The Complicated Gendering of Farming and Household Food Responsibilities in Northern Ghana
Based on:
Journal Article (2020)
Agricultural development programmes often operate on assumptions about gender roles that do not reflect contextual dynamics. Interventions should be participatory and cooperative to reflect changing contexts and new challenges.
Brief by:
Content
Case study of two agricultural communities in the Northern region of Ghana
Key findings
There is a discrepancy between the perception and reality of gendered roles in farming.
The narrative of global and international policies assumes that wives are responsible for providing food for the family, while husbands commercialise the farm.
Contrary to the consensus, it was found in this context that male smallholders held responsibility for providing food to their families, as part of being a good husband or a good man.
When women are providing food, it indicates that something is wrong, their husbands cannot meet their needs, which was largely due to agricultural commercialisation and environmental changes.
There are gendered-disparities in access to farm and food resources and land, but men and women are not autonomous agents; in cooperative households, labor is divided and negotiated to ensure household needs are met, subject to bargaining power imbalances.
What it means
In the case study, some women supported by the project did not want to top up the husbands provisions, as food provisioning was not viewed as their responsibility.
On the other hand, commercialisation programmes and policy supported by donors and development actors largely focus on men, and can lead to short term-profit seeking to pay back credit or to increase scale at the cost of agrobiodiversity and food security. Some participants make a lot of money from these contract agreements, but others cannot; leading to land competition and disputes within communities and households.
This competition and conflict results from inadequate context-specific research from practitioners before designing interventions. In the context of climate change, gender-roles are shifting rapidly so even research 5-10 years ago may be insufficient.
The goal of interventions should not necessarily be to make women more autonomous, but to be better coordinated with their husbands in ways that they see as fair and equitable.
Proposed action
Research should be context specific, and use a range of iterative and participatory methods
Some ownership of the project should go to the communities and households themselves to decide what the goals should be
Development programs are inherently political, so this should not be avoided
Environmental protection practices should be inclusive of agro-ecological practices to shape the food system itself
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Acknowledgements
Thank you to iDE Global
These insights were made available thanks to the support of iDE Global, who are committed to the dissemination of knowledge for all.
Special thanks to Ben Levett for preparation assistance
We would like to extend a special thank you to Ben Levett, for their invaluable contribution in assisting the preparation of this research summary.
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The Complicated Gendering of Farming and Household Food Responsibilities in Northern Ghana
Cite this brief: Vercillo, Siera. 'The Complicated Gendering of Farming and Household Food Responsibilities in Northern Ghana'. Acume. https://www.acume.org/r/the-complicated-gendering-of-farming-and-household-food-responsibilities-in-northern-ghana/
Brief created by: Dr Siera Vercillo | Year brief made: 2022
Original research:
- Vercillo, S., ‘The Complicated Gendering of Farming and Household Food Responsibilities in Northern Ghana’ 79 (pp. 235–245) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.08.020. – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0743016720300164
Research brief:
Agricultural development programmes often operate on assumptions about gender roles that do not reflect contextual dynamics. Interventions should be participatory and cooperative to reflect changing contexts and new challenges.
Case study of two agricultural communities in the Northern region of Ghana
Findings:
There is a discrepancy between the perception and reality of gendered roles in farming.
The narrative of global and international policies assumes that wives are responsible for providing food for the family, while husbands commercialise the farm.
Contrary to the consensus, it was found in this context that male smallholders held responsibility for providing food to their families, as part of being a good husband or a good man.
When women are providing food, it indicates that something is wrong, their husbands cannot meet their needs, which was largely due to agricultural commercialisation and environmental changes.
There are gendered-disparities in access to farm and food resources and land, but men and women are not autonomous agents; in cooperative households, labor is divided and negotiated to ensure household needs are met, subject to bargaining power imbalances.
Advice:
Research should be context specific, and use a range of iterative and participatory methods
- Pilot studies should be used to gauge potential consequences, and local institutions and partners should be involved to negotiate shifting values.
Some ownership of the project should go to the communities and households themselves to decide what the goals should be
Development programs are inherently political, so this should not be avoided
- Instead the consequences should be intentionally thought out and based on community goals and needs
Environmental protection practices should be inclusive of agro-ecological practices to shape the food system itself
Extra:
In the case study, some women supported by the project did not want to top up the husbands provisions, as food provisioning was not viewed as their responsibility.
On the other hand, commercialisation programmes and policy supported by donors and development actors largely focus on men, and can lead to short term-profit seeking to pay back credit or to increase scale at the cost of agrobiodiversity and food security. Some participants make a lot of money from these contract agreements, but others cannot; leading to land competition and disputes within communities and households.
This competition and conflict results from inadequate context-specific research from practitioners before designing interventions. In the context of climate change, gender-roles are shifting rapidly so even research 5-10 years ago may be insufficient.
The goal of interventions should not necessarily be to make women more autonomous, but to be better coordinated with their husbands in ways that they see as fair and equitable.