If women are the key resource in food farming, then their productivity will depend not only on improving their access to resources such as land, credit and services, but also on how much access and control they have over these resources. Where decision power over household resources is limited or denied, we would expect women farmers to be less efficient than other women and men who have control over productive resources and the power of decision on how to use them. For example lack of control or decision power will not only affect the organization of labour and types of crops produced, but will also affect how land is allocated for cashcrops and food crops. Lack of control and power of decision might therefore lead to the marginalization of both women and food crops. It therefore became significant to highlight issues which deal with decision-making in the household.
The decision-making profile demonstrates the extent of women's participation and influence in farm production and the extent and variety of their roles and responsibilities in all areas of household production.
Taking each labour process individually a number of questions were posed as to who makes decisions or takes the responsibility for food production, land preparation, planting, weeding, harvesting, buying inputs and seeing that the labour is done. Again we wanted to know who decides on sale of crops, and food storage. Table 4 indicates the responses given from these questions.
Table 4 illustrates that women in Mumbuni make decisions in their sphere of food production, farm inputs, processing and marketing. They are also in control of the money that come out of the sale of their food products, an activity which they pursue on their own account to provide the means to fulfil efficiently their responsibilities for household food supplies and other basic household necessities.
The study however, examined in details who takes responsibility and decides on the farm labour, farm inputs, tools used and improved methods of farming. Table 5 shows who take such responsibility.
Table 5 indicates that men take decisions or the responsibility of buying farm inputs. For example 80 men took the responsibility of buying and 65 of the men also bought other farm inputs compared to 5 women who bought fertilizer and 20 women who bought other farm inputs respectively. Fertilizers and far tools are some of the most expensive farm needs. Our conclusion is that most men were in a position to afford both fertilizer and farm tools as they were economically able, and they also have access to credit facilities which are provided by most co-operative societies (see next chapter). It is also significant to note that decisions and responsibilities taken by women are related to the farm tasks they perform. For example, since planting is a task performed by more women than men, it would only be logical if the women took the responsibility of buying seeds, the varieties to be planted and the cropping patterns to be adopted. The ILO reports that:
the types of household decisions that women in Kenya would be expected to make would be a mirror image of their inferior status in many level of the society (ILO 1986: 154).
Given that women do not control a lot of money in the household, their decisions on the use of money are limited. The men on the other hand take responsibilities, given their superior financial status provided to them by the fact that they control resources and means of production.
To provide labour in the farm is in the realm of women's role in agriculture, therefore the women take the responsibility of seeing that labour is provided. It is interesting to note that both women and men are almost equally responsible to adopt new methods of farming. Our observation is quite similar to a study done in Zimbabwe which concludes that:
Women may be willing to adopt new farming practices or buy equipment and other agricultural inputs, but they have no power to decide without the husband's approval. Moreover the husband controls the family finances in the majority of cases which makes things even more difficult (UNICEF 1982: 27).
In view of this study we decided that the usefulness of assessing decision making can only be justified when we look at the reflections of the underlying dynamics that command the decisions made on other household resources, particularly on income.
Further investigations revealed that women control money and take responsibility regarding food and household maintenance, sometimes with the help of husband, daughter and sons. Decision power is influenced by income or amount of money one handles. For this reason most women do not control money for school fees, repayment of loans, farm equipments and for buildings and repair. Nevertheless, the women take decisions on money for clothing, transport and medicine, a responsibility which relates to their reproductive roles. It is also significant to mention that the household income of our TABLE 4 FARM DECISION PROFILE
|
LAND PREP. |
PLANTING WEEDING |
HARVESTING |
TRANSPORT |
STORAGE |
SALE |
INPUTS |
FARM |
|Wife |
70 (70%) |
80 (80%) |
95 (95%) |
84 (84%) |
75 (75%) |
91 (91%) |
97 (97%) |
85 (85%) |
Husband |
30 (30%) |
20 (20%) |
5 (5%) |
16 (16%) |
25 (25%) |
9 (9%) |
3 (3%) |
15 (15%) |
TABLE 5 DECISIONS ON LABOUR, FARM INPUTS,
TOOLS USED AND IMPROVED METHODS OF FARMING
DECISION TAKEN |
WIFE |
HUSBAND |
WIFE AND HUSBAND |
NONE |
Buying Fertilizer |
5 |
80 |
5 |
10 |
Buying Seeds |
76 |
5 |
4 |
15 |
Buying Tools |
10 |
50 |
5 |
35 |
Buying Farm Inputs |
20 |
65 |
15 |
- |
Labour |
64 |
10 |
14 |
10 |
Variety of Seeds |
86 |
3 |
11 |
- |
Cropping Patterns |
87 |
4 |
9 |
- |
New Methods of Farming |
40 |
43 |
10 |
7 |
respondents were allocated (90%) by the husbands. 85% of the women said that no discussions took place before the allocation of this money took place.
In summary, women's control of household resources and decision-making power was found to vary in relation to a number of factors with the key variables, education and the general control of income. The participation of women in income generating activities improves their control over resources, allocation and possibly establishes an economic base for them. The higher the income, the greater the say over household decisions. Thus, confinement to non-market subsistence reduces the power to decide and control household resources while participation in market economy gave women greater power and increased their status in terms of household decision-making. The women's low position in decision-making in the family and the household economy adversely affects their productivity and personal security.
