Addressing food security in Africa via multiple livelihood strategies of women farmers |
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| Institution: | 1. Food and Resource Economics Department, Box 110240 IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;2. 66 Causewayhead Road, Stirling FK9 5EZ, UK;3. Africare, Niamey, Niger;4. Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, FL, USA;1. OMO Microfinance Company, Hawassa, Ethiopia;2. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada;1. Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, Clemson University, United States;2. Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University, United States;3. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, United States;1. College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China;2. Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 10049, China;4. Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan;1. University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, A 5, 6, 68159 Mannheim, Germany;2. Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78464 Konstanz, Germany;1. College of Economics and Management, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China;2. The Superior College, Lahore, Pakistan |
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| Abstract: | Because food insecurity is primarily a problem of low household incomes and poverty, and not just inadequate food production, projects and programs for food insecure African farmers which aim at increasing production of subsistence crops may be ineffective. Instead, government should look for ways to improve returns to farmers' resources in a broader context, which may include expanded opportunities for non-farm microenterprises and agricultural labor. This has been the conventional wisdom since the writings of Amartya Sen. Still unclear, however, are the implications of his thinking for the roles of African women farmers who are traditionally the food-crop producers in Africa and are often food insecure. Immediate expansion of income-earning activities such as cash cropping and non-farm microenterprises may not be possible for women in male headed households in many African societies where cash income is seen as part of the male domain. In addition, women farmers may need a long adjustment period to diversify their income sources fully because most African countries are at the early stages of structural transformation. Different developmental interventions, both in policy and in technology, are therefore needed to address food security and economic transformations in Africa in the short and long term. |
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