of the low production costs and the revenues generated within a short of technical and financial management. in all stages, from proposal design and time frame, the bissap is considered by women to be a crop that Moreover, women lack time, but this is implementation all the way through to the can help fight against poverty. It allows them to buy or pay for articles other than food: cloth, jewels, schools fees and medicines often put forward by their husbands to collection, interpretation, analysis, for their children. Women participate also financially in the justify the non-attendance of their wives at monitoring and evaluation of the data. different activities of the village. But despite these advantages, women are still confronted with constraints such as access to training sessions on farming techniques. land and inputs. But, indeed women lack time because of Tools are available to assist in the Based on Diouf et al., 2002 the burden of family tasks and their integration of women, but this process gardening products (December-April), each multiple functions. Their work days are must be guided by an orientation towards labourer may earn between 1000 and 1500 long, between 12 to 15 hours a day. and greater inclusion of the concerns of CFA per day (656 CFA to 1 Euro) on both men and women. Further thinking average, and two or three members per Women have little access and control, and discussion on the approaches, research family may be employed in this way. particularly over production factors such as and planning tools and methods on gender land, water, credit, farming equipment, and urban agriculture, like those initiated Women are also given more responsibilities quality seed, fertilisers, and pesticides. by RUAF, will allow us to fill this in the management of small ruminants and Women have no control over the land information gap on the gender dimension poultry in family husbandry (see table). property. The plots they farm are lent to of urban agriculture in West and Central them by their husbands, leased or Africa. PROCESSING AND MARKETING borrowed. Most of this land has a limited Processing and marketing of fresh surface area and is of poor quality. vegetables are exclusively the tasks of Moreover, the lack of access to fertilisers women. Traditionally, the head of the and funds is a hindrance for the family cultivated the land and led the development of important agricultural and his wives sold the surplus production activities. Women also lack decision- at the market. Nowadays, however, the making power in the household and in REFERENCES - Ba C.O., Ba Diao M., Dieng A., Fall A., Ndiaye A., distribution of labour in periurban zones several local decentralised bodies. Women 2002. Etude sur les risques liés au travail des enfants dans seems to be changing. The emergence of are not well represented in decision- l’agriculture et l’élevage. Final report. Consultation ISRA/BEC, 95 p. + annexes. new realities may provide women with making bodies. - Ba C.O., Guèye A., 2000. Guide d’intégration du genre new economic environments (if the family dans l’agriculture urbaine: quelques aspects pratiques. Cours méthodologique sur l’agriculture périurbaine en tradition does not confine the women). PERSPECTIVES AND CONCLUSION Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre. ISRA/CRDI/CIRAD. Processing and marketing of agricultural Technical innovation is crucial to allow Dakar, June. 18 p. - Badiane A.N., Fall S.T., Ba Diao M., 2002. Genre et products have become full-time activities. women to save time, increase their agriculture urbaine: théories, pratiques et politiques. In “Advances in crop-livestock integration in West African Many women have low but steady production potential and improve the cities”. Akinbamijo O.O., Fall S.T., Smith O.B., editors. revenues on a daily basis to satisfy both quality of their lives and those of their ITC/ ISRA / CRDI: 159- 175. - Bellot JM, Denis JP, 1989. Dakar dans les prés de their needs and the needs of their families. families. Women should have access to Sangalkam. L’influence de Dakar sur la proche campagne: And women constitute an important production means, services, and fertilisers cas de la communauté rurale de Sangalkam. La péri- urbanisation dans les pays tropicaux. Espaces economic force in the Niayes zone: 73% of in order to get out of poverty and tropicaux, n°1. Talence: CEGET-CNRS; 76 p. - Diouf M., Guèye M., Faye B., Diémé O., Gningue D., them have revenues drawn from the participate in sustainable development. Ba Diao M., 2002. Les légumes feuilles au Sénégal: gestion marketing of miscellaneous agricultural They must be trained, informed and du germplasme et études éco-géographiques. Rapport de recherches ISRA/IPGRI, 112 p. products and 12% of them have revenues advised at the same level as men. - Kane R., 1998. Etude sur femmes et instances de décision: higher than 200,000 CFA F a month (305 Functional literacy seems to be an cas du Sénégal. PADLOS-CICLS: 82p. - Mandiamy D., 2002. Productivité des poulets dans les euros, Kane, 1998). extremely useful means to master new conditions d’élevage familiales en zone périurbaine de The income generated by the different production techniques and processing Dakar (Sénégal). Mémoire de DEA Biologie animale, Faculté des ST, UCAD, Dakar, Sénégal, 92 p. farming and marketing activities gives using a language they know.

24 UA-Magazine Women in Senegalese Periurban Agriculture: Nathan McClintock the case of Touba Peycouck

In Senegal, urban agriculture has grown rapidly in response to the fragile nature of urban food security and to meet the market needs of the growing urban populace. Inadequate access to land, precarious land tenure, and insufficient water and manure make urban farming increasingly difficult, particularly for women whose access to land and capital is limited by a host of socio-economic factors. Touba Peycouck’s Bokk Jom group members with their composting pits

Soon after its creation in 1990, enegal’s second largest city, urban fringes keeps them from neighbourhood cooperatives, as this Bokk Jom opened a small grocery shop, supported the Thiès, lies seventy expending labour or money on well as the creation of village elementary school, and S kilometres east of central sufficient applications of manure groupements féminins, women’s later opened a public phone booth and a small library. They also Dakar, but only thirty-five or composted waste. This so- groups, has been a vital source of built a wood-fired oven for bread kilometres from the urban called “hit and run” farming, in empowerment for women baking. In the mid-1990s they raised 500,000 francs CFA (2) and received a fringes. The Thiès region is home which a farmer farms a plot farmers in Senegal, providing 5.7 million F CFA grant from the to 1.3 million people, which intensively before he or she loses them with access to capital and UNDP to embark on an ambitious development project integrating means that 14% of the national it to urban expansion, is common training. In the past several years, , , and population is living on less than in Senegalese urban agriculture. many women’s groups, urban gardening. The Rodale Institute assists in training in gardening, 4% of the country’s land (6,601 and rural, official and unofficial agroforestry, and composting km2). These constraints are often felt alike, have embarked on techniques. The Bokk Jom started a tree nursery and launched a large- more acutely by women farmers successful agricultural scale reforestation campaign. The In Thiès, the urban-rural whose access to land, manure and endeavours, providing group purchased four local milk cows and had them artificially interface is much more water is even more limited. In participants with income and inseminated in order to produce pronounced than in Dakar. rural and periurban systems, incentives to stay in their offspring with higher milk production. They followed with the Periurban villages remain largely where stabling or tethering of communities of origin. construction of a chicken coop and agrarian but are deeply small livestock is common, undertook a poultry production project that earned them more than entrenched in the urban women are deeply involved in the THE CASE OF TOUBA half a million F CFA in profit. With economy. Between 1985 and management of manure, PEYCOUCK additional technical training from Rodale, the Bokk Jom constructed 1995, annual production averaged gathering it and other household Two kilometres south of Thiès several large composting pits to 40,000 to 60,000 metric tons, waste for disposal in the family lies Touba Peycouck (1), a village transform the cow manure and sëntaare into quality fertiliser. which together with that of the , or manure pile. of 2,000 people. The activities of The compost is used for tree, garden, Dakar region, accounted for two- However, the distribution of the GIE Bokk Jom of this village and field crop production. thirds of national vegetable manure ultimately resides in the provide an inspiring example of production. Much of this hands of the male head of grassroots community production is periurban, and household. While this rarely development. In the integrated most of it is destined for leads to conflict, the communal system of animal husbandry, consumption in Dakar. family fields take priority over a agroforestry, gardening, and field woman’s personal plots. crops, women play the major role One of the greatest problems However, by actively managing a in maintaining the soil’s fertility facing agriculture in and around compost pile or pit, a woman may through their composting Thiès is insufficient recycling of gain proprietorship over the final activities. However, women’s organic material. In urban and product as family members limited access to resources periurban agriculture, the flow of recognise the amount of labour continues to prevent equal food into the city centres she has invested in its production. participation in the periurban increases as urban populations More and more Senegalese farming of Thiès. grow. However, these nutrients women are joining cooperative are generally lost to garbage women’s groups, improving their Of the Bokk Jom’s 72 members, dumps or sewage and are rarely access to knowledge of 42 are women. Several returned to the zones of composting and other techniques administrative positions are held production, thus raising the to improve soil fertility. by women, including Assistant nutrient deficit. Even though Secretary General and Treasurer. ______periurban farmers are aware of Over the last few decades, the A revolving micro-credit Nathan C. McClintock declining soil fertility, the tenuous creation of groupements d’interêt programme provides women ✉ [email protected] nature of land tenure on the économique (GIEs), or village and members with 6-month, 25,000 F

Mei 2004 25 CFA loans at 7.5% interest. Recipients directement dans la marmite!” (The In a final brainstorming session (3) Touba have used these loans for various majority of her income goes straight into Peycouck’s Bokk Jom members came up business ventures and none have the cooking pot!) with the following policy defaulted on payment since the recommendations: programme began. The incomes of LESSONS AND POLICY members are higher than those in the rest RECOMMENDATIONS ➢ Guarantee women equal access to land of the village, and their access to training The shortage of land in Touba Peycouck is ➢ Provide incentives for sustainable and status in the community have a primary constraint. The périmetre agricultural production improved. When asked what women communale, or village garden area, is ➢ Promote women’s groups and contributed to the Bokk Jom (3), several divided into a hundred 20-by-20 metre facilitate access to funding and credit male members said the success of the (400 m2) plots. Based on selection criteria ➢ Expand technical training ongoing composting and agroforestry that included salary and available labour, opportunities for women projects is due to the high level of village officials divvied plots out to the ➢ Improve public health awareness and participation of the women. chefs de carrés, male heads of household. infrastructure Women have access to garden plots only After the fertilisation needs of the group’s through their husbands or by renting plots A recently passed law, La loi d’orientation tree nursery are met, members have the for 25,000 F CFA for the October to June agricole, addresses the first concern by right to use compost produced in the gardening season. Currently only a third guaranteeing equal access to land. The group pits on their personal plots. In of the Bokk Jom’s women maintain their true challenge will be to enforce it. Some addition to this compost, many women own plots, whereas all of the group’s men of the remaining recommendations may have started their own compost pits are active in gardening. Women in one seem impossible to instate on a within their family compounds, which focus group complained that they had government level due to SAP-mandated they fill with kitchen scraps, cooking plenty of compost but no plot on which to cuts to public programmes and “free ashes and manure from tethered use it. In addition, must pay trade” regulations prohibiting agricultural livestock. Most women in the group own 4,000 F CFA per month for water. These subsidies. However, they provide a useful their own animals, on average three to overhead expenses, as well as start-up and relevant framework for NGOs and aid five goats or per person. The use of costs of seed and equipment, discourage agencies working both with policy makers compost has spread rapidly throughout many women from gardening. Others and directly with local populations. the village and into neighbouring villages. abandon their plots during the gardening Groups like the Bokk Jom have been Ninety percent of produce is sold, usually season if they are unable to make a profit, successful in addressing some of the very to other village women who buy in bulk and turn to petite commerce in order to real constraints facing the farmers of to sell at the markets in Thiès and nearby earn enough to cover expenses the Touba Peycouck and women engaged in Rufisque and Bambey. Two-thirds of the following year. urban agriculture throughout the remaining 10% is given away as gifts, and developing world. only a third kept for family consumption. As elsewhere in West Africa, women’s role While whatever revenue a woman earns as urban agriculturalists is limited by these NOTES 1 Several villagers, exhausted by their financial from her gardening is her own, a large constraints, leaving the majority of burden, formed the village GIE, or Bokk Jom, in portion of it goes to purchasing food for production in the hands of male farmers. 1990 in an effort to improve their opportunities. the family. Indeed, her contribution may Nevertheless, cooperatives such as the In Wolof, bokk jom means to unite for a common cause. often be greater than that of her husband. Bokk Jom improve women’s access to land Mamadou Gueye, the Bokk Jom and infrastructure by offering credit at 2 The franc CFA, or West African franc, is fixed at president, underscored the difficulty in reasonable interest rates, as well as by an exchange rate of 656 F CFA to 1 euro. quantifying this contribution to family providing them with opportunities to pool 3 Five focus groups consisting of four to eight income: “La plupart de ses revenues va resources. Most important, perhaps, and people each held meetings in September and most difficult to quantify is the sense of October 2003 in Touba Peycouck during the author’s three-month internship at the Rodale empowerment and pride that Institute in Thiès. Further data come from membership elicits from female members. Akakpo and Ki (2000) who surveyed 100 While the Bokk Jom’s primary goal is not villagers to evaluate the impact of the Bokk Jom. Peri-urban gardens of Touba Peycouck, 2 km to improve the livelihood of Touba south of Thiès, Senegal Peycouck’s women, its success has directly benefited its female members by providing them with a solid organisational foundation and forum for cooperation. Nevertheless, patriarchal traditions within the community on the whole ultimately define the extent of women’s participation in urban agriculture. Gender-specific initiatives providing assistance to cooperatives such as the Bokk Jom may ultimately be necessary to overcome these obstacles. Nathan McClintock

26 UA-Magazine Gender Dimensions of Urban Commercial Farming in Lagos, Nigeria

The high rate of poverty among urban households and the growing responsibilities of women to assure household survival have caused urban agriculture to become a crucial activity in Lagos. However, inadequate access to land and water are obstacles to efficient and effective agricultural practices. In comparison to men, women are the worst

affected Vide Anosike women hold relatively small, less fertile land

ender awareness in urban empower women to meet up with the farmers are married (75%) agriculture means their reproductive and productive and have children, but only few of G understanding both men’s responsibilities and achieve the male farmers live with their and women’s opportunities and sustainable urbanisation. So far, families. The majority of the male constraints, providing greater past national and state farmers are seasonal migrants scope and richness to solutions programmes on poverty who come to Lagos to cultivate and avoiding a single alleviation and women’s during certain periods of the year. conceptualisation of the needs, empowerment have not been able Many of the women, though, interests, and experiences of to achieve this. reside in Lagos with their persons (Hovorka, 1998). This dependents (have between three paper gives a situation analysis of Urban agriculture is a major and nine children and several the role gender plays in the urban livelihood asset for both men and relations) with little or no support agricultural context within women that enriches the from their spouses. metropolitan Lagos. It looks at nutritional and medicinal needs the implications and also proffers of the urban people. In a study The men spend more time possible solutions for policy carried out in Ibadan, Gbadegesin (twelve hours a day or even more) options. (1991) showed that agriculture working on the farm than the offers income for many women in women. This can be attributed to the city who lack proper the fact that quite a number of responsibility in the provision of food education and training and them (the migrant farmers) live in and welfare formal employment. Urban detached and uncompleted agriculture plays an buildings on the farmland. Only a More and more is now underestimated role in urban few couples are land and house understood about the differences food security and a potential role owners and live around the farm in urban food production by men in reducing dependency on urban sites. It is also revealing to note and women in Nigeria. In Lagos, food imports. that the majority of full-time women have little access to women cultivators are widows or productive resources yet they GENDER CHARACTERISTICS divorcees and thus heads of shoulder much responsibility in A field study carried out by the household who do not have any the provision of food and welfare authors in 2002 revealed that other sources of livelihood. for their households. Women Lagos has a substantial number of dominate several urban farmers. The majority of the Women cultivate crops such as agricultural activities especially farmers are male (72%), but men melon, waterleaf, spinach, those that have lower profit and women dominate different tomatoes, hot pepper, maize and margins: they cultivate lower- sectors (see table). The situation okra, while men more often ______value crops in low-quality areas. refutes the common notion that cultivate lettuce, carrot, Vide Anosike women dominate urban cucumber, aloe vera, green Mayowa Fasona Tackling these challenges agriculture, as is validated in pepper and India spinach, which Department of Geography, requires appropriate, i.e. gender- cities like Nairobi, Kampala and sell for higher prices, but are University of Lagos, Akoka, sensitive and pro-urban- poor, others. Only 5% of the women more demanding in terms of Lagos, Nigeria policies. The result will not only respondents entered the activity nurturing. Men farmers operate ✉ [email protected] create more jobs, but also more than five years ago. Most of in all seasons harvesting some

Mei 2004 27 Gender characteristics of farmers (percentages)

Sex Population Dependants Full-time Part-time Cultivation Marketing Processing farmers farmers Men 72 41 47 67 82 48 64 Women 28 59 53 33 18 52 36 Source: Field survey 2002

crops up to eight to twelve times joint marketing of products and adoption of different farming throughout the year. Women are encouragement of daily and methods, associated with adverse less active during dry and raining monthly savings (locally called environmental impact and poor seasons, therefore more ajo), that are often reinvested in yields. vulnerable. the venture. For example, the farmers work together to help RECOMMENDATIONS There are few differences in the sick members or accident victims Urban agriculture has become a tasks carried out by men and get medical care, to bring profitable enterprise which deceased members back to their contributes to the improvement home towns and also to support of the socio-economic status and the households. Many women the nutritional and medicinal well claim that they are denied such being of the people in Lagos. opportunities even if they Women as well as men play a contribute to a group. They do pivotal role in the practice and not have a say in decision making. management of urban agriculture. Urban agriculture is a IMPLICATIONS labour-intensive activity and land Urban farms, especially those is the prime determinant. Because Vide Anosike Men spend more time headed by women, are often women are culturally responsible working on the farm than the women farmers, except in located in unsafe and insecure for the provision of food in most women irrigation. Weeding, which in the areas on the edges of the cities, homes, in addition to caring for past used to be exclusively which lack basic services such as the well being of the entire women’s work, is now carried out water and electricity. Farmers household, adequate policies by both male and female farmers. sometimes have to transport should aim at closing the gender Marketing of the products, which water over a distance of between gap in the access to land and has typically also been a women’s 100 and 300 metres especially facilities. task in West Africa, is quickly during the dry season. Most becoming more of a men’s task. women depend on the assistance Enlightenment campaigns should of hired labour and family make use of various media to Land is largely rented. A caretaker members (children), which makes educate and inform urban usually allocates about two plots the production expensive and dwellers and landowners of the of land to four to six farmers, unprofitable, and in addition potentials of urban agriculture especially among the migrant affects the quantity of time the even for those who are already farmers, for a rent of between children can spend at school. engaged in formal occupations. In three hundred and one thousand Limited access to resources (land, this way, landowners would be Naira (2 to 7 US dollars) per funds, irrigation, and machinery) more willing to lease unused or month, depending on the size of puts an extra burden on the undeveloped land to farmers, the land. Many women are women farmers, which in thereby providing the farmers unable to cope with such combination with direct and with more long-term security. payments, due to their poor indirect pollution, theft and production output and sales, and insecurity, makes farming a they have no proper access to the tedious and difficult task to better land. venture into for women. With REFERENCES few exceptions, the volume of the - Gbadegesin, A. (1991), Farming in the Urban Environment of a Male farmers in Lagos easily work production output is also higher Developing Nation: A Case Study together and protect their among men than women. from Ibadan in Nigeria. The common interests. They Environmentalist, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp 102-111. encourage construction of Gender disparities in Lagos’ - Hovorka, A. (1998), Gender common wells for irrigation and urban agriculture are such that Resources for Urban Agriculture the collective purchasing of seeds more women hold relatively Research: Methodology, Directory and Annotated Bibliography, Cities and other inputs such as fertiliser small, less fertile land that is less Feeding People Report Series, Nr. 26, and poultry waste. These conducive for efficient farming online document of IDRC, communal efforts also include practices. This has led to the http://www.idrc.ca/cfp/gender.html

28 UA-Magazine Integration of Gender in Municipal Policies in Port Harcourt in Nigeria

In and around the city of Port Harcourt urban farmlands have given way to urban development activities, especially mineral oil exploitation and development of land for housing. In this process, the inability of urban planning to cater for the growing needs of the urban farmers, especially women producing fresh vegetables and perishable fruits, is apparent and needs attention. Margaret Jev

A woman farmer in her fields at the rban agriculture was encouraged in Operation Feed the Nation lasted for only university campus Nigerian cities with the introduction a short period, the urban agriculture idea U of Operation Feed the Nation in is presently on the rise again due to rising 1979, when households were encouraged and the high cost of living. CHALLENGES to plant food crops around their houses Urban agriculture is a beneficial land use (Olomola, 1998). This opened the eyes of Development control officers in Port and has come to stay in Port Harcourt. In the poor urban residents, especially the Harcourt are few in number and fact, the area used is expanding. women, to the prospect of growing food inefficient (sometimes even corrupt), and Neighbourhoods are beautified, food is crops in the urban area in order to earn they are clearly more concerned with produced, and urban waste may be some income and at the same time building development than the converted into useful resources. A lot of provide some needed food items for their environment. In some cases they have idle land has thus become useful, and as a families. fined the urban agriculturists, calling them result the public and quasi–public lands illegal features of the urban environment. are now being used (with permission) to Since that time, in Port Harcourt, This has not gone down well with those serve the people until the owners need it. roadsides, open spaces around houses, concerned with farming, as urban building set-backs, and large tracts of agriculture is an important survival However, urban growth in Port Harcourt quasi-public land like the areas of the strategy for the poor in Port Harcourt, has overwhelmed the planners, who seem State University of Science and especially the women. to be unable to plan the dynamic growth Technology are used as vegetable and of the city. Urban growth has overtaken cereal farms. Most of these urban farmers GENDER AND MUNICIPAL POLICIES the rather static master plan. There is a are women because traditionally it is Although gender is clearly a major factor need, therefore, to involve the populace of women who plant vegetables and cereals in urban land use, in Port Harcourt social the urban areas in the governance of the and also harvest these for sale. The men differentiation between men and women city to enable the planners to know where on the other hand are mainly responsible is not considered in municipal decision land is, what it is being used for and how for clearing land and making mounds for making on land use, notably with respect the people will accept the policies being yams. Both men and women usually do to urban agriculture, which is being put forward for them. Women will the harvesting. quietly ignored at the moment. especially benefit from this, as they are the main actors in crop farming and The urban floriculturists are Women are predominant in urban supporters of the households in proper predominantly male. They are also found agriculture, especially in the production of food nutrition. The wellbeing of all the along major streets and highways and in a food items. This is a skill that they brought people in the city should be seen as an few cases on vacant plots owned by from their villages and that they are using asset that can be assisted through urban investors who are keeping the land for to earn a living and at the same time for agricultural planning in the city. future development. This is encouraged as subsistence. Men are principally involved the farmers protect the land from in horticulture, which is purely poachers and at the same time keep it commercial. Production is insecure, clean at no cost to the owners. Although however, as thee farmers only have REFERENCES ______usufruct rights. While the men - Olomola, Ade (1998) ‘Urban Agriculture and the Implications for Urban Development in Nigeria’. In Adeniji, Yomi Oruwari traditionally sell their ornamental flowers Kunle and Ogu, Vincent (eds) Sustainable Physical ✉ [email protected] at the production location, women have to Development in Nigeria. Ibadan: Nigerian Institute for Margaret Jev sell part of their produce in markets which Social and Economic Research (NISER). - Mundi, Ejifu (1999) ‘Gender Issues Associated With ✉ [email protected] are not located close to the fields. This Agricultural Production and Extension’ In Oruwari, Yomi Rivers State University of Science and Technology, increases the overhead for the women, (ed.) Gender, Sustainable Development and The Urban Poor Port Harcourt, Nigeria which they can ill afford. In Nigeria. ( A book of Readings). Port Harcourt: Hisis Publishers Ltd.

Mei 2004 29 Urban Livestock Production and Gender in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The urban infrastructure of Addis Ababa has not sufficiently developed along with the vast horizontal expansion of the city in the last thirty years. With a population growth rate of well over 5%, the demand for cereal crops and animal products will continue to increase substantially. This requires an early intervention strategy to ensure an adequate supply of these products to the urban dwellers. Azage Tegegne Training of women on milking and milk handling at ILRI Debre Zeit Research Station

rban livestock production The contributions of urban livestock constitutes an important sub- production to overall development U sector of the agricultural include income and employment production system in Ethiopia. There are generation, poverty alleviation, and about 40,000 crossbred and pure exotic improvement of human nutrition and cows in urban and periurban areas of the health. The urban livestock production country. In Addis Ababa alone there are system is complex. It involves diverse about 5200 dairy farms with some 58,500 activities, such as production, processing About 45% of livestock owners cattle (almost 50 percent crossbred). If and marketing, and several technologies are women one takes an average of six persons per at each level in the commodity chain that family household, this means that about makes up the system. The major players 30,000 persons directly depend on in the production, processing and incomes earned from the dairy sub- marketing of these products are women. sector. Total annual milk production is estimated at 44 million litres and 83% is GENDER AND LIVESTOCK marketed, while the difference is used for PRODUCTION household consumption. About 79%of In Addis Ababa city, about 33% of the the total production comes from urban livestock keeper households are headed producers. by women. The unemployment rate Addis Ababa is about 47%and females From an economic point of view, cattle account for 58%of the unemployed. and poultry are the most important of all There is a high dependency ratio; 69% of livestock, although goats, sheep and the total population depends on the equines make a significant contribution remaining 31% of the society. A study to the urban economy and to the diet. undertaken by Azage Tegegne et al. Thus, urban livestock production plays a (2002) in Addis Ababa showed that about substantial role in reducing poverty and 45% of livestock owners are women. The ______contributing towards food security in the average age of women and men livestock Azage Tegegne city. Yet, livestock keepers in the urban owners is 55 and 57 years, respectively. International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), area are still receiving little attention in The level of education of these farmers Addis Ababa, Ethiopia terms of policy, institutional and ranges from illiterate to secondary school ✉ [email protected] technical support targeted at their needs. (slightly more men than women). The

30 UA-Magazine majority of livestock keepers depend (Figure 5) and technical advice on solely on livestock farming, while the rest livestock production were reported more are retired or civil servant men involved often by women (30%) livestock keepers in livestock keeping. than men (15%). Disease was reported by 45% of the households (44% women and From an economic point of view, dairy 56% men) as the most important cattle, sheep and poultry are the most constraint in raising dairy cattle and important livestock species, although chickens.. Mastitis in dairy cattle and goats and to a lesser extent equines make Newcastle disease in chickens are significant contributions to the urban important threats to urban livestock Azage Tegegne economy and the food security and production. Access to credit to improve An urban dairy farmer livelihoods of households. Women own or expand livestock keeping activities was about 43% of dairy cattle, 81%of reported as a constraint by 45% of the leadership, recognition of their role and chickens, 47% of sheep and 33% of goats. households (33% of women and 67% of creation of favourable policy are essential The average number of cattle owned is men livestock keepers) (Azage Tegegne et pre-conditions. Research should also about 7 animals per household. Small al., 2002). address gender issues and strive to ruminants are the most common develop appropriate technologies, such livestock species next to cattle and RECOMMENDATIONS as improved butter churning, that are chickens kept by both women and men Gender concerns should be appropriately focused on the needs of women. It is also urban livestock keepers (Azage Tegegne addressed at all stages of the urban food et al., 2002). and agriculture development cycle, Women have a major role in including designing, planning, minimising environmental Women are usually responsible for implementation, monitoring and pollution and public health feeding large animals, cleaning the barns, evaluation of development projects. The problems milking dairy cattle, processing milk and participation and benefit of women in marketing livestock products, but they urban livestock production could be received the assistance of men, female considered through adequate gender essential to train women on the use of children and/or other relatives. Younger analysis of the current situation. technologies, gender concerns, children, especially girls between the Development projects must involve leadership and assertion techniques and ages of 7 and 15, are mostly responsible women in problem identification and business management and investment for managing calves, chickens and small programme design, identify ways and techniques to increase opportunities for ruminants, while men and older boys are means for women to participate and economic gains. The experience of the responsible for treating sick animals, International Livestock Research constructing shelters, cutting grass and Institute (ILRI) in training women of cattle and small ruminants. farmers on dairy production and management, milk hygiene and The role of women in managing animals processing and marketing is a very good that are confined during most of the year example. Agricultural extension should is substantial and they are critically also develop a menu of extension models involved in removing and managing from which women’s and men’s groups manure, which is often made into cakes could choose. In addition, provision of and used or sold as fuel (Figure 3). In this support for the establishment of regard, women have the major role in Azage Tegegne women’s and mixed-gender minimising environmental pollution and Small ruminants play an important role organisations, marketing associations or public health problems related to urban in the household economy cooperatives, credit and saving unions livestock production (Azage Tegegne et will ensure effective and efficient market al. 2002; Odenyo et al., 2002). orientation of the production system. benefit from projects/programmes, take Constraints frequently mentioned by measures to strengthen women’s both men and women livestock keepers participation even further, ensure that in the study are the high cost of inputs the benefits reach women and men and REFERENCES (feed and drugs), availability, cost and they must include follow up and - Azage Tegegne, Million Tadesse and Zinash Sileshi. 2002. Scoping Study on Interactions Between Gender quality of concentrated feed and grass monitoringstages to check and make sure Relations and Livestock Keeping Practices in Addis Ababa, hay, the absence of a market for fluid that interventions have met women’s Ethiopia, Natural Resources International Ltd, Kent, UK. milk (Figure 4) and the low prices of milk practical and strategic gender needs - Bogalech Alemu. 1998. Women, Food Security and Agriculture. Proceedings of the Ethiopian Society of and milk products especially during the (Bogalech, 1998). Animal Production (ESAP), pp.9-18. fasting period, poor reproductive - Odenyo, A., Azage Tegegne and Hanson, J. 2002. performance of dairy cows,poor To enhance the status of women and to Alleviation of rural poverty and improved women’s livelihoods through dairy development: The role of availability of AI technician and a increase their productivity in urban International Livestock Research Institute and its partners. shortage of semen. Problems such as a livestock production, and to strengthen Presented at the 3rd World Congress of Rural Women, lack of skill development or training their decision-making power and Madrid, , October 2-4, 2002.

Mei 2004 31 Gender Analysis of Urban Agriculture in Kampala, Uganda

Urban agriculture in Kampala City takes place The major potential health hazards on undeveloped land associated with urban agriculture have been classified as physical, chemical, including institutional and biological and psychosocial (Cole et al., mailo (privately owned) 2003). The physical hazards may include injury from sharp objects such as broken land, but also on risky bottles and needles in waste dumps. areas like former waste- Chemical hazards involve exposure through contact of chemicals with the skin, dumping sites, scrap inhalation of dust from contaminated soil yards, wetlands and or gaseous emissions and through ingestion of food crops contaminated with toxic roadsides. waste from soil and wastewater. Psychosocial hazards may arise from insecurity due to unclear land tenure, loss of farmland, fear of theft and violence or overload due to long hours of work. Biological hazards may be due to parasitic worms, bacteria and vector-borne diseases, such as malaria parasites hosted by certain food crops with life cycles in humans and other media. This paper focuses mainly on crop production in areas that are receiving solid or liquid waste in urban and periurban areas of Kampala City.

Women grow food crops that fetch lower prices. Grace Nabulo

ormer dumpsites are used to Although deemed illegal by the METHODS grow food crops and urban authorities, urban A study was carried out in F vegetables, and some of them agriculture activities continue to be Kampala City in 2001/2002 provide shelter to farmers practised by both men and women. through a formal survey. A total residing in temporary houses. In However, the division of labour in of 250 semi-structured addition, wastewater is urban farming households exposes questionnaires were administered channelled from industries and men and women to different to farmers who were involved in the city’s discharge into the health risks (Flynn, 1999). Women growing food crops on the former wetlands. The farmers of these are more vulnerable to health dumpsites of Lugogo, Kinawataka areas are thus exposed to multiple hazards due to the multiple roles and Wakaliga, and the health hazards and improper they perform. For instance, women wastewater irrigated areas of management may lead to and children spend long hours Namuwongo along the Nakivubo contamination of food crops and selling food products by the road channel (see figure 1). vegetables. This situation is and are thereby exposed to heavy disapproved of by municipalities. metal pollutants.

______Grace Nabulo Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Former Dumping sites in Kampala City ✉ [email protected] George Nasinyama Flooded areas river Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. district boundary ✉ [email protected] sampling sites Diana Lee-Smith 2 1. Kina Wataka Centra 1 3 1 2 Lugogo I CIP/Urban Harvest, Nairobi, Kenya. Kampala 3 Lugogo II ✉ [email protected] 4 Wakaliga 4 Donald Cole Wetland University of , Canada flooded areas lake ✉ [email protected]

32 UA-Magazine Gender differences in relation to benefits, resource distribution and risks associated with urban agriculture. DIVISION OF LABOUR AND BENEFITS Of the farmers growing food crops on Attributes All farmers Women Men contaminated sites in Kampala City, 55% (%) (%) (%) were women, 41% had no other occupation Married 68 70 64 other than farming, and 63% of these Farming is a major occupation 41 47 33 farmers were women. A greater percentage Have control over land 28 25 32 of women than men (34% compared to Dig and sell food products themselves 54 60 52 30%) consumed all the food grown, while Own the food they grow 93 93 82 53% of the women and 67% of the men Spend income from UA on domestic needs 40 39 32 sold some of the food produced. The Use protective wear while working on land 38 37 42 women who grow crops on contaminated sites in Kampala use it mainly to feed their families. practised (42% of the women and 22% of what they know and what they stand to the men). Asked what they would do if gain or lose, which also depends on what Only 9% of all the farmers grew food crops stopped from using contaminated land, they value and who they are. “purposely for sale” (14% of the women and 12% of the men (and only 3% of the 5% of the men). But these women sold all women) said they would change residence RECOMMENDATIONS the food grown on contaminated sites to to where land is available; 14% of the men The Kampala City Council should integrate consumers and used the money to (and only 1% of the women) said they urban agriculture in its planning purchase other foodstuffs for their families. would not be affected. Women therefore programmes as a mitigation measure to The major source of food in the study benefit most from urban agriculture as a achieve a higher quality of food crops households was bananas (matooke), while source of livelihood, food security and grown and sold in the city. The Council is Colocasia esculenta (cocoyam) and maize household income. currently reviewing Ordinances on Urban (Zea mays) were the most frequently grown Agriculture and should liase with various food crops on these sites. Other crops ACCESS TO LAND AND WATER stakeholders like researchers, NGOs, included cassava (Manihot esculenta), sweet Only 28% of the farmers studied had development partners, institutions and potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), beans and control over their farmlands, 9% rented landowners to help streamline policy vegetables. land and 22% used land that was freely initiatives in urban agriculture. available. The women grew food in high- Men and women were generally involved risk areas, and therefore were more The council should facilitate the in different agricultural activities. The men vulnerable to hazards. Most farmers did not empowerment of urban farmers through in this study were involved mainly in the have access to clean water: 17% got free environmental health education in relation cultivation of sugarcane and cocoyam in water from a spring or well, 1% from a to urban agriculture and necessary the wetlands, while the women grew borehole and 77% bought either piped or mitigation measures, such as use of low- maize, sweet potatoes and vegetables. The spring water. cost treatment technologies of wastewater, men spent longer hours in the gardens than use of appropriate farming techniques and the women. Fifty-six percent of the farmers (more careful selection of crops to minimise women than men) did not use protective exposure to food contamination. The The women grew food crops that fetch clothing while working on contaminated Council should empower the Urban lower prices and require minimum capital, land (Table ). In Uganda, cooking food is a Agriculture Office and its extension staff, time and labour. This is partly because 70% woman’s responsibility. The study revealed and liase with researchers together with the of the women were married and had other that only 2% of the households that farmed local Women and Youth Organisations at traditional household roles to play like on contaminated sites used electricity to parish level to ensure implementation of cooking for the family and caring for the cook, while 22% used firewood and 55% the mitigation measures. children. Women therefore grew small- used charcoal. NOTE scale, perishable products that can be sold This study was made possible through the financial within the neighbourhood, either by the RISK PERCEPTIONS support of IDRC Agropolis. roadside, at a nearby market or at a stall in Over 80% of the farmers in Kampala were front of their homes. Moreover, most of the aware of the health risks of growing food in REFERENCES crops grown by men have a longer shelf life contaminated areas. Asked whether they - Cole, D.C.; Diamond, M.; Bassil, K. and H. J-Otazo and can be transported long distances to approved of growing food on waste sites, (2003). Health Risk and Benefit Assessment in UPA. SSA reach a market. 89% of the men and 84% of the women said Workshop on Health Risks and Benefits of Urban and Peri- urban Agriculture. Nairobi, Kenya. 9-12 June 2003. they disapproved because it is not healthy, - Flynn, K. (1999). Urban Agriculture and Public Health: The main benefit of urban agriculture and but they had no alternative since Risk Assessment and Prevention for Contamination and the reason most of the farmers cultivated agriculture was their main source of Zoonoses. Cities Feeding People Program Initiative. International Development Research Centre, Ottawa was food: 41% of the respondents said they livelihood, food security and income. Some (draft). benefited from the free food, 21% from easy of the farmers admitted to growing food on - Lee-Smith (2003), Risk Perceptions, Communication and access to markets and 9% from economic contaminated sites purposely for sale and Mitigation; Community Participation and Gender perspectives. Health Risks and Benefits of Urban empowerment. Moreover, 22% of the not for household consumption. Lee-Smith Agriculture and Livestock in Sub-Saharan Africa. IDRC farmers would suffer an economic crisis if (2003) observed that men and women Workshop, Nairobi. urban agriculture could no longer be perceive risks differently, depending on 9 – 12 June 2003.

Mei 2004 33 Gender and Access to Land for urban agriculture in Kampala, Uganda

rban and periurban farming are settlements develop in these areas overtime. increasingly important as a source of (Married women in Kigobe-Rubaga Division- U income and food for the urban Kampala, 2003) population in Uganda. Access to land is a fundamental asset affecting women’s role. Urban crop production has been Women lack access to land, and so do the “feminised”, as the men move out to other poor marginalized migrant young men. informal sectors like petty trading. It is Legal and policy frameworks are not fully common to find women as farmers and a

promulgated for protection of urban Juliet Kiguli few migrant men as hired labourers on farmers and women especially. Irrespective Women continue to find means of small plots, scattered over the city and of some cultural inhibitors. survival strategies through farming. owned by women. Women could access land much easier than the young men due LAND AND GENDER to cultural considerations like pity for Most of the urban women connect land to AIDS/war disasters’ implications and trust shelter and agriculture, but men hold most from landlords, and friendly networking. of the land. Women in Uganda make up per day grow mostly diversified crops on Women tend to concentrate their 51% of the total population 24.7 million scattered plots in swampy areas. agricultural activities around the homes or people (UBOS 2002) and contribute more seek out garbage areas or undeveloped than 80% of food, provide 70% agricultural ACCESS TO LAND land, to farm close to each other. They labour, 97 % have access to land while only The majority of poor women who depend access land through various means such as 7% own land (Kiguli 1995). Men provide on land for their livelihood are either squatting, borrowing, and searching for only 30-40% labour. . landless or have limited and insecure rights free unused pieces of land in the to land. In addition, they access land mostly neighbourhood, which they clear for Women, men and the children perform as customary land but lack decision- cultivation. Land inheritance, purchase and different roles within the household and in making rights on how the land should be receiving land as gifts from close kin urban agriculture. Some roles are defined utilised. Plots of land utilised for urban relations were the other forms of how according to biological sex while others are agriculture range from less than 0.2 acres in women access land. through socialisation. Factors like ethnicity, the city centre to 3 acres in periphery areas. customs and taboos determine the gender It was observed that most women access TENURE PATTERNS division of labour. The children assist the land through a male relation-father, In Kampala, about 60% of the land is held women in planting and weeding or husband, sons and brothers. Some women under mailo-land tenure system (see UAM tethering the animals. For some women own the land but these are rather small no. 11), while the remaining 40% is under are poor and cannot afford advanced areas. Access to land is a key factor affecting freehold and customary tenure. One technologies. The men usually focus on women’s emancipation. acquires land through purchase, which animal keeping but not growing vegetables requires huge financial resources. Poor and other food crops like the women. Women are more likely to have access to women do not own land but many have customary or mailoland, which they occupy as access to plots on mailo-land or public land. There are also differences among women. squatters. (Focus Group, Ndeeba Division - Most women access land for urban farming Some women have higher incomes and Kampala, 2003, unpublished) through their spouses, older women own reside in flats and planned residential areas patches through arrangements of although they carry out urban agriculture. These women, as squatters, have usufruct borrowing while middle aged and younger Middle income women mainly keep rights for food production and can be women rent, squat or purchase user rights. animals (poultry) on a grand scale in their evicted any time. Without this security of All a result of marriage, age,income, social backyards or on the balconies, whereas the tenure they are less concerned with relations and distance. poor women with earning of less than $1 sustainable environmental concerns such as land degradation and development of Access is a key factor determining the ______the land. practice of urban agriculture in Kampala Juliet Kiguli city. Most women are landless, and the Makerere University, Kampala - Uganda Urban women farmers reportedly majority of women interviewed that use ✉ [email protected] emphasised in interviews: land in Kampala, hold no control over it as Lillian . N. Kiguli Fellow women occupy the wetlands/swampy they are squatters or borrow the land. Organisational Development Consulting Limited, areas because land is cheap and readily Again others have access to land, but no Kampala - Uganda available- I think...the poor access marginal right in decision-making on how to utilise ✉ [email protected] lands, people with small means resort to the the land. The few women who own land informal areas for mainly agriculture and then through inheritance, cannot sell it, because

34 UA-Magazine the land belongs to the family and selling labourers to clear the wetland for growing decentralised and attention be paid to requires written documents. Marital status yams and sugarcane. female headed households and farms which greatly determines ownership and access to are increasingly involved in the urban cash land. The level of income and amount of Women have been economically economy savings determine access to land. Another empowered and increased their decision issue that affects the access and ownership making level at the household. The women Empower women with income generating of women is the limited education. have also saved money and gained access skills through trainings as part of capacity and ownership to land. Some are able to pay building so that they can make decisions in A married woman would use the land next school fees for their children, yet this has the household and on farming methods if to the house for farming but the husband been an outstanding male role. Those they have access to their own resources determines which type of crops to grow and Women farmers in the city must be realised how to utilise the output. One woman said: and allowed to participate in on-farm and I grow sugarcane and vegetables for sale, but Women continue to find adaptive research/demonstrations at my husband has restricted me to which types of means of survival district farm institutes that teach new crop crops to grow. He does not want sugarcane or strategies through technologies. banana trees farming. (Interview with middle aged married woman, Technologies must be gender sensitive to Ggaba Water Zone-Kampala). enable women to operate them. For belonging to the farming groups have example, light hand hoes requiring less The Land Act of 1998 (section 28) caters for gained access to new farmer technologies to energy designed specifically for women women in respect to land ownership, ensure food security for the families. while heavy ones are for the men. however enforcement is difficult as it is not locally interpreted. It is apparent that the CONSTRAINTS Women need access to land and so do the ordinary women do not understand the There are various types of conflicts and marginalised migrant young men who laws. These have not been translated into tensions encountered by urban farmers. practise urban agriculture. Policy support is the indigenous languages to facilitate the These range from land boundaries to necessary to redistribute the land. women fight for policy change and evictions by environmental NGOs (e.g., improvement of the law. NEMA), city council authorities and landowners. Poor policies and laws FARMER INITIATIVES deterring women from gaining access to Women continue to find means of survival land. However, co-spouse ownership is high strategies through farming. Non- on the parliamentary debate agenda. government organisations fighting for the Women also lack access to new rights of women to land are mushrooming technologies and information on agriculture (like the Uganda Land Alliance and e.g., improved machinery, and UWONET). Women have formed seeds, and the predominant male extension associations to improve their involvement workers face cultural inhibitions in in urban agriculture and welfare in general. approaching female farmers. Finally,

For instance, Ggaba Women’s Development reproductive and domestic roles such as Kiguli Juliet Association is a group of women led by a child-care interfere with the female labour Other women work as hired local council leader (also a woman) who and time contribution. labourers meet on a monthly basis and have neighbourhood support networks. They RECOMMENDATIONS NOTE collect membership fees and access loans Farmer participatory diagnostic research Urban farming started in kampala as a result of socio-economic and cultural features as studied by and use the rotating fund to buy agricultural should be carried out and include urban Dan Maxwell and Samuel Zziwa in 1992, later by inputs. They meet their household needs. women to identify gender needs and Gertrude Atukunda, Juliet Kiguli and Augustus Nuwagaba in 2001 who targeted the urban poor. Urban women create social networks to problems specific to kampala city dwellers. Two types of people farm, Traditional landlords and ameriolate the effects of urban poverty and This is to ensure that gender disaggregated migrants to the city in search of employment. in this way can become agents of change data is generated through research, and Almost 50% land in Kampala is under urban farming. (Ssewakiryanga, 2002). utilised by the government and city administrative authorities to promote Women borrow land from other persons, gendered planning and development. REFERENCES for instance from some rich single women Gender responsive development planning is - Kiguli Juliet, 1995, Report on Strengthening capabilities of women for effective participation in national policy making (like those from the Ganda royalty who a prerequisite as it identifies the inequalities for development management in Africa with emphasis on inherited land from their fathers) and may existing between men and women. Land the agricultural sector, Uganda, UN/IDEP/Economic return part of the harvest to the owner. laws and, property rights need to be revised Commission for Africa, Dakar-Senegal - Ssewakiryanga Richard, 2002, The Role of Women Social Other women work as hired labourers and in favour of women as majority farmers. Support Networks in Coping with Urban Poverty: case through this way they access land and grow Already gender sensitisation in relation to study of Kisenyi and Kifumbira slums in Kampala city, food crops for themselves and their families. improving the justice system is funded by Working Paper No.16, Kampala: NURRU publications. - Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), 2002, Provisional Another strategy is that women encroach DANIDA, a Danish donor organ. Census Results, Kampala: UBOS. on wetlands. They hire male migrant The agricultural policies should be

Mei 2004 35 Oshakati (31%). In Windhoek 66% Urban and Periurban obtained their plots through the munici- pality and the remaining 34% through Agriculture in Namibia other means, while in Oshakati 51% acquired their plots through headmen and 47% through the municipality. In Namibia, urbanisation has attained explosive rates since independence in 1990 caused by rapid migration of rural people to the urban areas in search of In Windhoek, the men (63%) have more employment. As the driest country in Africa, Namibia’s agricultural base is weak. control over the land than the women Most vegetables and fruits sold in urban centres of Namibia are imported from (17%), whereas in Oshakati there is more South Africa. Despite this, intensive urban farming activities take place both on a of a joint control of land by both men and commercial and a micro scale in backyards, open spaces and along river courses. women reflecting perhaps a more liberal male attitude in Oshakati than in Windhoek. Generally, there is joint own- here is very little information avail- areas. In 1973, the Director of Agriculture ership of land (20% and 64%), tools (35% able on this type of farming in for the South West Africa region stated and 51%) and produce (48% and 45%) in T Namibia. A study was therefore “Namibia was approximately 90% depen- Windhoek and Oshakati respectively. conducted to collect, synthesise and dent on South Africa as regards vegeta- However, in Windhoek the men are more analyse all available information in two bles” (Lau and Reiner, 1993). in control of cash (39%) compared to the municipalities in Namibia, namely women (16%). Unfortunately no compar- Windhoek and Oshakati (1). The study Immediately after independence, the new ative figures were obtained for Oshakati. reported on here consisted of a desk government gave little priority to horti- study and a field study (see Dima and culture production, preferring to concen- INVOLVEMENT IN URBAN Ogunmokun, 2001 and Dima et al. 2002) trate on livestock and . AGRICULTURE between April and May 2001. A total of However, the continued rate of urbanisa- In Windhoek, the main sources of income 244 respondents were interviewed (101 tion and lack of income-generating for the household heads are employment in Windhoek and 143 in Oshakati). In opportunities for recent immigrants to in private companies (48%), government Windhoek the sample was selected from urban areas have resulted in a change in employment (18%) and self-employment seven northern and western informal set- the way government sees horticulture. (17%). The majority (35%) of the tlements, while in Oshakati the sample Moreover, Namibia still depends heavily respondents’ spouses in Windhoek are was selected from six areas across the on South Africa for 80-90% of its total not employed. Interestingly, 9% of the whole town. It should be emphasised consumption of fruits and vegetables spouses get their income from farming that the survey concentrated in the areas (MAWRD, 1996). So, with the objective of (urban agriculture). In Oshakati, 35% of of informal settlements in Windhoek improving the eating habits of the local household heads are employed by whilst it had a more balanced coverage in population and of reducing imports from government, 19% in private companies, Oshakati. South Africa, the Ministry of Agriculture, 13% in farming (urban and periurban Water and Rural Development agriculture) and 8% are selfemployed. URBAN AGRICULTURE IN NAMBIA (MAWRD) through the Namibian However, the highest category of source Lau and Reiner (1993) reported that in Horticultural Development Initiative is of income for women in Oshakati is good rainy seasons commercial crop pro- supporting several initiatives to improve farming (21%). duction and marketing by smallholder vegetable production. However, there is farmers existed in urban/periurban areas still no clear policy on urban and periur- In Windhoek, 79% of all respondents in of Namibia long before the colonial era. ban agriculture. the informal settlements are involved in By 1931, local vegetable production con- urban agriculture in one form or the oth- stituted almost 42% of Windhoek’s fresh MIGRATION, LAND OWNERSHIP er (72% crops only, 5% both crops and produce market’s annual turnover. AND CONTROL livestock and 2% livestock only). In However, the South African officials cut The results of the survey show that two- Oshakati 70% are involved in urban agri- off research input and other official sup- thirds of the respondents are young peo- culture (50% crops only, 13% both crops port. Furthermore, events related to the ple in the age range of 21-40 (66.3%), the and livestock and 7% livestock only). planned incorporation of Namibia as a majority of whom (58%) are single, 23.4% fifth province of the Republic of South married and 13.5% cohabiting. The fig- Women constitute the majority of urban Africa resulted in policy shifts around ures confirm the migratory patterns in farmers (Windhoek 54% and Oshakati 1968/70 which seriously stifled vegetable the country. Most of the respondents in 58%). The proportion of men farming is production in the urban and periurban Windhoek (82%) have moved recently to higher in Windhoek (31%) than in their plots. This confirms the high migra- Oshakati (13%). A higher proportion of ______tory rate into Windhoek in the last six other household members are involved in S.J. Dima years. For both Windhoek and Oshakati farming in Oshakati (29%), than in A.A. Ogunmokun combined, 48% of the respondents Windhoek (15%). Most of the other University of Namibia. owned their houses, while 52% were ten- farmers in Oshakati (22%) are school ✉ [email protected] ants. More respondents in Windhoek children who learned gardening in (72%) owned their houses than in school. Over 80% of the respondents

36 UA-Magazine Reasons for gardening started their gardens on their own initia- tives, without any outside influence. These respondents also had gardening Windhoek Oshakati experience from the rural areas before Male % Female% Total% Male % Female% Total% N = 28 50 78 18 72 90 they moved to either Windhoek or Oshakati. Food 100 100 100 100 100 100 Extra Income 11 14 13 6 19 17 Employment 4 12 9 11 3 4 The main reason for urban farming is to Hobby 18 4 9 44 31 33 provide food for family members (Table 1). The majority of respondents stated Source: Survey data that they produce vegetables only during the summer to benefit from the summer Windhoek is 280 mm and about 400 mm ducers. The expectation of the producers rains (90% in Windhoek and 72% in for Oshakati. Despite this, most of the in Windhoek (67%) and in Oshakati Oshakati). urban farmers prefer to cultivate maize (41%) is to expand the area cultivated and use irrigation to supplement the rain. under vegetables. The absence of a PRODUCTION The other common crops grown in both national policy on urban and periurban Water was reported to be a serious limit- towns are beans (42%), tomatoes (41%), agriculture continues to be a serious ing factor to urban farming. Many farm- pumpkins (26%), watermelons (24%), obstacle. ers (91% in Windhoek and 57% in sweet potatoes (23%) and peppers (17%). Oshakati) use tap water as the main sup- The main reason for producing crops is RECOMMENDATIONS plementary source of water, probably for household consumption in order to Urban and periurban agriculture is prac- due to the fixed water tariff irrespective improve the household food security and tised by over 70% of the residents of of the level of consumption. But in the nutrition situation. The remaining prod- Windhoek and Oshakati. Several govern- last two years, the two municipalities ucts are either given as gifts or sold for ments in Southern and Eastern Africa, have adopted the use of pre-paid water income. The major crop sold is maize, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, metres in the informal settlement areas. though tomato and pepper in Windhoek Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Zaire and Consequently, many farmers in Oshakati and fruits and sugar cane in Oshakati are Zimbabwe, are creating agencies to man- have stopped using tap water for growing also popular crops for sale. Most of those age urban agriculture.. The absence of a vegetables. 77% of Windhoek respon- who sell do so in order to gain extra proper policy on urban and periurban dents and 43% of Oshakati respondents income. None of the respondents in agriculture in Namibia is a serious con- perceive the use of as bad for Oshakati depend on urban farming as a straint to its intensification and develop- growing crops. means of employment. However, 6% of ment. the male and 2% of the female respon- More people in Oshakati use fertilisers dents in Windhoek considered urban It is, therefore, recommended that the than in Windhoek (52% against 33%). farming as employment. Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural The commonest form of fertiliser used by Development in consultation with the Windhoek respondents is digested Few urban producers are involved in municipalities and the Ministries of manure from the Gammans Water keeping livestock (Windhoek 6% and Environment and Tourism, and Regional Works. Its usage is an indication that the Oshakati 24%). The types of livestock and Local Government and Housing and people do not have any health and cul- kept are chickens, goats and turkeys. other stakeholders evolve a policy on tural worries about using human faeces Some local pigs and cows were noticed in urban and periurban agriculture. as fertiliser. The other sources of fertilis- Oshakati, but no one claimed ownership Furthermore, it is recommended that the er are household wastes, fresh animal of these animals, possibly because the small growers be assisted to organise manure and inorganic fertilisers. In farmers are aware of the by-law prohibit- themselves into producer cooperatives so Oshakati, 23% of the producers use fresh ing these animals in the municipal that they can break into the main market. animal manure followed by compost, areas. household waste, inorganic manure and NOTES 1 The full report of the study is available on the digested manure in that order. There is CONSTRAINTS TO URBAN AND RUAF web site. no gender differentiation in the use of PERIURBAN AGRICULTURE fertilisers in both towns. However, more Urban and periurban agriculture produc- women than men use compost for fertil- ers are faced with numerous problems. ising their soil. These include shortage of water, pests REFERENCES and theft of the produce. Another impor- - Dima S. J. and Ogunmokun A. A. 2001. An overview of socio- economic and gender aspects of urban and periurban agriculture in Urban and periurban producers grow a tant problem facing urban farmers is the the city of Windhoek. In Baudoin W. and Vink, N. (editors): wide range of crops and fruit trees. The lack of information regarding vegetable Proceedings, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Stellenbosch and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United most common crop grown in both towns production generally, but specifically on Nations, Rome. is green maize (88% of all urban farmers improving water use, identification of - Dima S. J., Ogunmokun A. A. and Nantanga. 2002. The status of urban and periurban agriculture, Windhoek and Oshakati, Namibia. in Windhoek and 70% in Oshakati). This pests and diseases and how to combat ftp://ftp.fao.org/sd/sdww/nam_periurban_02.pdf - Lau and Reiner 1993: 100 years of Agriculture in Namibia. is surprising considering that maize them, and on effective marketing of their - MAWRD. 1996: Overview of Horticultural Production and requires a minimum of 500 mm of water, produce. This is partly because of the Marketing in Namibia. April 1996. while the average annual rainfall for absence of extension services for the pro-

Mei 2004 37 Gender Perspectives on Periurban Kanhaiya Sapkota Kanhaiya Most of the households are involved in farming Agriculture in Nepal

While rural agriculture in Nepal is individuals outside the community). A the decisions in the household and in that predominantly subsistence oriented, landowner under Kipat obtained the land way have to some extent a role in agriculture in and around the urban areas is by virtue of his or her membership of a decision-making. Basically they are more market oriented. Although periurban particular ethnic group. After the involved in preparing food, cleaning the agriculture has been practised for a long revolution and subsequent land reforms house, caring for the children and in time in Nepal, there is no government of 1950, this community-based land other indoor activities. policy in place to regulate it. tenure system was gradually merged with the state tenure system. The currently Agricultural activities in the rural areas anahara, the low-lying area of prevailing tenure types are raikar and were found to be clearly gender based: Bhaktapur district located in the guthi; but the government has initiated ploughing, sowing, application of M Kathmandu Valley, is typical for the process of converting all guthi lands manure and fertiliser and marketing of this area. The land is intensively to raikar, except certain types of guthi products (if done) are performed by men, cultivated and suitable for all-seasonal such as raj guthi. while the women’s domain covers crops, but it is mainly used for the transplanting and storage of grains, production of horticulture crops. Because Transfer of ownership from one weeding, harvesting, carrying heavy it is located near the major market generation to the other has resulted in loads (on their heads), and winnowing. In centres, it is the main source of land fragmentation. Because of this periurban agriculture the situation is perishable vegetables for the people in scattered nature of farm parcels, and the somewhat different. Although some tasks the city of Kathmandu, and the farmers economically nonviable size of the plots, are performed predominantly by either can easily access necessary inputs. farmers are hindered from adopting men or women, there is no gender taboo productivity-enhancing technologies. or restriction on any kind of work. Men ACCESS TO LAND and women, and sometimes even Most of the land in the area is under Land fragmentation has its roots in the children, are equally allowed to take part cultivation. About 70% of the land is traditional Hindu law of succession, in most of the activities related with this classified as khet (fertile irrigated land) whereby all the male offspring are type of agriculture. followed by bari (rainfed land, about 11 entitled to the parental property, percent) and parti (barren land, about 8 including land. This right of use would Men do have complete control in percent). normally be passed from fathers to sons, financial matters, like marketing, and only unmarried daughters above the allocation of generated income, land Traditionally, there were two major land age of 35 would have the same right. A selling and land rental transactions. But tenure systems in Nepal: Raikar and new amendment to the Land Act (in they always share their ideas with the Kipat. Under the Raikar system, land was 2002) provided daughter-in-laws and women and make decisions jointly. Crop considered to be the property of state, unmarried daughters under the age of 35 choice is dependent on a number of but it could be awarded to an individual the same right. environmental and economic upon payment of annual rent. With the parameters, not all of which are under land ownership certificate, land could DECISION-MAKING the farmer’s control, but the amount and easily be traded. Originally, it implied a In the area under study, almost all of the type of family labour available influences direct relationship between the state and land is under male control even though crop choice. the cultivators and resulted in the women are significantly involved in creation of a number of secondary forms almost all aspects of agricultural FARMING ACTIVITIES of land tenure systems (Regmi, 1977). production. Their share in decision- In the area under study, a clear division in Under the Kipat system, land was making is not commensurate with the gender responsibilities in periurban allocated to a community or special amount and type of agricultural work agricultural activities was found, which group (and could not be given to they perform. Men generally control has only just begun to change due to decision-making. Decisions regarding the urbanisation. Land preparation (hoeing), ______type of crops to cultivate and tools to use, which is carried out almost entirely Kanhaiya Sapkota, the purchase of inputs, and when to sow, manually, is extremely strenuous and Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal fertilise, irrigate, weed and harvest about 95% of those doing the work are ✉ [email protected] mainly rest with the men. Women make men. It is also the task that involves the

38 UA-Magazine most paid labour. But during the harvest, Gender Division in Periurban Farming Activities more than 60% of the work is performed by women. Manure/compost Nature of work Gender distribution transportation to the field and Male Female Both (Male+ levelling/smoothing of land are basically Female) the women’s tasks, but there are no Collection of raw materials for composting ✔ restrictions against the participation of Manure/compost preparation ✔ men. This varies per crop variety and the Manure/compost transportation to the field ✔ availability of labour. Basically, there are Chemical fertiliser application ✔ no gender restrictions regarding the Manure/compost application ✔ preparation of land for vegetable Land ploughing ✔ ✔ cultivation. Nevertheless, because Levelling/smoothing of land ✔ periurban agriculture in Nepal is not yet Sowing of seed Weeding ✔ highly commercialised, gender relations Irrigation ✔ have not changed very much. Pesticide spreading ✔ Harvesting ✔ Weeding is an extremely labour-intensive Cleaning and processing the vegetable procedure and it is not unusual to see products for sale ✔ entire families – men, women and Weighing of the vegetable products for sale ✔ children – weeding together. Hired Transportation of products to the market ✔ ✔ labour is almost never used for this Sale of products at the market ✔ activity. In practice, there is a gender- Financial management relating to agriculture based knowledge of seeds and seed Source: Field Survey, 2002. management, but verbally both men and women express their knowledge of They also expect their children to help agriculture practices. There is no real storage, conservation and selection during their leisure time with certain division of labour here, although men methods of seeds. types of farm work (the children bring generally do most of the heavy work Women have the additional burden of Khaja (a small lunch) to the farmers from (carrying fertilisers/chicken manure, etc.) household or domestic activities, but they the house, help to apply compost or and the women perform the tasks that nevertheless contribute their spare time manure on the fields, etc.) require more dexterity (weeding, to help their male partners in the field. harvesting, processing, etc.). And these They are involved in all aspects of Most of the local farmers are middle women remain responsible for farming activities. class. The system of exchanging labour, household work. as practised in the rural areas of Nepal, is LABOUR gradually disappearing. Labour relations RECOMMENDATIONS Most of the households are involved in are also changing due to urbanisation There is no strict division of tasks in farming, which is their main source of and there is little payment in kind, since periurban agriculture in Nepal. Men and income. Some people have started to vegetables rather than grain are women participate equally in these combine agriculture with other jobs. The cultivated in the study area. On the other activities. On the other hand, there is a change from being only a peasant to hand, the study area is small and not growing improvement in the farmers’ combining urban labour and agricultural completely commercialised in nature, so economic status because of the nearby activities is becoming more common. In there is little land consolidation. Most of urban markets and the role of the cash the past women spent their time on the farmers have small parcel of land and economy. Periurban agriculture in Nepal agricultural activities together with the seldom have to hire in labour for is not yet fully cash oriented, which is household activities. Although not yet agricultural activities, except for land why gender relations have not changed very commercial, periurban agriculture is preparation. very much. But women have started to market oriented, and as a result it is work outside the farm and it is expected changing the economic and social status Labour opportunities are available that with increasing commercialisation, and role of the women. throughout the season in the study area. the women’s labour will be increasingly Women farmers spend their mornings Seasonal women labourers come from replaced by outside labour. working in the household and in the different parts of the country. Some of afternoon they perform farm activities them carry sand from the nearby river or with other men farmers. Most of the are involved in land preparation and REFERENCES farmers walk to their fields, which does management. Men are often involved in - Regmi, M.C. 1977. Land Ownership in Nepal. not take more than 30 minutes (back and carrying chicken manure to the fields. Adroid Publishers, Delhi. - Sapkota, K. 2003. Continuity and Change: forth). Their parcels of agricultural land According to the local farmers, seasonal Knowledge and Practice of Peri/Urban are near the residential area, which hired labourers are relatively cheaper Agriculture. A case of Manahara Low/Lying allows them to keep a close eye on the than local hired labourers and hard Area, Madhyapur Thimi Municapility, Bhaktapur District, Nepal. MPhil Thesis. land. They spend most of their time on working, and in addition (according to Department of Geography, University of farm work, including land preparation, both the local farmers and the labourers) Bergen, Norway. harvesting and processing the products. they share their local knowledge of

Mei 2004 39 Women Fishers in Periurban Kolkata

East Kolkata Wetland has been recognised various diseases and need basic medical local people. Women participate in the as a highly productive, remunerative and treatment, more nutritious diets, etc. local economy as daily labourers (in employment-generating eco-system. The Many men are addicted to alcohol and tailoring or as servants) and animal (deer) area acts as a catalytic agent to change the need counselling. husbandry. Health complaints, such as city waste into protein-rich fish and is also a In Sardarpara village there are 35 fisher backaches, eyesight problems and source of major supplies of vegetable, fruit families belonging to one tribal group. pollution, are different from those in the and horticultural products. The families in this village are very villages described above. united, and there is low participation of women in the money-earning activities. COMPARISON engal women actively participate This is attributed to the low rate of The socio-economic status including in a number of income-generating literacy among the women, the daily and education level of the women of Mudiali B activities for their families. The seasonal workload in the household, and and Sardarpara is below that of the project reported on here was cultural and social taboos. The women do women of Udayrampur village. In undertaken to develop an understanding not allow men to do household chores, as Mudiali and Udayrampur, the amount of of trends in fishery development, their this is not part of their tradition. Women time spent on household activities is less implications for the periurban fishing undertake typical activities like (like collecting fuelwood) and earnings of community of Kolkata and the role of gardening, collecting fuel wood (from the women are higher than in women. The study was done in three distant places), and raising and grazing different periurban systems: in cattle, pigs, and chicken. In spite of their Sardarpara, a tribal village; in Parganas, tremendous workload fisherwomen get closer to the city the Udayrampore, a cosmopolitan village; scanty reward and recognition. A low women are better off and in Mudiali, which is a government- percentage of girls get an opportunity to controlled cooperative society. go to school. Fisherwomen receive little Sardarpara. In the these villages, people The survey was undertaken jointly with encouragement or guidance from have also (improved) access to doctors, medical camps, with the help of NGOs. governmental authorities. the market, and information. Food intake Fisherwomen and young girls were is relatively poor in Sardarpara (rice and interviewed and group discussions were In Udayrampur village women not only dal, but rarely fish) while in Udayrampur held highlighting many topics like their perform similar activities as those fish is present in the daily diet. Women professional occupation, creative mentioned above in their roles as wives are responsible for basic housekeeping in activities, compulsory activities, financial and mothers, which engage them from all three locations. One common problem security, health care, education, housing, dawn to dusk, but also undertake income shared by the women of the three villages child rearing, transport, etc. generating activities that include cleaning is the high rate of alcohol abuse of their tanks, rearing fish, collecting fish feed, husbands. Other common problems are a FINDINGS and raising rabbits. The reasons for this lack of 24-hour electricity, poor housing The people of these periurban villages are that these women have the and low income. live a short distance from the advantages of both village and city life; metropolitan city but are deprived of they have a higher literacy rate, and are A main conclusion of this study is that basic needs and amenities. Average economically more independent and less the periurban areas of Kolkata need to be family size is 6–7 members, including 3–4 subjected to social taboos. Both men and attended to by the government, children per family. In every second women stressed that fish culture especially with respect to education and house there is a woman above 45 years of practices could be further improved (with health care. There are differences age, but the aged members of the family respect to fish diseases, the lack of between urban and periurban are not being looked after properly. The indigenous technical knowledge and lack fisherwomen in income, literacy, health mortality and the birth rates are high. of investment), but that their livelihood care and transport. Closer to the city the Most of the women are suffering from situation has improved considerably women are better off, but they face other (access to good protein-rich food, problems. Awareness-raising activities improved accommodation, possibility for are necessary in the following areas: drug their children for go to school) through and alcohol abuse, health care, legal increased income from ornamental fish rights for the underprivileged classes of culture and establishment of a women, and self-employment. The cooperative society that also includes Government of West Bengal has ______female members. supported women cooperative societies Madhumita Mukherjee, Rajarshi Banerjee, Arindam and women fisher groups and training Datta, Soma Sen & Basundhara Chatterjee In Mudiali Nature Park the inhabitants programmes in fish processing (fish Aquatic Resource Health Management Centre, cultivate edible fish and are involved in pickles, papads, etc.). Training in micro- Dept. of Fisheries, Govt. of West Bengal eco-tourism in the very heart of the city. enterprise development for ✉ [email protected] This has improved the economy for the entrepreneurship is another priority.

40 UA-Magazine Urban Agriculture, Household Organisation and Female Autonomy: a case study in southern Mexico City

San Luis Tlaxialtemalco is a town of the griculture plays a of the town, in part because of the Xochimilco Delegation in the southern zone of significant role in the lives employment of family labour. Mexico City, which has a population of 12,553. A of people in San Luis. Since Agricultural micro-enterprises have developed the end of the 1970s agricultural The production of around production in . This study (1) production has taken place mainly plants (as with other small found that the establishment of such enterprises under greenhouses, which make businesses and informal commerce) has proved to be a valid strategy for the farming use of the old agricultural and depends on the participation of families to generate income, but it also serves to landholding practices. Greenhouse women household members. Both improve the decision-making power and freedom production of decorative plants and the families involved in greenhouse of movement of women. flowers still largely has a household production and those working in character, although day-labourers the informal sector could be are hired while family members are characterised as predominantly engaged in non-agricultural extended, while the nuclear family salaried and non-salaried activities. is predominant among the households employed in the formal DIVISION OF LABOUR non-agricultural sector. The On average 67% of the households extended family arrangement involved in this activity employ an favours the formation of average of three family members. agricultural and non-agricultural The gender division of labour is micro-enterprises and the such that the men concern participation of women family themselves with the productive members, particularly those who activities, especially the physical are older and have less schooling. labour. The women dominate the The productive units and points of commercial arena. A few activities sale are close to the home, which

Alejandro Chiriboga are performed together with the makes it easier for the women to Farming in Quito, Ecuador men. Besides these tasks, for which combine these activities with their the women do not receive household chores. But since the remuneration, women are in charge women working in greenhouses do of all tasks related to household not receive an income, the maintenance, thereby doubling greenhouse business facilitates their responsibilities. The female participation but does not production under greenhouses is a necessarily improve income- profitable activity for families as a generating possibilities for women. source of income and for subsistence. ECONOMIC AND DOMESTIC ACTIVITY SOURCES OF INCOME AND While more women can be found in PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN agricultural and other informal Of the 185 households interviewed, activities, men dominate the paid 45% see the greenhouse production jobs. The greatest income as their primary source of income, disparities are found among the followed by paid work (35%) and husbands and wives of the non-paid activities (20%) outside greenhouse growers; nearly none of ______agriculture. Despite higher income the women receive any income Fernando Neira Orjuela and education levels among those while a third of the men earn six or Centre for Population Research and Advanced Studies households that earn an income more times a minimum salary, and (CIEAP) outside agriculture, the greenhouse nearly half of the men earn from Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) farms occupy a significant four to six times a minimum salary. ✉ [email protected] proportion of the active population The greenhouse production is

Mei 2004 41 involved in greenhouse production work the wives to leave the house and less more but receive less income than wage- need for them to negotiate or ask earning women, what is interesting is permission for this privilege. The greater that they enjoy greater decision making mobility of these two groups could also ability and freedom of movement have to do with the type of commercial compared to these women and especially activities that they undertake. Even when compared to those who are non- they do not receive income, they handle economically active. This is true despite money, leave the house, buy and sell and

Ailton Catão the fact that their level of education is are in constant contact with people Governador Valadares, Brasil slightly lower than those earning an outside of their homes. Nevertheless, it income outside the household. In this still may be that this situation does not sense, agricultural micro-enterprises afford them the autonomy that they therefore profitable for the family, yet have the capacity to employ older women would like, insofar as in some cases the these enterprises do not allow women and those with less schooling, which has extended family system may diminish access to their income. What little they a positive effect on the women’s their decision-making abilities due to the earn is invested completely in the autonomy, although their workload presence of older women or other male household and not in themselves. increases and their incomes do not. This family members. positive effect that economic activity has Independent of any economic or on the women’s autonomy is in stark Other determining factors that seem to productive activities, nearly all women contrast to the lower access to income affect female autonomy in this town are spend over 60 hours per week on various that greenhouse household women have the socio-cultural dimension, given the domestic chores. Women greenhouse compared to wage-earning women. economic predominance of men over growers and other women who do not Furthermore, it shows that a higher level women in agricultural and other of education is not necessarily a activities, and the structure and forms of Low payment goes along with determinant for improved decision- family organisation. In this sense, the high workload but also higher making capacity and freedom of social norms and values that emphasise autonomy of these women movement for women. subordination seem to make it difficult for women engaged in family agro- In the context of urban agriculture, businesses to economically support receive a salary. In the case of the male notably greenhouse production, themselves through the resources that heads of household, in general they do participation in economic activity and they generate, which tends to counteract not spend much time doing domestic older age are variables that are positively the effects of their access to decision- work, although those involved in non- correlated with the potential for women making power. agricultural, non-salaried work are to make decisions and move about freely. somewhat different, as a fourth of them Among those who work outside the FINAL COMMENTS dedicate 35 to 59 hours weekly to home, these indicators of autonomy are The present study sought to approach the household endeavours. slightly higher among non-salaried, non- issue of how agricultural micro- agricultural workers and greenhouse enterprises can generate alternatives to In the households of San Luis, there is a growers. Women members of households salaried work and can impact women’s heavy work burden regardless of the kind who work in greenhouses and non- economic participation and autonomy in of activity one is engaged in. Women agricultural, non-salaried women are, on these household productive units, from have double and triple workdays. Nearly average, older than salaried women, and within the context of urban agriculture. half of the women of the town are with age generally comes more decision- In some ways, the agricultural micro- engaged in an economic activity, yet this making capacity and mobility. enterprise represents a survival does not exclude them from long hours alternative given the scarcity of well-paid of domestic work and in the case of those Older age is a factor, which carries much urban employment and facilitates for who work in greenhouses, generally this weight in terms of female autonomy in female economic activity, however the does not mean that they will earn any the town of San Luis, while educational women who work in greenhouses do so income. The agricultural micro- level does not seem to have an effect in without pay. In spite of this lack of enterprises are a viable economic option this sense. autonomous income, these low-educated for the family but they do not contribute and older women seem to enjoy greater to gender equity, as they increase the One important element that may autonomy than salaried women and women’s workload but not their personal contribute more to the greater mobility of above all housewives, possibly due to economic status. women who work in greenhouses and their engagement in commercial tasks. those who work in non-salaried FEMALE AUTONOMY employment outside of agriculture than NOTE This article is a synthesis of a doctoral thesis Two dimensions of female autonomy age and schooling is the extended written in pursuit of the title of Doctor of were studied in San Luis: decision character of the family. Given the fact Population Studies from the Colegio de Mexico. making and freedom of movement of that in these types of homes there are female family members (especially the other women who can care for the wives). While it is true that the women children, there are more possibilities for

42 UA-Magazine Books

MIND THE GAP, MAINSTREAMING GENDER AND nutritional status. It finds that the pathways through which status PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT. influences child nutrition and the strength of that influence differ Nazneen Kanji. 2003. IIED, IDS. UK. ISBN 1 84369 466 2 considerably from one region to another. This research proves This publication, no. 4 in the series on institutionalising unequivocally that where women’s status is low, policies to eradicate participation, highlights lessons from gender gender discrimination not only benefit women but also their children. mainstreaming work for those who seek to institutionalise http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/abstract/abstr131.htm participation. After a discussion on (changes over time of) conceptual frameworks, strategies, and the suggestion WASTEWATER USE IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE, that there has been a shift from participation to CONFRONTING THE LIVELIHOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL governance (along with the shift from women in REALITIES. development to gender in development), the tensions Edited by Christopher A. Scott, Naser I. Faruqui, and Liqa Raschid- between gender mainstreaming and participatory Sally. CABI/IWMI/IDRC 2004. ISBN 0 85199 823 2. 240 pp. CABI development are explored. Suggestions are made to Publishing [http://www.cabi-publishing.org/] overcome this tension. (In Press: available May 2004) The use of urban wastewater in agriculture is a centuries-old practice QUESTIONS OF DIFFERENCE: PRA, GENDER AND that is receiving renewed attention with the increasing scarcity of ENVIRONMENT, A TRAINING VIDEO. fresh water resources in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Irene Guijt. IIED. ISBN: in English: 1 904035 83 3 (also Driven by rapid urbanisation and growing wastewater volumes, available in French and Portuguese). wastewater is widely used as a low-cost alternative to conventional This two-hour video with provoking images can be used irrigation water: it supports livelihoods and generates considerable to stimulate discussion and to lead into class-based value in urban and peri-urban agriculture despite the associated exercises. A summary is given of the key elements for health and environmental risks. Though pervasive, this practice is using PRA to understand gender and environment. The largely unregulated in low-income countries, and the costs and video is structured in thematic segments of 2-14 minutes. benefits are poorly understood. This book critically reviews In that way users can select those of interest or for specific experience worldwide in the use of wastewater for agriculture training. The three case studies show workshop through a series of peer-reviewed papers defining and elaborating on participants using PRA methods to explore gender and the the issues at the centre of the debate around wastewater use in environment. agriculture. Toward better understanding the global extent of wastewater use in agriculture, a methodology is developed and WORLD URBANIZATION PROSPECTS: applied for selected countries to quantify the magnitude of THE 2003 REVISION wastewater use in agriculture. The editors conclude with a prognosis United Nations, Department of Economic and Social of future challenges and realities of wastewater use in agriculture. Affairs’ Population Division March 2004. Available online as PDF file at: PUBLICATIONS OF THE SUSPER PROJECT http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wup20 The RUAF Library received activity reports of the CIRAD and AVRDC 03/2003WUPHighlights.pdf project “Sustainable Development of Periurban Agriculture in South This revised issue presents estimates and projections of East Asia”. The topics of these reports are (for full reference please the total, urban and rural populations of the world (21 check the RUAF web site or the SUSPER web site: regions, 5 major areas and 228 countries). It also provides - Off-season tomato and year-round vegetable production under estimates and projections of the population of urban shelter in Hanoi. agglomerations with 750,000 inhabitants or more in 2000. - Protected year-round and safe vegetable production An interesting fact is that almost all population growth - Systems in Ho Chi Min City expected for the world in the next thirty years will be - Strategies of stakeholders in commodity chain supplying to Hanoi concentrated in the urban areas. The smaller urban Market settlements (with fewer than 500,000 residents) of the less - Spatial and institutional organisation of vegetable markets in Hanoi developed regions will be absorbing most of this growth. - Negotiation tools for vegetable commodity chain in Vientiane. Thus it is expected that the majority of the urban dwellers will be residing in the smaller cities. WOMEN AND ENVIRONMENTS (WE) MAGAZINE Since its founding, at the first UN-Habitat Conference, in 1976, THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN’S STATUS FOR Women & Environments International Magazine has grown into a CHILD NUTRITION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. well-established magazine with over 2000 readers worldwide. It is Lisa C. Smith, Usha Ramakrishnan, Aida Ndiaye, one of the longest surviving feminist magazines in Canada. Its writers, Lawrence Haddad, and Reynaldo Martorell. IFPRI readers, and editors are people who inspire and create environments Research Report 131 more responsive to women’s needs through action, education, and Until recently the role of women’s social status in research. Issue 44/45 dealt with the subject of Urban Agriculture, determining their children’s nutritional health went while the latest issue of May 2004, focused on Cities for Women. largely unnoticed. This report uses data from 36 countries in three developing regions to establish empirically that women’s status, defined as women’s power relative to men’s, is an important determinant of children’s

43 Websites organisations. and linkstoon-linepublications, andlinkstorelevantsites relevant sourcesofknowledgeand information,withabstracts Emerging IssuesandChallenges”, asearchabledatabaseof Environmental ManagementandSustainableDevelopment: discussion forumonthetopicof“GenderAspects environment andsustainabledevelopment.Thereisanopen web pagesfeaturevaluableresourcesongenderaspectsof part ofINSTRAW’s networkingandinformationactivities.Its set upontheoccasionofJohannesburgSummit2002andas management andsustainabledevelopment.Thewebsitewas This sitealsodealswithgenderaspectsofenvironmental www.un-instraw.org/en/research/gaemsd/index.html on projectsandprogrammesisavailable. Furthermore, athoroughsetofstatisticsandotherinformation economics andeducation,extensioncommunication. forestry, environment,nutrition,population,fisheries,rural articles onthemessuchasagriculture,divisionoflabour, Agriculture OrganizationoftheUnited Nations.Itcontains This isaGenderandFood SecuritysiteoftheFood and www.fao.org/gender gender andequalityinenvironmentalmanagement. of exchangeexperiencesthatpromotetheincorporation at improvingaccesstoresearchexperiencesandthefacilitation This site(inSpanishonly)ongenderandtheenvironmentaims www.generoyambiente.org and planningtools. and informationontheory, practice,lessonslearned,growth among otherthingsanintroductionandaguidetothetoolkit provides alinktotheurbangreentoolkit,whichcontains communication andparticipationindecisionmaking.Italso conditions forurbannature.Thesiteshouldimprove balance shouldcontributetothequalityofurbanlifeand balance betweenurbanopenspacesandbuiltupareas.This The greenscompartnerscriticallylookatthegovernanceof www.greenscom.com in arangeofmedia. lists alltheresearchoutputsgeneratedbyLPP-funded projects isavailable,which Library’ a‘Virtual and a‘NetworkForum’, oftheprogramme, divided intosections.Nexttoanoverview with informationontheoutputsofprogramme.Thesiteis friendly, andtheemphasisofsiteisnowonprovidingusers the launchofitsnewwebsite.Ithasbecomeevenmoreuser- DFID’s LivestockProductionProgramme(LPP)hasannounced www.lpp.uk.com http://www.thefoodproject.org/ based inBoston,USA.MoreonTheFood Project: work togetherforsustainablefoodsystems.TheFood Projectis initiative totrainthenextgenerationofyouthandadults Agricultural SystemsToday) isTheFood Project’snational (Building Local to buildsustainablefoodsystems.BLAST isaglobalnetworkofyouthandadults workingtogether BLAST www.thefoodproject.org/BLAST_brochure.pdf 44 addresses. facts, projectdescriptions,events informationandcontact third partiesinaparticularfield. Ithasavastdatabasewithnews provides informationonwatersubjectsandknowledgefrom This isthesiteofWater InformationNetwork(WIN).WIN www.nwp.nl development oflocalandregionalfoodnetworks. Agency.Countryside Theaimoftheprojectistoaid a partnershipprojectbetweentheSoilAssociationand partnership withmanyotherorganisations.LocalFood Works is It contributestothesegoalsthroughitsownactionsandin achieve thisaimandtoimprovethemarketforregionalproduce. they value,andtoworkwithothersdevelopprojects the connectionsbetweenfoodtheybuyandcountryside The ‘EattheView’initiativeaimstohelpconsumersunderstand www.eat-the-view.org.uk it islinkedtothenationalprogramme:ProHuerta. gardening. Itisameetingplaceofmanydifferentgardeners,and aimed atlinkingcommunitydevelopmentandorganic Spanish) producesanelectronicbulletin“INFOHUERTAS” The NetworkonGardensinArgentina“ReddeHuertas” (in www.reddehuertas.com.ar and otherprojects. www.HydroponicTech.com 14 countries(mostlyUN-supportedprojects).On research institutionsandothersintroducesuccessfulgardensin poverty. Theinstitutesupportscommunityeffortsandhelps efforts tointroducesimplifiedhydroponicsreducehungerand (NGO) foundedin1995 thatsupports,amongothersobjectives, corporation andinternationalnon-governmentorganisation The InstituteforSimplifiedHydroponicsisanon-profit www.carbon.org/ women incities. text inHTMLformat.ThelatestissueofWEMagazinefeatured to feministsocialchange.Featured articlesareavailableinfull- and productionofWEInternationalMagazineasacontribution of Toronto. Editorialboardmembersviewthecollectiveediting Women’s StudiesandGenderStudies,NewCollege,University experience. ThemagazineisassociatedwiththeInstitutefor research andtheory, professionalpracticeandcommunity perspectives. Since1976 ithasprovidedaforumforacademic their environments-natural,physicalandsocialfromfeminist Canadian journalwhichexamineswomen’smultiplerelationsto WE (Women &Environments)InternationalMagazineisa www.utoronto.ca/iwsgs/we.mag/ funded byadvertisingandsponsorship. ‘host’ toWomen’s globally. GroupsandServices Thewebsiteis anditactsaswebsite like tocomeincontactwitheachother, whowould forwomeneverywhere provides afreelistingservice international groupoffeministsbasedinLondon.Thewebsite Aviva isaFREE‘Webzine’ (internetmagazine)runbyan www.aviva.org/ you willfindmanyreferencestobooks Partners DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY with the landless”. This project is led by the University of Reading, UK. A The site http://www.developmentgateway.org/ is run by scoping study was funded on urban livestock keeping in East Africa the not-for-profit Development Gateway Foundation in (Kampala, Kisumu, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa). A workshop collaboration with a variety of cooperating organizations. concerning these findings was held in March 2003 at ILRI and as a result of Since December 2003, this includes RUAF. ETC agreed that workshop, city focal points were organised. For more information on the with the Development Gateway to add short thematic projects and access to a virtual library visit the web site: information and links to events, websites and books to the http://www.lpp.uk.com/ thematic sections of Urban Development and Food Security. This submission of information is coordinated FARMING SYSTEMS UPDATE three times a year by the UA-Magazine Editor. Upon The Farming Systems Update of the International Farming Systems entering the development gateway you enter “urban” in Association (IFSA) brings news on activities and events related to farming the search engine on this site to view a wide range of systems in the broadest sense, covering regional associations, international materials amongst others on urban agriculture. You can events, publications and web sites, training opportunities, etc. New also sign up for updates on new content, access a database subscribers can send a message addressed to [email protected] - in containing many projects, or practitioners on urban the body of the message write Subscribe Farming-Systems-Update-L . You development and food security, and post resources of your can write to the editors for copies of earlier Updates or other news about the own. Farming Systems Associations. [email protected]

WASTEWATER FACT SHEET IWMI DELNET PROGRAMME SUPPORTING LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IWMI the RUAF Partner in India and Ghana jointly The Delnet Programme of the International Training Centre of the prepared a paper on the reuse of (untreated) wastewater in International Labour Organization (ILO) of the United Nations combines urban agriculture based on the results of the regional remote training, information and networking and works with more than workshops on this subject organised last year in 1000 institutions in 53 countries. For more information at the Delnet Ouagadougou and Hyderabad. The paper was presented International Training Centre of the ILO, in Turin Italy, see their web site and distributed during the World Water Forum in Kyoto, http://www.itcilo.it/delnet Japan. IWMI-Ghana further produced the Key Fact Sheet on Reuse of Wastewater in Urban Agriculture. These materials will soon be available on www.ruaf.org INTEGRATION OF URBAN AGRICULTURE IN Events MUNICIPAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IPES/UMP-LAC, in cooperation with CGIAR-Urban INTERNATIONAL COURSE, “DESIGN, ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT Harvest, organised a seminar for local authorities of the OF URBAN AGRICULTURE FOR RESILIENT COMMUNITIES” Southern and Eastern Cone of Lima (9 municipalities) on (WAGENINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS) the role of urban agriculture as an engine for economic and 6-17 December 2004 social municipal development. The seminar facilitated the ET-RUAF and the International Agricultural Centre are jointly organising this inclusion of urban agriculture in municipal policies and two-week international course on urban agriculture, which aims at people networking between these municipalities regarding urban involved in policy formulation and action planning in the South and the North. agriculture. As a result of the event, the participating local The course addresses promises and drawbacks of urban agriculture, and discuss- authorities signed a Declaration of Local Authorities of es practical experiences, challenges and breakthroughs as brought forward by the Southern and Eastern Cone of Metropolitan Lima - Peru participants. Throughout the course participants share their own experiences and that expresses their political commitment to include urban design a plan of action for the solution of an actual urban agriculture related issue agriculture in the municipal policies. in their home city. More information: http://www.iac.wur.nl/iac/index2.htm?courses/urbag_courses.htm HAVANA DECLARATION ON FOOD SECURITY, NOVEMBER 2003 INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR “DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE CITIES” Representatives from 21 cities in Latin America signed this (MEXICO CITY) declaration on November 20, in Havana, , 25-27 November 2004 compromising them to work on the food security in their Together with this seminar, the fourth meeting of the Assembly of the Latin cities. Urban agriculture as such was not mentioned, but American Network on Urban Agriculture will be held. More information can be clearly those working in this area may feel politically obtained from Mr. Gabriela Arias [email protected] supported by this statement. The municipal leaders met at the workshop “Feeding Latin American Cities”, which was WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE FOR ALL - BUILDING organised by FAO Regional Office for Latin America and COALITIONS FOR THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (DAKAR, INIFAT, and in the Cuban capital. SENEGAL) 22-26 November 2004 LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is organising The Livestock Production Programme (LPP) of DFID is “Global WASH Forum 2004” in cooperation with the Ministry for the funding a research project: “Livestock and Urban Environment and Sanitation of the Republic of Senegal. The aim is to learn more Livelihoods: Developing appropriate extension dialogues about how successful water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, sector reforms

45 45 Events and development partnerships are leading to the eradication of poverty. The forum INTERNATIONAL COURSE ON LAND also aims to strengthen regional and national partnership initiatives pursuing the MANAGEMENT AND INFORMAL goals of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Visit the web address: SETTLEMENT REGULARISATION http://www.wsscc.org/dakar/ or contact the forum manager Darren Saywell at: (ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS) [email protected] Tel: + 41 22 917 8657, Fax: + 41 22 917 8084 October 2004 The course aims to address the global problems of AGRO-ENVIRON SYMPOSIUM 2004 “ROLE OF MULTI-PURPOSE slums and informal land developments. It is organised AGRICULTURE IN SUSTAINING THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT” (UDINE, jointly by the Institute for Housing and Urban ITALY) Development Studies-IHS, The Netherlands, and the 20-24 October 2004 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, USA. The first Agro-Environ symposium was organised in Faisalabad, Pakistan, in 1998. This four-week course is addressed to professionals, This is the fourth in a series of workshops that aims to be a platform for idea shar- senior executives of government and non-govern- ing and networking between organisations involved in agro-environmental issues. mental organisations and researchers directly In the theme of the forthcoming Agro-Environ symposium urban agriculture defi- involved with housing and land policies. Deadline for nitely has its place. More information: www.dpvta.uniud.it/~agroenv applications is 31 July 2004 (the application form can be downloaded from www.ihs.nl, under THE 2004 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE INSTITUTE ON education/application forms). A limited number of GLOBALIZATION AND FOOD SYSTEMS (NICOYA, COSTA RICA) fellowships will be offered to applicants on a compet- 24 October – 6 November 2004 itive basis according to professional experience, affini- This workshop and science-policy forum is organised by the IHDP (International ty with the theme and relevance of the course to Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change) and IAI (Inter- his/her current work. For more information about the American Institute for Global Change Research) at the Mesoamerican Institute of content of the course, please contact Mr. Claudio the National University of Costa Rica in Nicoya. Acioly ([email protected] ) or Martim Smolka (msmol- For further information. http://www.ihdp.org [email protected]). For any questions regarding the application procedure, please contact INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE “THE RURAL SYSTEM: A CHALLENGE [email protected]. FOR PLANNING BETWEEN PROTECTION, SUSTAINABILITY AND CHANGING MANAGEMENT” (MILAN, ITALY) “INTERNATIONAL PANEL/NETWORKING ON 13-14 October 2004 CREDIT AND INVESTMENT FOR URBAN This international conference with a focus on multi-functionality of agriculture AGRICULTURE”, AS PART OF THE SECOND will also tackle the issues at stake in the periurban areas. Three sessions will cover WORLD URBAN FORUM, UN-HABITAT environmental functions, market issues and planning. The event is promoted by (BARCELONA, SPAIN) the Direction of Agriculture in Lombardy Region and the Polytechnic of Milan. 13-17 September For more information: www.cedat.polimo.it/convegno An international panel is being organised by IDRC, IPES/Urban Management Programme (UMP- INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP “URBAN AGRICULTURE, AGRO- LAC/UN-Habitat) and RUAF to be held during the TOURISM AND CITY REGION DEVELOPMENT” (BEIJING, CHINA) World Urban Forum. The aim is to share and dissemi- 8-12 October 2004 nate information and experiences with regard to dif- The conference aims to present and discuss the Chinese experiences with urban ferent innovative forms of financing of urban agricul- agriculture and mobilise technical support from international institutions, and ture. Key presentations will combine viewpoints of thus to assist local governments in making development policy and promoting cre- international agencies (like IDRC, UMP, international ative research in urban agriculture. Subjects to be addressed are theories and prac- banks) as well as local actors (local and national gov- tices, suburban and rural agro-tourism, and urban-rural linkages. The workshop is ernment representatives, credit cooperatives). The organised by the Department of Urban and Rural Development, IGSNRR, Institute guiding theme of the WUF panel is the role of differ- of Urban Agriculture, Beijing Agriculture College, and Beijing Geographical ent actors in helping urban and periurban producers Association and is supported by RUAF. Contact Information: Dr. Cai Jianming, become more autonomous and sustainable. The E-mail: [email protected] objective is to challenge current development and support models and to move urban agriculture from a AMERICAN ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE heavily public-subsidised model, through co-man- (TORONTO, CANADA) aged schemes, to co-ops and in the end to self-sus- 1-3 October 2004. taining enterprises. For more information on the The American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) is a non-profit organi- World Urban Forum: www.unhabitat.org; More on sation of professionals and volunteers who seek to promote community gardening the Panel on Credit and Investment: Marielle and greening to improve the quality of life. This year’s conference theme, “Gardens Dubbeling, [email protected] of Diversity, Growing Across Cultures” is especially significant for Toronto, known as garden city, and is hosted by a partnership of FoodShare Toronto, the Toronto Community Garden Network, and the City of Toronto. The conference also cele- brates the 25th Anniversary of the American Community Gardening Association. Visit: http://www.communitygarden.org/conf/index.html or http://www.foodshare.net/upcoming04.htm

46 Events

SPECIAL SESSION ON THE USE OF WASTEWATER IN URBANAG-2004 CONFERENCE (BRISBANE, , IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE “THE WATER CHAIN ) APPROACH” (MOSCOW, RUSSIA) 24-25 June 2004 9-10 September 2004 This is a conference for professionals in urban agriculture disciplines At the 55th Meeting of the International Commission on Irrigation and government policy planning focusing on urban agriculture and Drainage (ICID), a special session will be organised on the issue opportunities for sub-tropical Brisbane in Australia. The two-day of wastewater use for agriculture. The session will address the the- event is expected to be the first of a series of urban agriculture confer- matic aspects: use of domestic wastewater in agriculture, trade-offs in ences organised every two years, to alternate every two years between wastewater irrigation, treatment technologies, nutrient management, Brisbane and . field- and farm water management, economics and water pricing, Further information: [email protected] anddDesign approach. The special session is co-organised by Wageningen University, IWMI, FAO, IWA, WHO and ICID. On the EMERGING ISSUES ALONG URBAN/RURAL INTERFACES: following day there will be an ICID Workshop titled Management of LINKING SCIENCE AND SOCIETY (ATLANTA, GEORGIA, Poor Quality Water for Irrigation: Institutional, Health & Environmental USA) Aspects. Open contributions for the workshop are welcome. Visit the 13-16 March 2005 ICID web site at: www.icid.org, or http://www.dow.wau.nl/iwe/- Auburn University’s Centre for Forest Sustainability, Forest Policy ICID%20Moscow/040206-ICID-Special%20Session.pdf. For infor- Centre, and Environmental Institute invite paper/abstract mation on the special session contact Dr Frans Huibers, E-mail: submissions for this upcoming conference. The event seeks to [email protected], and for information on the ICID Workshop discuss emerging urban/rural interface issues. Support from the contact Dr R. Ragab, E-mail: [email protected] National Science Foundation, makes it possible to provide grants for 25-35 undergraduates and graduate student participants. The EXPERT CONSULTATION ON GENDER AND URBAN deadline for submission of abstracts is November 15, 2004. More AGRICULTURE (LOCATION TO BE DETERMINED) detailed information, including electronic submission of September 2004 abstracts, is available on the conference website: This Expert Consultation, “Women Feeding Cities” will be organised http://www.sfws.auburn.edu/urbanruralinterfaces/. by the RUAF partners in cooperation with CGIAR-Urban Harvest and with financial support of CTA. The aim will be to take the discus- IUAES CONGRESS ON “MEGA-URBANIZATION, MULTI- sion of the last few years on Gender and Urban Agriculture, including ETHNIC SOCIETY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT in this magazine, a step forward. The focus will be on the formulation IN CALCUTTA, INDIA” of guidelines; methodology development and refinement; the devel- 12-15 December 2004. opment of gender training; and developing partnerships with organi- Soheila Shahshahani, a member of the Commission on Nomadic sations active in gender issues and with networks of women’s organi- People and a member of the International Union of sations. www.ruaf.org Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) Executive Committee, is organising a panel discussion on “Pastoral Nomads REGIONAL DISSEMINATION WORKSHOP “ACCESS TO in Urban Areas”. She seeks abstracts from those wishing to join a LAND FOR URBAN AGRICULTURE” PRESENTED BY THE panel at the congress. Abstracts, of no more than 200-250 words, URBAN POOR RESEARCH PROJECT (HARARE, ZIMBABWE) should be submitted by 15 June 2004 to Soheila Shahshahani, 26-27 July 2004 Shahid Beheshti University, Executive Secretary of the This regional dissemination workshop will be conducted to share Commission on Urban Anthropology, BP 19585-193, Tehran, Iran. results from the three city case studies of Dar es Salaam, Kampala Tel. & fax: 0098 254 746; E-mail: [email protected]; or web site and Harare. The workshop will syntheise the similarities and differ- Ms. Shahshahani: http://www.anthro-iran.com/ General web ences between the case study cities, identify issues for regional initia- site of the conference: http://www.iuaesintercongresscalcutta- tives in terms of policy and practise and follow up. It is expected that 2004.com/ policy makers and city council officials will attend the meeting. For more information contact The Regional Director, MDPTel. 263-4- WATER WEEK AND WATER SYMPOSIUM (STOCKHOLM, 774385, or E-mail [email protected] SWEDEN) 16-20 August 2004 CONGRESS ON AGROFORESTRY (ORLANDO, USA) The World Water Week in Stockholm is internationally known as 27 June – 2 July 2004 a global platform for continuing dialogue on critical water issues. Agroforestry professionals world-wide, from academic institutions A series of seminars, side events and ceremonies and the and government organisations, the private sector and voluntary Stockholm Water Symposium are planned. The 14th Stockholm groups, will gather for this 1st World Congress of Agroforestry in Water Symposium has the title “Drainage Basin Security – Orlando, Florida, USA. The main objective is to share knowledge and Regional Approaches for Food and Urban Security”. For further develop strategies for research, education and training in agro- information contact Ms. Katarina Andrzejewska, E-mail: forestry. Visit the congress web site for further details: http://confer- [email protected], or visit the web site www.siwi.org ence.ifas.ufl.edu/wca

47