Land Tenure

Citation:

Tekwa, Newman, and Jimi Adesina. 2018. “Gender, Poverty and Inequality in the Aftermath of Zimbabwe’s Land Reform: A Transformative Social Policy Perspective.” Journal of International Women's Studies 19 (5): 45-62.

Authors: Newman Tekwa, Jimi Adesina

Abstract:

Gender equality is re-emerging as an important global and national agenda with emphasis placed on closing the gender gap in terms of women’s representation in public and private decision-making bodies. Though unrelatedly, the period had coincided with the elevation of social protection in the form of cash transfers as the magic bullet in tackling gendered poverty and inequality. Adopting a Transformative Social Policy Framework and land reform as a social policy instrument, the paper questions the efficacy of the current approaches in transforming gendered poverty and inequalities. Land reform is hardly ever assessed as a policy instrument for its redistributive, productive, social protection and social reproduction functions. This paper departs from ‘classical models’ of land reforms, often designed in the mould of neo-liberal discourses of individual tenure to offer an in-depth reformulation of the land question and notions of land reforms. It focuses on land reform as a relational question with potential for social transformation as social policies within the transformative social policy framework relates not only to protection from destitution, but transformation of social institutions and relations including gender. In the year 2000, the Zimbabwean government embarked on a radical land reform programme whose redistributive outcomes saw various categories of women (married, single, and widowed) comprising 12-18% of beneficiaries gaining access to land in their own right. Data gathered through a mixed methods approach combining ethnographic and survey methods and analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods, suggest that access to larger pieces of land, irrigation, credit, markets and support training services by both women and men had transformed women’s social and economic situation in relation to men within the resettled areas.

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Zimbabwe

Year: 2018

Citation:

Doss, Cheryl, Chiara Kovarik, Amber Peterman, Agnes Quisumbing, and Mara van den Bold. 2015. “Gender Inequalities in Ownership and Control of Land in Africa: Myth and Reality.” Agricultural Economics 46 (3): 403–34.

Authors: Cheryl Doss, Chiara Kovarik, Amber Peterman, Agnes Quisumbing, Mara van den Bold

Abstract:

Lack of clarity behind measurement and interpretation of statistics on gender and land leads to an inability to clearly articulate a policy response to the potential inequalities faced by women and men. This article sets out to explore, conceptually and empirically, the levels and relative inequalities in land rights between women and men in African countries. The first section of the article engages in a conceptual discussion of how to measure gendered-land outcomes, what ownership and control mean in different contexts, and why attention to these factors is important for the development of gender and land statistics. The second section of the article systematically reviews existing evidence from microlevel large sample studies to summarize recent trends in land access, ownership, and control by sex. The third section presents new statistics from a variety of nationally representative and large-scale unpublished data on gender and land in Africa. Results provide not only a nuanced understanding of the importance of measuring land indicators for gendered development in Africa and globally but also new statistics on a variety of land outcomes to aid stakeholders in the discussion of gender-land inequalities.

Keywords: gender, land, property ownership, bundles of rights, Africa

Topics: Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Property Rights Regions: Africa

Year: 2015

Citation:

Burke, William J., Serena Li, and Dingiswayo Banda. 2018. “Female Access to Fertile Land and Other Inputs in Zambia: Why Women Get Lower Yields.” Agriculture and Human Values 35: 761–75.

Authors: William J. Burke, Serena Li, Dingiswayo Banda

Abstract:

Throughout the developing world, it is a well-documented fact that women farmers tend to get lower yields than their male counterparts. Typically this is attributed to disproportionate access to high-quality inputs and labor, with some even arguing there could be a skills-gap stemming from unbalanced access to training and education. This article examines the gender-based yield gap in the context of Zambian maize producers. In addition to the usual drivers, we argue that Zambia’s patriarchal and multi-tiered land distribution system could disfavor women with respect to accessing quality soils. We are uniquely able to control for soil characteristics using farm data from a sample of 1573 fields with accompanying soil analysis. We find an expected difference in yields, but no evidence of a gap in unobserved characteristics, like skill, after controlling for access to inputs, especially quality soil, suggesting women are indeed disproportionately disadvantaged. We discuss how our findings could be used to develop self-targeting policy interventions that could empower women and would be consistent with the government’s stated equity goals.

Keywords: gender yield gap, productivity, soil quality, Sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Patriarchy, Land Tenure Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Zambia

Year: 2018

Citation:

Lambrecht, Isabel, Monica Schuster, Sarah Asare Samwini, and Laura Pelleriaux. 2018. “Changing Gender Roles in Agriculture? Evidence from 20 Years of Data in Ghana.” Agricultural Economics 49 (6): 691–710.

Authors: Isabel Lambrecht, Monica Schuster, Sarah Asare Samwini, Laura Pelleriaux

Abstract:

Many stylized facts about women in agriculture have been repeated for decades. Did nothing really change? Is some of this conventional wisdom simply maintained over time, or has it always been inaccurate? We use four rounds of cross-sectional data from Ghana to assess some of the facts and to evaluate whether gender patterns have changed over time. We focus on five main themes: land, cropping patterns, market participation, agricultural inputs, and employment. We add to the literature by showing new facts and evidence for more than 20 years. Results show that stylized facts do not always hold, and that some of these “facts” change over time. We find significant variation in the extent of (changes in) gender discrepancies across themes, different agro-ecological zones, ethnicities, household types, and women’s role in the household.

Keywords: gender, common wisdoms, longitudinal data, feminization of agriculture and resource development process, Ghana

Topics: Agriculture, Economies, Gender, Gender Roles, Households, Land Tenure Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2018

Citation:

Santos, Florence, Diana Fletschner, Vivien Savath, and Amber Peterman. 2014. “Can Government-Allocated Land Contribute to Food Security? Intrahousehold Analysis of West Bengal’s Microplot Allocation Program.” World Development 64: 860–72.

Authors: Florence Santos, Diana Fletschner, Vivien Savath, Amber Peterman

Abstract:

This study evaluates the impact of India’s land-allocation and registration program in West Bengal, a program that targets poor populations and promotes the inclusion of women’s names on land titles. Although we are unable to detect statistically significant program effects on current household food security, we find that the program has positive impacts on a range of outcomes that are expected to lay the foundation for future food security including improved security of tenure, agricultural investments, and women’s involvement in food and agricultural decisions. Findings provide lessons in designing and implementing innovative and integrated approaches to reduce hunger and undernutrition.

Keywords: food security, gender, land rights, intrahousehold dynamics, West Bengal, India

Topics: Agriculture, Economies, Poverty, Gender, Women, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Security, Food Security Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2014

Citation:

Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson, Ellen Hillbom, Wapulumuka O. Mulwafu, Peter Mvula, and Göran Djurfeldt. 2018. “‘The Family Farms Together, the Decisions, However Are Made by the Man’ — Matrilineal Land Tenure Systems, Welfare and Decision Making in Rural Malawi.” Land Use Policy 70: 601–10.

Authors: Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt, Ellen Hillbom, Wapulumuka O. Mulwafu, Peter Mvula, Göran Djurfeldt

Abstract:

Improved female control over land is often put forth as a means of raising the productivity of smallholder agriculture, enhancing female bargaining power and raising women’s incomes. The article uses some quantitative but primarily qualitative data on access to income and decision making, to analyse gender patterns related to welfare, incomes and control over resources in a context where women’s rights to land are particularly strong, that is in a matrilineal and uxorilocal setting. Women’s land rights are contextualized in relation to labour intensive, low productive smallholder systems and the paper assesses to what extent female control over land affects welfare outcomes, decision making and intra-household control over incomes and labour. While we find that female control over land does affect intra household relations it is clear that land reform is not enough to ensure gender equality. For any land use policy reform to have a profound affect it would have to also take into account control over other productive resources, e.g. labour, as well as the wider institutional and political context.

Keywords: land tenure, gender, agriculture, smallholders, Malawi

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Malawi

Year: 2018

Citation:

Jerneck, Anne. 2018. “Taking Gender Seriously in Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainability Science Research: Views from Feminist Debates and Sub-Saharan Small-Scale Agriculture.” Sustainability Science 13 (2): 403–16.

Author: Anne Jerneck

Abstract:

People, places, and production contributing the least to climate change will suffer the most. This calls for adaptation as a key climate change response. But adaptation is surrounded by problems. Finance is uncertain and fragmented, mainstreaming into development is complicated, and technical solutions often overshadow existing social relations and institutions. From a gender perspective, and as a critical research initiative to support the building of sustainability science as an umbrella field, this article raises three pertinent questions on adaptation in the global South: what is its purpose, how can development inform it, and what institutions in terms of rights and responsibilities are core to it? Focusing on sub-Saharan small-scale agriculture, three main points emerge. Regarding the purpose, adaptation should be a transformative pathway out of poverty, ill-health, and food insecurity. Regarding development, adaptation can learn from how development theory, policy, and practice have addressed women, gender, and environment in varied settings and debates. Regarding core institutions, adaptation must address gender regimes that regulate access to, use of, and control over resources, especially those defining land distribution, labour division, and strategic decision-making power. To conclude, I propose gender-informed research questions for further inquiry.

Topics: Agriculture, Development, Economies, Poverty, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Health, Land Tenure, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa

Year: 2018

Citation:

Sulle, Emmanuel, and Helen Dancer. 2019. “Gender, Politics and Sugarcane Commercialisation in Tanzania.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 47 (5): 1-20.

Authors: Emmanuel Sulle, Helen Dancer

Abstract:

This article explores relationships between state, corporate capital and local stakeholders in the political economy of sugarcane from a gender perspective. The findings, based on empirical research at the site of Tanzania’s largest sugarcane producer pre- and post privatisation, provide insights into the degree to which the estate out grower model can be regarded as ‘inclusive’ for women and men. Three aspects of commercial sugarcane production are analysed: land tenure, labour and leadership within canegrowers’ associations. We argue that politico-economic changes in the sector post-privatisation have increased gender differentiation in sugarcane production and consolidated power in the hands of local elites.

Keywords: agricultural commercialisation, gender, outgrowing, political economy, Tanzania, sugar

Topics: Agriculture, Economies, Gender, Men, Women, Land Tenure, Privatization Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2019

Citation:

Animashaun, J. 2018. “Land Asset and Food Insecurity in Gender-Segregated Rural Households in Bangladesh.” Paper presented at 30th International Conference of Agricultural Economics, Vancouver, British Columbia, July 28-August 2.

Author: J. Animashaun

Abstract:

We explore the contributory role of land assets in explaining the dynamics of gender-segregated rural households food expenditure in Bangladesh. We apply both panel random and fixed effect OLS and quantile regression models on segregated households data for the periods 1991 and 1998. Results offer useful insights on the dynamics and determinants of food security and conclude with policy recommendations for land reform that would recognise the vulnerable members of both genders headed households in rural areas.

Keywords: land ownership and tenure, land reform, food security

Topics: Gender, Gender Analysis, Households, Land Tenure, Security, Food Security Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2018

Citation:

Akinola, Adeoye O. 2018. “Women, Culture and Africa’s Land Reform Agenda.” Frontiers in Psychology 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02234.

Author: Adeoye O. Akinola

Abstract:

Pre-colonial Africa pride itself on adherence to diverse cultural affinity and traditional belief system, which defines the place of women in respect to land access, use and ownership. Land resource continues to play important roles in both agrarian and industrial societies; thus, absence of effective land management and gender construction in land allocations has deepened gender inequality, restricted women’s capacity building and agricultural development in Africa. This article explores the impact of African traditional practices and cultural beliefs on women’s land ownership and use, it also reconciles women’s land rights (access and control) with the realities of land reform in post-colonial Africa. It explores how gender inequalities, in terms of land ownership and rights, have jeopardized attempts at agricultural productivity and sustainable development in Africa. Although, it is tasking to ‘universalize’ Africa culture and locate it in a centre, due to the diverse cultural values found in Africa. However, there are certain belief systems that run through most African communities, such as the denials of women’s land rights and patriarchal nature of the societies. Thus, the article found that, despite the development of legal frameworks that expands women’s property rights, cases of cultural impediments to the exercise of land rights abound in Africa.

Keywords: culture, women rights, land reform, land labour, human capacity building, Africa

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Patriarchy, Indigenous, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Land Tenure, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa

Year: 2018