GENDER IN AGRICULTURE – SYNTHESIS REPORT FOR MADAGASCAR, MALAWI, SOUTH AFRICA,

ZAMBIA AND ZIMBABWE

Prepared for the

Regional Conference on Gender and Youth in Agriculture

Pretoria 15-18 July 2013

Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU)

2

CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION

3

KEY MESSAGES

4

BACKGROUND

8

FINDINGS 10 State of Play What Explains the Situation? Policies and Initiatives to Address Deficiencies Ambitions and Way Forward

10 11 13 15

SELECTED QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND DECISION

17

LIST OF SACAU-COMMISSIONED NATIONAL REPORTS

19

ANNEXES 20 Annex 1: Checklist of Factors Constraining Women From Taking

Leadership Roles in Farmers’ Organisations

21

Annex 2: Selected Tables From SACAU-Commissioned National Reports

24

3

1. INTRODUCTION 1. In the South African paper prepared for this SACAU series on gender, Jacqueline Goldin quotes

Nelson Mandela’s statement in his 1994 Presidential inaugural address stating that the full liberation of South Africa from under the Apartheid regime would not have been achieved unless “... we see in visible and practical terms that the condition of women in our country has radically changed for the better and that they have been empowered to intervene in all spheres of life as equals with any member of our society”. In most other countries of Southern Africa, far more than in South Africa, agriculture is the dominant “sphere of life” and it is therefore appropriate that the agricultural organisations which make up SACAU are giving strong attention to ensuring that women gain their rightful place in driving the sector and benefiting from it socially and economically.

2. SACAU commissioned national studies in Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe to look at how member unions are dealing with gender, especially women’s visibility (read “importance”) in their own management/leadership structures. The Terms of Reference from SACAU do not distinguish between situations where farmers organisations are dominated by small-scale farmers (e.g. especially Madagascar but also Malawi) and where large-scale ones practically overwhelm the small (e.g. South Africa), with Zambia and Zimbabwe perhaps closest to some balance in size of farms.

3. From the focus of the SACAU country studies on balance in men - women numbers, one infers that there is a perception that if women can become prominent in leadership positions, they would use their power to make farmers’ organisations support women better and enable them to become more productive, more efficient, better supported and financially/technologically serviced, and thereby more prosperous than they are at present. This belief is explicitly stated as follows in the Madagascar report, “Participation of women in leadership positions could strengthen economies, accelerate development and improve social programmes that are benefiting to all . . . “.

4. Indeed, although this was not explicitly requested, the authors of all papers drew attention to the fact that although women are at least as active (and often more so than men) in farming, they are generally worse off, with large numbers of then in fact marginalised, despite their putting in great effort. The desire to achieve greater women numbers in farmer organisations is therefore not an end in itself but a means to the greater goal of their achieving at least as much prosperity as men.

5. This synthesis document draws exclusively on the five country papers prepared for SACAU, viz: Ramiaramanana, Daniele (2013): Challenges Faced by Farmers’ Organizations in Involving all Genders in their Structures - Madagascar Case Study Draft Report; Maliro, Dyton D (June 2013): Gender and Agriculture in Malawi; Goldin, Jacqueline (May 2013): A Gendered Perspective: Women and the Agriculture Sector in South Africa; Mulunga, Monde Matakala (April, 2013): Snap Short Study Report on the Visibility of Women in Leadership Positions in Farmers’ Organisations in Zambia; and Mabeza-Chimedza, Ruvimbo (May 2013): Gender in Farmers’ Organisations in Zimbabwe.

4

6. The synthesis starts by communicating key messages derived from the draft reports, and then gives

a background to the study, including reference to scope and methodologies. It then presents abbreviated findings extracted from the country studies, with the following as sub-headings: a. State of Play; b. What Explains the Situation?; c. Policies and Initiatives to Address Deficiencies; d. Ambitions and Way Forward; and e. Selected Questions for Discussion.

7. The stand-alone national study reports carry important details which deserve to be studied individually. This synthesis cannot possibly carry all that they have without losing its effectiveness in drawing attention to key messages shared by all or some of the studies.

2. KEY MESSAGES

8. To support discussions on the gender topic, it is useful to bring together in one place key messages

that seem to emerge in all or most of the country studies. The following meet this consideration: a. Women are a significant part of the membership of farmers’ organisations in all countries. Some

organisations are in fact for only women but the numbers are significant even in mixed-gender organisations.

b. Women’s numbers are largest at the lowest levels (clubs or equivalent) where they are a

significant presence in leadership of committees. c. At all hierarchical levels in all organisations, the most powerful post is that of chairperson. This

lead position is almost always occupied by a man (except in all-female organisations or for the chair of a women’s wing in a mixed organisation). This pro-male bias is a generic weakness and disadvantages women in exercising influence in farmers’ organisations.

d. Not serving as chairperson has direct disadvantages in each specific committee but, even more

important, it means that women are also greatly outnumbered in higher-level committees at District, provincial, national or apex-union forums where it is the chairpersons of lower-level committees that are ex-officio members . It means that women have limited chances of displaying their capabilities to those who could elect them to posts higher up the hierarchy. Indeed, in almost all countries, it would take a miracle for a woman to head the apex or umbrella national farmers union.

e. To the extent that women get into management positions in committees or in Farmer

Organisation secretariats, the highest they go tends to be as Treasurer or Secretary – positions where their capacity for meticulous work and for honesty are greater than men. In similar vein to the researchers for Malawi and Zimbabwe, the Zambian author reported that “. . . . the positions of treasurer in many committees are preserved for women because they are trustworthy and they keep money safe. Even if a woman is illiterate, she can be voted as

5

treasurer . . . . . . ”. Accordingly, in such positions, in many countries women tend to outnumber men even at high (provincial/national) levels.

f. For the great majority of women, the highest ambition they can achieve is Treasurer/Secretary

but most have to be content with being just simple members of the organisation, with elevation to ordinary member of a committee, or (if in a farmers organisation secretariat), with serving in clerical/support staff roles.

g. Among the five countries studied there is an amazing degree of similarity in the reasons for

women being kept in low positions and out of top leadership ones:

Culture and stereotype views on men as leaders and women as followers – in some societies, with little right to speak in public. In almost all countries culture has such a strong hold that women are often among the most reluctant to vote fellow-women into high office1 – something erroneously attributed to rivalry and petty jealousy;

Women’s lesser empowerment through education or societal arrangements that often deny them material assets (land, access to finance etc);

Dispersal of women’s efforts from the farming itself to so many other family responsibilities as wives/mothers for raising/managing households. In situations where elevation to high office requires demonstrated high farming performance or dedication to organisational duties, women may be disadvantaged;

Weak policies in farmer organisations to promote gender equality or equity; where policies exist, lack of incentives and/or sanctions to force those in power to carry out stated ambitions for gender balance. The lack of attention within agricultural organisations is a reflection of macro-level relaxation about honouring international treaties that Africa is party / signatory to;

Inadequate information to draw attention to gross/glaring inequalities/inequity/ and unfairness: many farmer organisations do not keep good data in general and especially in a gender-disaggregated manner. Their monitoring systems do not specifically highlight need for a gender dimension.

h. In all countries studied, there are expressions of desire to correct the current situation.

Examples of steps taken can be seen below:

In Madagascar: In 2000, the National Policy of Women Promotion (PNPF) was elaborated with the aim of reducing gender-related disparity among groups (men / women – rural/ urban). The PNPF was to be implemented through the Gender and Development National Plan (PANAGED) within 5 years (2004 – 2008), focusing efforts on mainstreaming gender

1 Indeed, the Madagascar report states “Some of the biggest complainers about women taking on leadership roles

in the community are other women. During election, women prefer to vote for men even if there are women who

volunteer with experiences and have the capacity to do the job”.

6

concepts and practices in institutions, programmes, and development projects. Within farming organisations, specific projects were expected to offer women more opportunities by increasing their access to rural credit, improving market access and boosting production, but with mixed success.

–In Malawi, NASFAM in 2002 formulated a Gender Policy of 2002 in line with SADC Declaration on Gender and Development Protocol (1997) and Malawi National Gender Policy to improve women’s chances regarding participation, leadership and equal access to services and benefits. NASFAM does annual Internal Gender Audits, dissemination of gender related information, holds periodic gender conferences and implements adult literacy programmes that can serve as springboards to elected leadership positions.

In South Africa, a new Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill is ready to go to Cabinet.

In Zambia, in 2012 ZNFU launched a Women Farmers Forum and also held the first Women’s Congress; the Farmer Magazine champions successful women farmers; ZNFU gender policy will soon be completely rolled out; ZNFU has also embarked on several projects and activities to promote and encourage female farmers.

In Zimbabwe, a priority objective in the Strategic Plan of 2012 is to engender all ZFU policies and tools to ensure effective participation of all in the institution’s leadership structures.

i. The national study reports give examples of gender-balancing specific actions planned and

sometimes already partly underway. Such examples are given briefly in section 4.3, many being focused on promoting awareness of the challenges, adopting policies, implementing them or implementing projects interventions to correct causes of imbalance.

j. The national report authors have each also given specific recommendations to their country-

level farmer organisations, governments or other authorities, examples being presented in summary form under section 4.4. All are focused on combating gender imbalance in numbers, given the apparent acceptance in all countries that one should be focusing on balance of numbers between men and women on the implicit assumption that this will also improve performance and benefit to farmers. It is suggested that this be complemented by strong actions to help women become more productive and efficient farmers – the ultimate basis for achieving prosperity.

k. Due to great diversity of situations, there is a limit to the possibility of highlighting

commonalities among the findings of the five country studies. The following are among the special attributes of the farmers’ organisations gender scene in each of the studied countries, in the context of which each key message above should be understood:

Madagascar: situation marked by a very large number of federations; if each is looked at

down to its constituent local structures, situation may indicate very extensive presence on

7

the ground. Possible challenge is how to coordinate and to move the agenda of so many organisations in one direction and with shared energy. If women’s situation is difficult in all of them, having many may not necessarily make moving forward easier, the reverse may in fact happen.

Malawi: two key organisations, one (NASFAM) being by direct smallholder membership, the other (FUM) being apex body of associations/organisations. Gradation of women’s degree of participation including in seniority of positions – with cultural gradients in society reflected in regional patterns. Policies for gender balance are in place but perception is that the numbers alone will not do it.

South Africa: the national paper focuses on the umbrella organisation (AGRISA) which is very heavily dominated by commercial farmers. The gender questions the paper raises, however, appear more oriented towards women in emergent-farmer small-scale agriculture. The much larger challenge in South Africa is the poor chances and performance, failure to grow of the emergent farmers in an environment of well-entrenched large-scale farming: the greater problems of women emergent farmers must be particularly overwhelming if they deserve separate highlighting from the poor prospects of all emerging farmers.

Zambia: particularly high attention to having policies and strategies in place, with capacity and incentives for compliance remaining hurdles.

Zimbabwe: a situation of considerable dichotomy between commercial farmers and small-scale ones operating in an environment of economic hardship. Focus is on the smallholder-dominated union, where the gender-balance attributes resemble that of the other countries.

l. The national study reports have also made some recommendations for SACAU to take up in support of or in cooperation with its member organisations:

Malawi: –Give clear policy guidelines and their implementation plans and strategies; Facilitate strategic training programmes that build staff capacities in analytical skills in

gender to complement skills in traditional programme management (planning, monitoring, evaluation, etc);

Facilitate the development or institutionalization of gender monitoring systems; and Help countries to understand the implications of each and every step in the policies,

procedures and practices and their impacts and so go beyond looking at gender only in terms of comparative numbers of men and women.

Zambia: SACAU should encourage member organisations without gender policies to develop and

fully implement such policies; and Lobby International financial institutions interested in agriculture to fund empowerment

revolving funds for women viable projects.

8

m. All the above having been said and done about regional commonalities and special country

attributes , the orientation of the studies has focused them on numbers of women compared to men. It has perhaps inadvertently in some cases implied that if the numbers got to 50:50, all would be well and the problems would be over.2 This may be assuming too much. In the first place, it is not about arithmetic of posts occupied but about what can enable farmers and other agricultural value-chain actors to be more productive, efficient, profitable and therefore more likely to achieve sustainable prosperity.

n. It is or should all be about having systems in place which enable the membership to generate

wealth. SACAU members should therefore, having studied the gender imbalance numbers, act to adopt support systems, incentives, and policies for wealth-creating agricultural value-chains. In some cases, certain activities may be dominated by women; in others by men. But the combined interventions – for boosting productivity and correcting imbalance of numbers – create a system that would be bigger and better than its parts: should this not be the proper challenge after rather than only correcting the glaring excesses and weaknesses of unequal gender numbers?

3. BACKGROUND 9. In Africa, agriculture occupies centre-stage in the lives of most people. With a population that is still

largely rural (in many countries still over 60 percent), agriculture is the main source of livelihoods as well as of food, much of which is consumed directly by its smallholder producers. It is commonly believed that women account for 60 percent or more of the food produced and are also central to ensuring its proper preparation for consumption. SACAU recognises this contribution of women to agricultural development and believes they have potential to do more - gender has accordingly been made one of the cross cutting issues in SACAU’s strategic framework.

10. With a view to improving understanding of the gender and youth issues within SACAU member organizations, SACAU secured support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Southern African Trust (SAT) to commission studies on gender and youth in five countries (Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe). The studies used a combination of desk research, field sample surveys, selected interviews of members/management/leaders and others to assess the current status and its determinants of gender imbalance. They considered successes and challenges in dealing with gender in the member organisations. The national reports document challenges and identify prospects for greater involvement of women in Farmers’ Organizations’ leadership/decision making structures at national, sub-national (commodity association, district organization) and local levels. As stated in the “Introduction”, this synthesis draws exclusively on them.

2 In her SACAU-commissioned paper on South Africa, Golding quotes Haspels and Suriyasarn as follows: “Counting

more women in organisations and in decision-making processes does not automatically lead to gender-sensitive policies, programmes, organisations and mechanisms as women are not by definition promoters of gender equality … Equal participation of men and women in decision making usually means that women’s participation rates need to be increased substantially at the higher organisational levels”

9

11. This synthesis report, which is based on the five separate country-study reports listed earlier (Para 5), will form the basis for discussion at workshops where SACAU members will identify common issues concerning women in the region on the basis of which SACAU and its membership can extract key messages, derive policy positions and secure a basis for preparing an overall guiding framework for the SACAU secretariat to systematically integrate gender issues in all its interventions at national and regional levels. In specific terms, the following are the two main outcomes expected from the workshop: a. Key messages and policy statements for SACAU in dealing with gender and youth in agriculture

and b. Identify and document key elements and principles of the overall framework for intervention in

gender youth will be for the SACAU secretariat to utilize in planning and programme development.

12. The range and format of farmers’ organisations in the five countries varies considerably. All have

community/grassroots level organisations and variations on hierarchical pyramids up to and including national apex organisations, sometimes more than one. A few organisations within national organisations may have only female members but most are of mixed gender. There is significant presence of specialised commodity organisations but also many multi-purpose ones. Such is the variation that the researcher-authors could not all follow the same methodologies; it is also difficult to tabulate any results under the same headings even within one country, let alone at Southern Africa level. The scope of reviewed organisations is summarised in Box 1.

Box 1: Scope of Farmer Organisations Studied at Country Level

Madagascar - that country appears to have scores of federations, some of women alone and others mixed. Some of those considered exclusive focus on agriculture while others seem to be multi-sectoral with the mission of uplifting women through more than agriculture. All have been reported mostly as acronyms so the sense of mandate content cannot always be guessed at;

Malawi – the researcher selected the smallholder dominated NASFAM (National Association of Farmers in Malawi – an umbrella organisation) and FUM (Farmers Union of Malawi – also an apex body);

South Africa – the researcher placed agriculture very much in context, firstly of international developments and situation but also of overall national efforts to uplift women. Of the farmer institutions, she focused on AgriSA as the Apex body for various commodity and thematic organisations and for both commercial scale and emergent small-scale farmers – it also has provincial and lower-level structures in its pyramid;

Zambia – the study covered only the ZNFU (Zambia National Farmers’ Union) which is an umbrella with many affiliates ranging from smallholders to the largest, with some being commodity-focused; and

Zimbabwe - the study has covered the CFU (Commercial Farmers’ Union) and the much larger umbrella ZFU – (Zimbabwe Farmers Union) which is the largest farmers’ union in Zimbabwe.

10

4. FINDINGS

4.1 State of Play

13. This section carries information related to the following paraphrased elements of the SACAU Terms

of Reference to national researcher-authors: To what extent are women elected into leadership structures at all levels?; and At what level (national, sub-national, local) are women more visible in the leadership structures – are there reasons that can explain the trend (if any)?

14. In Madagascar, statistics are given in the FEKRITAMA website which shows that women in the confederation are 25 percent of the members if only the mixed farmers’ organizations are considered. If the all-rural-women FVTM federation is added, the ratio improves to 36 percent. Summary data are annexed. In terms of presence in leadership, for FEKRITAMA at national level, among the 7 members, women in the board committees vary from 0 to 4, with an average of 2 (29 percent). In general, mixed organizations have few women in leadership positions, with their presence diluting as one moves from local to regional and national levels. The consequence is that women have a muted voice and only modest influence in decision making in the unions.

15. In Malawi, the over 100,000 NASFAM members in 2012 form part of a complex pyramid: 44 Associations, 14 Association Management Centres (all chairs of Associations and clubs), about 700 Group Action Committees and 1,000 clubs. In all this structure, 36 percent were women farmers, with club-level share ranging from 20 to 45 percent. Women are most dominant as ordinary members of grassroots clubs – although with regional variation influenced by economic and cultural factors. In the NASFAM secretariat, women dominate the support staff categories. Just as in Madagascar, the trend was for women membership share to fall as level of management rose. The Malawi report stated that “Women dominate positions (secretary or treasurer) requiring trust or integrity while men dominate positions requiring control or authority”. The pattern is summarised in annexed tables. It is worth highlighting that for the NASFAM Board of Trustees (the highest decision making structure) there is absolute 50:50 gender parity. Through annual national general assembly meetings, decisions, balance has been achieved: as of April 2013 the composition was 4 men and 4 women.

16. The Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) shows similar patterns, again with regional variation due to

culture or other influences. As in NASFAM, data confirm the tendency for the position of chairperson to mainly be reserved for men but FUM differs from other organisations in that men occupy secretary and treasurer positions that elsewhere are mainly occupied by women for safe keeping of records and finances.

17. With regard to Zambia, ZNFU countrywide membership has 58.5 percent men and 41.5 percent women. The ZNFU council (apex body) has now reserved two seats for women representation and in addition has appointed a senior manager to coordinate gender and environment. At other levels, Annex table A2.6 shows that from 2009 to 2012 there has been no change at board level with respect to female representation; for a fuller range of levels, the situation is as in Annex Table A2.7.

18. In Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) represents all categories of farmers and is the largest farmers’ union with a membership of 180 000 (2009-2012). ZFU has Commodity associations

11

which are represented on the union governing structures and also women and youth sub-wings. The union membership is dominated by smallholders (a million farmers) of whom paid up members are about 170 000. While women make up more than 70 percent of the ZFU membership, they make up only about 14 percent of the total number of people in elective structures in Commodity Associations from district to national levels. (see annex Table A2.8). The following may also be noted: (a) Only men chair the Provincial Committees 3 and (b) Only men chair all the ZFU Commodity Associations.

19. As in the other countries, the Executive Arm (secretariat) of ZFU does not offer a good example to the membership - among the full time employees of the union, the District Coordinator is the most crucial in mobilising members for various activities including gender mainstreaming, of which only one (8 percent) is a woman. (Annex Table A2.9).

4.2 What Explains the Situation? 20. This section carries information related to the following paraphrased elements of the SACAU Terms

of Reference to national researcher-authors: What factors affect effective participation of all genders (social, economic, cultural, political etc); Does the structure of the organizations facilitate participation of women and youth?]. What follows are highlights from each country.

21. The matrix which is Table 1 reveals the generic group “Culture-related” to have the most frequently cited causes of low female prominence in farmers’ organisation leadership positions. It is followed by the category “Skills Constraints” than by “Policy Strategy and Institutional environment”. Almost equally mentioned after that are factors under “Women busy with other roles”, Deficiencies in Empowerment” and “Unsuitable Climate in Management structures.

3 However, the elected chairperson of the Women’s Wing sits on the provincial committee so making her the only

woman, by virtue of her ex-officio status as chairperson of the Women’s wing.

12

Table 1: Matrix of Factors mentioned as Affecting Women’s Taking Leadership in Farmers’ Organisations

Factors Affecting Women Taking Leadership Roles

Whether factor mentioned

Mada- gascar

Malawi S.Africa Zambia Zimba-bwe

FACTORS FAVOURING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

Women’s greater honesty/trustworthiness than men (esp. favouring roles as treasurers)

X X X

Dedication to duty and follow-up X

Quotas/ Affirmative Action X X

FACTORS CONSTRAINING WOMEN TAKING LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

CULTURE-RELATED

Cultural Prejudices and Stereotypes against women

X X X X

Women’s own culturally-driven reluctance to lead

X

Women not electing other women – mainly for cultural reasons

X X X

Lack of self-confidence X XXX

Marriage systems may allow more or less room for women to lead or act in public

X XX

Gender-based violence X

Religious practices X X

Perceptions that “chair” position must be for a man

X X X X

TYPE OF CROP/FARM ACTIVITY – (stereotype as being for men or women)

Crop or type of value chain activity being a male preserve

X

BUSY WITH OTHER IMPORTANT ROLES

Concurrent responsibilities as mothers and wives

X X X X

SKILLS CONSTRAINTS X

Low education generally or technical XX X X

Low training for leadership roles X X X

Low skills in Farmer Organisations for dealing with gender

XX

13

Factors Affecting Women Taking Leadership Roles

Whether factor mentioned

Mada- gascar

Malawi S.Africa Zambia Zimba-bwe

DEFICIENCIES IN EMPOWERMENT

Lack productive assets X

Less access to empowering inputs or services (credit, transport, market access, technology etc)

X X

Unable to perform as well as more agriculture-focused men

X

BUSY WITH OTHER IMPORTANT ROLES

Concurrent responsibilities as mothers and wives

X X X X

POLICY, STRATEGY AND INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Insufficient political will X

Lack of policy, plans or strategy in farmer organisation

Lack of or poor implementation of policy or strategy in farmer organisation

X

No incentives to implement policies

Poor accountability and no sanctions for inaction

Institutions not reformed/strengthened for gender balance

XX

Higher levels in structure require being a chairperson lower down, which women are often not

X X X X

UNSUITABLE CLIMATE IN MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES

Impatience of men/style of debate can intimidate women

X

Language barriers X X

“Club” atmosphere that excludes women or newcomers

X

4.3 Policies and Initiatives to Address Deficiencies

22. This section carries information related to the following paraphrased elements of the SACAU Terms of Reference to national researcher-authors: Does the organization have policies dealing with gender and youth – how effective are those policies?

23. In the preceding section on apparent main constraints, it becomes clear that cultural factors may be the leading source of problems. If they do not constrain directly, they may act indirectly in that the attitudes of people in power in farmer organisations have been formed in cultural environments where women issues do not take priority, irrespective of policy declarations and plans or intentions.

14

This aside, the SACAU member organisations have in many cases adopted pro gender-balance stances and have policies, plans and strategies to improve the current imbalances. Some examples are referred to here.

24. In Madagascar there is acknowledgement of the basic rights of women and promotion of gender equality in the implementation of activities in different sectors – to realise this, Madagascar elaborated the National Policy of Women Promotion (PNPF) in year 2000 in order to reduce the disparity of gender groups (men / women – rural/ urban). Detailed areas of intervention are in the country report. There is also the Gender and Development National Plan (PANAGED) to implement the PNPF within the 2004 – 2008 period by mainstreaming gender concepts and practices in institutions, programmes, and development projects. Yet as of now (2013), achieving gender balance remains a work in progress.

25. Also well above the agriculture-sector level are two more initiatives: (a) FEKRITAMA has a strategy to empower women in its organization and for this created (b) FVTM, the Malagasy Rural Women Federation, in 2001. The FVTM has nearly 5,000 women members and seeks to place women (especially rural women) at the centre of economic, political, cultural and economic life (from children's education to productive activities such as own growing and marketing of vegetables. The range of interventions is wide - education of rural women in decision-making, social responsibility, economic, civic, cultural and environmental matters; strengthening organizational and technical capacity of rural women leaders; supporting women's groups in promoting development; information on rural women and their environment; and information and awareness on rural women’s rights.

26. At the sectoral level of farmers’ organizations, some initiatives exist, especially under FEKRITAMA, a

confederation of farmers’ organizations created in 1987. From 2000, FEKRITAMA established 10 federations (FMVM, FMM, FITAM, EMVFM, FVTM, FNJA, FEKOMA and MATOR) which use projects (many in partnership with IFAD, International Fund for Agricultural Development , in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture) or other means to promote rural women’s leadership, capacity building and training (some vocational), raise awareness among peasants to get socially and economically organized to promote agriculture, livestock, fisheries and handicrafts; increase their access to rural credit, markets and boost production. They also speak for farmers and defend their interests in social dialogue. CPM has established the gender commission and runs radio broadcasts to sensitize members and other farmers on improved agricultural technologies, roles of women in farming and other rural society issues.

27. In Malawi, NASFAM formulated a Gender Policy of 2002 in line with SADC Declaration on Gender and Development Protocol (1997) and Malawi National Gender Policy; it carries out annual Internal Gender Audits; offers adult literacy programmes that have helped many women to later access leadership positions; disseminates gender related information to its members through print and radio media; and holds periodic gender conferences.

28. South Africa has taken big steps on gender at the higher levels that can affect all sectors. Probably the most significant of these steps (since the inclusion of gender equality in the Bill of Rights) is to have ready to go to Cabinet a new Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill, which will require all organisations to implement gender mainstreaming strategies.

15

29. In Zambia, the ZNFU gender policy is not yet completely rolled out but in 2012 the ZNFU launched Zambia’s Women Farmers Forum that has increased the visibility of women in leadership positions. In the same year, ZNFU held the first Women’s Congress during which a key topic was Women in Agriculture and Leadership and a major task was to elect National and Provincial leaders. For their greater visibility, the Farmer Magazine champions and publicises successful women farmers who are also leaders.

30. Under the Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe, there are initiatives to build capacity of staff, leadership and members on gender mainstreaming, awareness and other special topics, such as gender analysis.

4.4 Ambitions and Way Forward

31. This section carries information related to the following paraphrased element of the SACAU Terms of Reference to national researcher-authors: Any deliberate initiatives to encourage participation of all genders; identify two or three things that could be done to address the problem.

32. In matters of gender, the ambition is (or perhaps should be) to use agriculture to create wealth, to develop and prosper, with women getting their full share of the success. If SACAU members consider equality of gender numbers the most important and critical step towards this, they should prioritise and streamline actions on this in their institutional and operational development agendas.

33. Many of the SACAU member organisations already have gender policies; those which do not are

working towards it and for this they have many models within and without SACAU. Those with policies in place need to implement them better than to date – this is likely to require a combination of incentives (rewards to those in position) and sanctions (punishment for the same people) according to whether they promote positive action or allow the cause to lapse.

34. The following elements come from the SACAU-commissioned country reports regarding steps that

are already being considered:

35. In Madagascar, key strategies to enhance women’s effective participation in Farmers’ Organizations leadership/decision making structures are said to include: a. Gender mainstreaming in the organizations at local, regional and national levels b. Technical capacity building c. Improving access to resources d. Facilitating access to information – (the media plays an important role to highlight the

achievement of women in recognized leadership positions - the media should also more often highlight the importance of women’s participation in leadership).

36. In Malawi, a 2010/11 cropping season NASFAM Gender Audit suggested the following areas that if

addressed could contribute to a big leap in participation of women in leadership structures: a. Leadership and gender sensitivity training and mentoring at all levels to build the capacity of

women in decision making b. Affirmative action to promote women in decision making positions (e.g. quota for women in

committees)

16

c. Strengthening gender mainstreaming framework at all levels through training and/or sensitization talks from role models

d. Publicising successful female members to showcase women’s achievements. e. Introducing gender plans and budgets within NASFAM. In the Farmers Union of Malawi, there is a feeling that the emphasis on numbers is adequate and

that significant progress has been achieved in this direction; the core mandate of farmers’

organisations should not be to promote social issues such as gender but the business aspects of

farmers. The Malawi report has made recommendations for SACAU gender support, which is

included in the key messages.

37. The report on South Africa has made a very long list of recommendations, which need not be repeated here. Many elements on the list partly overlap and therefore can be grouped. A selection from the list can include the following: a. Improve knowledge of gender - undertake gender analysis to identify not only poverty but also

inequality; have participatory gender audits b. Recognise gender diversity and remember that local context is crucial to a gender-sensitive

analysis. Women have different needs than men but women are not a homogenous group and it is necessary to be aware of gender differences and diverse skills and differences within gender

c. Provide training - women need training that is of a ‘technical’ nature to have a better

understanding of the value chain and how their products fit in d. Make women encourage each other more: unlike now, women who have been trained and

skilled up to be elected to positions within the structures should be encouraged to open up these spaces for other women

e. Create family friendly spaces within organizational structures (crèches for children, hours that

are more convenient for women etc) to accommodate the multiple roles of women f. Increase the participation of the girl child in agriculture through school, sports and other events

where the voice of the girl child can be heard. Support gender equity in agri-business (choose vendors who show that they are sensitive to gender)

g. Carry out gender budgeting and ensure equity in them: budgets should include gender equality

actions. This is both in overall allocations within budget as well as items that ensure that the specific actions or projects relating to gender quality are carried out

h. Avoid politicising the candidature of women – make every effort to identify these trends and

counteract them by putting forward worthy/meritorious female candidates.

38. For Zambia, the following conclusions were drawn from the findings of the study: a. ZNFU has made a good start to mainstream gender both internally and externally by

implementing a variety of activities e.g. a gender audit, developed a workplace gender policy, including a few women in policy making bodies and sensitization workshops including women leadership trainings among others.

17

b. ZNFU is committed and willing to spearhead gender equality issues and visibility of women in leadership within Farmer Organisations.

c. ZNFU has a very good and sound working relationship with Ministry of Gender and Child Development and other partners and organisations dealing with gender matters.

d. In conjunction with its partners ZNFU has budgeted adequate resources for gender mainstreaming activities.

39. There is belief that this evidence of ZNFU desire to include women in decision making positions can

be acted upon in practical terms, including enhancing women to leadership positions through: a. Gender sensitization of women and men b. Their empowerment through provision of titled land and subsidized agricultural inputs; also

partnering with financial institutions to develop loan packages for women c. Introducing literacy classes for women d. Relevant skills /capacity-building training for women e.g. leadership training (also for men),

value addition, negotiation skills, business skills targeting the grassroots, business skills including in marketing

e. Partnering women and encouraging mentorship among them f. Facilitating women interaction and support through networking leadership g. Enhancing linkages to markets.

40. The Zambia report also gives structured recommendations for interventions that are better read in the original report. The action areas fall under the following headings: a. Policy level: fully implement the gender policy; b. Programme staff: gender capacity building and training; c. Programme level: provide specially packed multi-faceted support to women to empower them; the Zambian report’s suggestions for SACAU support to its membership have been included under

key messages.

41. For Zimbabwe, the recommendations are a considerable list and this is best read in its original report. They cover significant ground, including: accountability of the Farmers Union for gender policy implementation linked to rewards and sanctions to match performance; quotas; introducing institutional framework for implementing gender policies; need to develop programmes with specific gender related objectives; ensuring facilities such as baby care at events so that women can participate more in leadership structures; acceleration of women inclusion by reducing the current five-year terms which block the entry of new blood; and establishment of a Gender Unit and its capacitation.

5. SELECTED QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND DECISION

42. The national reports raise many questions and SACAU members may be guided by the main types of challenge to gender equality, as revealed in Table 1 supported by Annex 1 – these suggest that priority action can usefully focus on overcoming the cultural roots of bias. In addition, a number of broad questions arise that may deserve attention. a. Given that glaring gender inequalities and inequities persist and that they doubtlessly result in

underperformance of women relative to their potential, how can SACAU and its members act on

18

(often) existing policies so that they can be implemented sooner and more effectively? Specifics under this could include:

Should balance in numbers be the main gender preoccupation or should SACAU and its

members combine this with concern for pursuing an effective, productive and vibrant sector, able to yield surpluses and profits for those engaged in it?

Who should have clear responsibility for promoting the women agenda in organisations at their various levels?

What incentives should be offered for succeeding and what sanctions for poor performance or failure?

Is there a case for affirmative action? Are organizational gender policies and specialized structures an answer to the challenges of

gender equality? What could be the most effective approach considering the differences in the landscape of FOs?

b. What supportive roles should SACAU put most of its efforts in as it cooperates with its member organisations. For example, could these be among key areas?: Advocacy /exhortation in promoting gender balance but also effective support for a

productive and efficient/competitive sector;

Capacity building; in what area; technical capacity of women farmers or organizational capacity of the FOs institutions?

Collaborative/peer-based monitoring and evaluation (not policing) of gender-related performance in terms of balance and of making women farmers more effective;

Publicly recognising success by offering a periodic sub regional reward.

19

LIST OF SACAU-COMMISSIONED NATIONAL REPORTS 1. Ramiaramanana, Daniele (2013): Challenges Faced by Farmers’ Organizations in Involving All

Genders in Their Structures - Madagascar Case Study Draft Report.

2. Maliro, Dyton D (June 2013): Gender and Agriculture in Malawi.

3. Goldin, Jacqueline (May 2013): A Gendered Perspective: Women and the Agriculture Sector in South Africa.

4. Mulunga, Monde Matakala (April, 2013): Snap Short Study Report on the Visibility of Women in

Leadership Positions in Farmers’ Organisations in Zambia.

5. Mabeza-Chimedza, Ruvimbo (May 2013): Gender in Farmers’ Organisations in Zimbabwe.

20

ANNEXES

21

Annex 1: CHECKLIST OF FACTORS CONSTRAINING WOMEN FROM TAKING LEADERSHIP ROLES IN FARMER’S ORGANISATIONS

Favourable or Constraining Factor (as mentioned in country study reports) Country for

which mentioned

FACTORS FAVOURING WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

ZNFU have invested a lot of effort to address gender issues in their work. Most of the documents have gender issues which the organizations desire and are committed to address.

Zambia

Flexible family friendly practises are happening at ZNFU but unfortunately they are not documented – it has progressive provisions that help staff both females and males reconcile family-work balance e.g. the provision which allows breastfeeding employees to carry along the child and child minder on local travel at the expense of the organization.

Zambia

FACTORS CONSTRAINING WOMEN TAKING LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

TYPE OF CROP/FARM ACTIVITY – (stereotype as being for men or women)

NASFAM in its annual gender audit report acknowledges that women participation in the organization is to large extent influenced by type of crop; promoted by the Associations as some are regarded as women’s crops hence attracting more female members.

Malawi

CULTURE-RELATED

Prejudicial attitudes toward women – e.g. in Betsileo, . . . the customary practice and norms specify that women should not speak in public like in a meeting.

Madagascar

Lack of confidence - They are afraid to be criticized and to take responsibilities.

Madagascar

Lack of solidarity between women - during election, women prefer to vote for men even if there are women who volunteer with experiences and have the capacity to do the job.

Madagascar

Regionally, only 13.3 per cent of associations in the central region and also in the northern region (15.4 per cent) have women representation of at least 30 per cent compared to 53.8 per cent of associations in the southern region. Possible explanations for the regional pattern are: (a) differences of marriage systems - matrilineal-matrilocal vs. patrilineal- patrilocal vs. matrilineal-patrilocal.

Malawi

A position of secretary was typically filled up by women who were required to take minutes of meetings and to record progress of different committee activities and the ‘project’ in general. The position of a treasurer entailed keeping material and financial resources and hence was filled up by women because they were viewed as more trustworthy than men. Where a woman was elected a chairperson, men and other women would not listen to her because of cultural expectations, which demand men and not women to be leaders.

Malawi

Women’s low self esteem and negative self image, fear of failure, women refusing leadership roles

Zambia

22

Favourable or Constraining Factor (as mentioned in country study reports)

Country for which

mentioned

CULTURE-RELATED (continued). . . .

Lack of support from fellow women

Zambia

Marriage issues:

Husbands refusing their wives to be leaders.

Polygamous marriages - women in polygamous marriages are not permitted to make decisions without prior approval from their husbands (this is enforced to avoid one woman having an upper hand over others).

Zambia

Traditions, Culture – often reinforced by religious practices and education system Zimbabwe

SKILLS CONSTRAINTS

Low education level

Madagascar

High illiteracy levels Zambia

Women leaders in rural communities are often not equipped with the necessary leadership skills

Madagascar

Technical expertise - Farming is a ‘male dominant’ territory. When you get there you attend the meeting for the first time – you feel you don’t belong. When you ask questions – they are saying ‘… this woman is delaying the meeting’.

S. Africa

Women often have a glaring lack of farming experience

DEFICIENCIES IN EMPOWERMENT

There has been an attempt to crack into the male dominated sector, especially for women but the mentality still reigns - that of protecting their turf. The farming sector has secured markets which are protected by certain individuals. Women, as new entrants, should just create their own markets in order to survive

S. Africa

ZFU operates on the principle that performance (at which men often excel) as a farmer determines access to leadership

Zimbabwe

Women’s lack of economic empowerment Zimbabwe

BUSY WITH OTHER IMPORTANT ROLES

Women need to fulfil many roles: leaders, mother, wives, and homemakers. They cannot perform well as leaders in their organizations. No matter how busy women are, they will never escape from their responsibility of taking care of the families.

Madagascar

Women struggle to juggle their many roles as mothers, wives and workers. The onus is on the women to put food on the table and ensure that the children – and the husband – are being cared for. . . . Therefore in looking at issues of gender equality in agriculture it must be acknowledged that rural women do most of the work around maintaining the household and caring for children and other members of their family.

S. Africa

’Women are better organizers at Information Centres than men but leadership position of contact farmers is given to men. In some cases this is caused by the nature of work - going round organising fellow farmers, as a contact farmer, this inhibits a lot of women from being elected as contact farmers.. . . ‘

Zambia

23

Favourable or Constraining Factor (as mentioned in country study reports)

Country for which

mentioned

POLICY, STRATEGY AND INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT

. . . like NASFAM, FUM is yet to develop a plan of action for translating these policy objectives into action.

Malawi

In ZNFU, gender analysis skills are lacking. Zambia

In ZFU:

Insufficient political will

Inadequate institutional reforms

Lack of capacity for gender mainstreaming

Lack of resources to support gender equality programmes and policies

Zimbabwe

UNSUITABLE CLIMATE IN MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES

Difficulty in coping with language used in official meetings - meetings are not conducted in the vernacular and are either in English or Afrikaans.

S. Africa

OTHER

Religious practices, gender based violence Zambia

24

Annex 2: SELECTED TABLES FROM SACAU-COMMISSIONED NATIONAL REPORTS

Table A2.1: MADAGASCAR – presence of men and women in selected agricultural federations

Union

% of Members

Women Men

SANTATRA - mixed 37 63

URJA - mixed 49 51

VMFA - mixed 63 38

FVTM – women only 93 7

FIKOVAMA - mixed 50 50

Source: National SACAU-commissioned report (adapted).

Table A2.2: MADAGASCAR – presence of men and women in unions at Board Level

Union Type of Union Board members

Total Women % women

SANTATRA Mixed 7 4 57

FIKOVAMA Mixed 5 1 20

URJA Mixed 7 3 43

FIRAISANKINA Women 11 11 100

VMFA Mixed 9 3 33

Source: National SACAU-commissioned report

Table A2.3: MALAWI - Summary of Gender Statistics on Various Structures of NASFAM

NASFAM Structure Total members % Women

(a) Total NASFAM Membership, 2012 108,224 35.9

(b) Membership in selected Club committees, April 2013 229 43.7

(c) Membership in Association Committees 597 22.6

(d) Membership in Association Management Centre Committees 790 22.8

(e) Membership in Board of Trustees 8 50.0

(f) Staff in NASFAM 116 19.8 Management Staff 5 20.0 Programme Staff 42 14.3 Support Staff 34 29.4 Not specified 40 17.5

Source: As explained in the SACAU-commissioned national report text

25

Table A2.4: MALAWI - Gender Distribution of Principal Positions in the National FUM Leadership Structure, 2013

Leadership position

Club level Farmer Organ. Executive Board Board of Trustees

Total %

Women Total %

Women Total %

Women Total %

Women

Chairperson 2,021 12.4 52 32.7 12 16.7 38 23.7

Vice Chair 2,021 17.9 52 57.7 12 50.0 37 40.5

Secretary 2,021 41.1 52 32.7 12 50.0 37 62.2

Vice Sec 2,021 38.5 52 48.1 12 50.0 30 50.0

Treasurer 3,021 32.6 52 48.1 12 33.3 38 44.7

Members 898 54.1 170 73.5

5 0.0

Totals 12,00

3 30.7 430 55.6 60 40.0 185 42.7

Source: Author’s analysis of data obtained from FUM, April 2013: SACAU-commissioned national report

Table A2.5: MALAWI - Gender Distribution of Principal Positions in FUM Clubs and Cooperatives, 2013

Position in Club/Cooperative Numbers

Total Women % women

Chair 10 5 50

Vice-chair 10 2 20

Secretary 10 7 70

Vice-Secretary 10 2 20

Treasurer 10 7 70

Vice-Treasurer 6 2 33

Committee (ordinary member) 32 21 62

Total 88 46 52

Source: SACAU-commissioned report - extract from Table 5 of Malawi report - national FUM sample.

Table A2.6: ZAMBIA - Gender Composition in ZNFU Structures 2009-2012

ZNFU National Structures % Female

2009 2010 2011 2012

Board 10 10 9 10

Council 9.8 12 5 10

District Farmers Associations 21 24 22 23

Source: Table 2 in SACAU-commissioned national report.

26

Table A2.7: ZAMBIA – Presence of Women in ZNFU Structures in the Hierarchy

ZNFU Structure % Women Notes

ZNFU secretariat 43 Of whom only 33 percent are at managerial level, the rest being office managers or secretaries

The ZNFU board 10

The four board committees 17

ZNFU District offices 12 regional managers 25

ZNFU District offices office managers /secretaries 100

Sixty-nine association chairpersons 7

Seven Commodity Committee Chairpersons 0 All males (except chairperson of ZNFU Women Farmers Forum)

Ten Corporate Farmers Representatives 0

Seventeen Specialized Association Representatives 12

Source: Based on text of SACAU-commissioned country study report.

Table A2.8: ZIMBABWE - Gender Composition in ZFU Governance Structures

Name of Structure Number of Members % women

National Presidium 3 0

National Council 42 19

National Management Board 18 6

Provincial Council 8 12

District Council 58 14

Commodity Associations 11 9

Total 140 14

Source: Table in SACU-commissioned report.

Table A2.9: ZIMBABWE - Structure and Gender Composition of ZFU Executive Arm (Secretariat)

Position (in order of hierarchy) Number % Women

National Executive Director 1 0

Heads of Department 3 67

Provincial Managers 8 12

District Coordinators 12 8

District Clerks 30 100

Total 54 63