Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa

Gender roles in agriculture can be quite specific, not only in view of particular labor inputs during the production cycle but also in terms of who farms and who trades certain crops. Using data collected over ten years in West Africa, this study looked at market-oriented urban vegetable production...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Drechsel, Pay, Hope, Lesley, Cofie, Olufunke O.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40197
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author Drechsel, Pay
Hope, Lesley
Cofie, Olufunke O.
author_browse Cofie, Olufunke O.
Drechsel, Pay
Hope, Lesley
author_facet Drechsel, Pay
Hope, Lesley
Cofie, Olufunke O.
author_sort Drechsel, Pay
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Gender roles in agriculture can be quite specific, not only in view of particular labor inputs during the production cycle but also in terms of who farms and who trades certain crops. Using data collected over ten years in West Africa, this study looked at market-oriented urban vegetable production in West Africa and Ghana in particular. Gender disaggregated data on key issues such as access and control of resources, division of tasks, decision-making process and challenges faced was collected from farmers and traders. With several exceptions, a clear gender distinction emerged across the sub-region: men dominate urban vegetable farming, while women manage vegetable marketing. The general differentiation is attributed to societal norms, but other factors play a role as well. Female farmers, for example, feel constrained by existing irrigation practices that are energy-intensive and conflict with household duties. Male farmers, on the other hand, feel significantly oppressed by their dependency on credit and prices dictated by market women, and feel disadvantaged when entering the vegetable retail market. Improved irrigation technology could facilitate a better gender balance on the farm, but mainstreaming gender balance in vegetable wholesale and retail is likely to disadvantage women.
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spelling CGSpace401972025-02-24T06:54:18Z Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa Drechsel, Pay Hope, Lesley Cofie, Olufunke O. gender irrigated farming urban agriculture vegetable growing case studies Gender roles in agriculture can be quite specific, not only in view of particular labor inputs during the production cycle but also in terms of who farms and who trades certain crops. Using data collected over ten years in West Africa, this study looked at market-oriented urban vegetable production in West Africa and Ghana in particular. Gender disaggregated data on key issues such as access and control of resources, division of tasks, decision-making process and challenges faced was collected from farmers and traders. With several exceptions, a clear gender distinction emerged across the sub-region: men dominate urban vegetable farming, while women manage vegetable marketing. The general differentiation is attributed to societal norms, but other factors play a role as well. Female farmers, for example, feel constrained by existing irrigation practices that are energy-intensive and conflict with household duties. Male farmers, on the other hand, feel significantly oppressed by their dependency on credit and prices dictated by market women, and feel disadvantaged when entering the vegetable retail market. Improved irrigation technology could facilitate a better gender balance on the farm, but mainstreaming gender balance in vegetable wholesale and retail is likely to disadvantage women. 2013 2014-06-13T14:47:09Z 2014-06-13T14:47:09Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40197 en Open Access Drechsel, Pay; Hope, Lesley; Cofie, Olufunke. 2013. Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa. wH2O: Journal of Gender and Water, 2(1):15-17.
spellingShingle gender
irrigated farming
urban agriculture
vegetable growing
case studies
Drechsel, Pay
Hope, Lesley
Cofie, Olufunke O.
Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa
title Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa
title_full Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa
title_fullStr Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa
title_full_unstemmed Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa
title_short Gender mainstreaming: who wins?: gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in West Africa
title_sort gender mainstreaming who wins gender and irrigated urban vegetable production in west africa
topic gender
irrigated farming
urban agriculture
vegetable growing
case studies
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40197
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