Women Farmers’ (Dis)Empowerment Compared to Men Farmers in Ethiopia

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.280
• Published date: 01 September 2018
• Author: Fetien Abay,Cheryl O'Brien,Girmanesh Desta,Solomon Petros
• Date: 01 September 2018

Women Farmers’ (Dis)Empowerment Compared to Men

Farmers in Ethiopia

Solomon Petros, Fetien Abay, Girmanesh Desta, and Cheryl O’Brien

In Sub-Saharan Africa, women’s farm labor is highest in Ethiopia. Using focus group discussions

with 240 farmers and other research tools, our USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation for the

Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss—Ethiopia study explores the sources of (dis)empowerment of rural

farmers in Ethiopia. We f‌ind that women are disempowered across all f‌ive domains of empowerment

due to cultural factors, despite government and f‌inancial institution policy changes. Women with

low education tend to engage in low risk/return farming practices, including growing less nutritious

crops, thereby undermining nutritional security of the household. Our f‌indings conf‌irm that

women’s role increases to as much as 80 percent in post-harvest. Poor storage technologies resulting

in fungal/pest infections and chemicals in stored grains pose serious health risks for women, and

poor women consume grains with up to 50 percent damage. Food security and development policies

should empower women and promote improved technologies—particularly targeting women—to

reduce grain losses and women’s work burden while mitigating health risks.

KEY WORDS: food security, women’s empowerment in agriculture, gender and development,

Ethiopia

Introduction

Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing countries in Africa, and the Government

of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Growth Program aims to increase agricultural productiv-

ity and market access for key crop and livestock products with increased

participation of women and youth. Agricultural production has been growing at an

average of 6.4 percent, currently reaching over 266 million quintals in annual

production in the past 15 years (Central Statistical Agency [CSA], 2016; Ministry of

Finance and Economic Development [MoFED], 2014; National Bank of Ethiopia

[NBE], 2015; World Bank, 2015). Production increases may generally be attributed

to improved use of fertilizers, improved seeds, increased land coverage for

agricultural production, improved farm management practices, and related

institutional services. Despite production increases, however, post-harvest losses

are undermining household food security in quantity and quality.

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doi: 10.1002/wmh3.280

#2018 Policy Studies Organization

Regarding quality of food and post-harvest losses, research has shown that

mycotoxins (e.g., af‌latoxins) in stored grains play a negative role with regard to

nutritional outcomes and general health. Shephard (2008) summarizes several

studies on this public health problem:

According to the WHO estimate, being underweight caused 3.7 million

deaths in 2000, mostly in children under f‌ive years of age in developing

countries. The mortality and morbidity were due to the effect of poor

nutrition on immune function, which led to diarrhoeal diseases, malaria,

measles and pneumonia. Recently published results indicate that both

being underweight and immune function are directly affected by af‌latoxin

exposure in developing countries. (p. 149)

Af‌latoxin exposure “can lead directly to growth impairment and

stunting” in infants as found in Benin and Togo (Gong et al., 2002), and it

suppresses the immune system in children as found in Gambia and Ghana

(Turner, Moore, Hall, Prentice, & Wild, 2003); af‌latoxin “could play a causal

role in” kwashiorkor, a protein energy malnutrition disease (Hendrickse,

1991), or it increases the risks for children suffering from the disease

(Adhikari, Ramjee, & Berjak, 1994); and af‌latoxin exposure “could cause

impairment of human cellular immunity” in adults as found in Ghana (Jiang

et al., 2005) (cited in Shephard, 2008, p. 149). Jolly et al. (2007) f‌ind an

association between af‌latoxin exposure and health problems, including with

liver function, in Ghanaians. Shephard (2008, p. 148) writes, “The identif‌ied

harmful effects of mycotoxin exposure on human health, as exemplif‌ied by

acute af‌latoxicosis and primary liver cancer, are increasingly being recog-

nized as only the tip of the iceberg of morbidity associated with chronic

mycotoxin exposure (Miller, 1998; Williams et al., 2004).”

This article’s study of Ethiopia contributes to our understanding of global

food insecurities related to gender inequalities along the agricultural value chain.

Women’s farm labor contributions are high in developing countries, with the

highest contributions found in Sub-Saharan Africa as a region and Ethiopia as a

country (Action Aid, 2015; CSA, 2016; Food and Agricultural Organization [FAO],

1986, 2010, 2011). Smallholder agriculture is the economic mainstay of the 85

percent rural population of Ethiopia, where the average landholding size is less

than 1 hectare. Gender relations and the gendered power dynamics between men

and women affect participation and decision-making processes across the

agricultural continuum (O’Brien et al., 2016). This is especially evident in a

patriarchal social hierarchy where ownership of resources and decision-making

power are disproportionately biased against women and in favor of men (O’Brien

et al., 2016). Women’s empowerment, such as greater participation and voice over

household/community decision making, would improve household food security

and smallholder farm productivity (O’Brien et al., 2016). Therefore, the gendered

landscapes that determine access to and control over empowerment opportunities

should constitute an integral element of agricultural growth programs.

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