Objectives and Scope
In accordance with the IFAD proposal to the Government of Japan, the overall objective of the study was to determine the opportunities for improving production technology, particularly cultivation tools, used by women farmers in Africa. The study looked into aspects of women's needs, as they see them, and the possibilities and opportunities for improvement as seen by producers and/or importers of tools and equipment.
General Considerations and Methodology
The use of farm tools and technology are normally embedded in traditions and surrounded by cultural factors. Without a full understanding of how the users perceive their tools, and of their desire or otherwise to improve them, attempts to introduce better alternatives will almost invariably fail. On the other hand, ideas and innovations explored with the users' involvement will not be of any use unless the manufacturers and/or importers can make and distribute the improved tools at a price that the users are able to afford.
It was recognised that the information for this study required from mostly rural women was almost certainly not going to be forthcoming through standardised one-on-one interviews. This is because farmers of relatively low formal education, whether women or men, feel conditioned by an interviewer, and almost never reveal what is really in their hearts and minds. For this reason, the required information could best be obtained through qualitative research using participatory techniques, especially Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and semi structured interviews (SSI). With this concept, one facilitator promotes a discussion and activities among the group while an observer notes what is said and done.
The study was commissioned by IFAD, organized and carried out by FAO-AGSE and the FAO field programme FARMESA. It covered West and Southern Africa and so crossed French/English language borders and cultural borders of the African continent. Five countries were directly involved namely Burkina Faso, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The field research was mostly carried out by local research teams. They conducted in total 119 Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with women groups and 36 with men groups. In total more then 1.500 mostly women farmers participated and contributed with their knowledge and experiences to the study. Besides several key informant interviews with government staff, representatives of banking and credit services, universities and research stations, NGOs blacksmiths, importers and industrial manufacturers were conducted.
Study Findings
The overall study report and five separate country reports are available from AGSE. The principal findings, some descriptions of women's role in agriculture, the available tools, issues of working posture, importance of draft animals and other small motorized equipment are described. The problem field of women's access to land and the directly related problem of women's access to credit is outlined. The very important role of women's groups and the roles of the institutional sector, NGOs, blacksmiths, and the commercial and industry sector is also summarised.
The county reports focus on the specific country conditions and provide more details about the FGD results. All reports contain quotes from rural people which together with the author's conclusion provide a very direct insight into day to day rural life conditions and habits.
There were significant differences in the levels and types of tools and implements being used in the five countries. At the lowest end of the scale was the Central Plateau of Burkina Faso, where most of the nation's people live but where the farming conditions are so difficult that few farmers can rise above the level of the handhoe as their prime production tool.
In Senegal, as a result of past major Government and donor effort to promote and support animal traction there are many animal draft implements in use today. But the credit schemes collapsed and so most of the implements are old and show signs of repeated repair by blacksmiths. The only new implements sold were also built by blacksmiths.
In Uganda, animal traction is confined to the Northern and Eastern parts of the country. The reasons for this relate to history, culture, and the presence of tsetse fly elsewhere. In Central Uganda, where conditions for agriculture are very favourable, hoe farming is still the norm.
In Zambia, the hand hoe also predominates. The spread of animal traction is limited due to policy reasons and the Corridor disease which decimated the cattle population, including draft oxen, in recent years. Zambia does also not have a significant donkey population for draft power.
Among the five countries, Zimbabwe has the highest level of farm production technology. Animal traction, using mainly oxen but also donkeys in some areas, is very widespread.
Main Conclusions