Why Rural Technologies Fail to Meet the Needs of Nigerian Women: Evidence from Hausa Women’s Groups in Kano State

Abstract

The global emphasis on modernization of agriculture often takes an ungendered perspective and remains unaware of the specificities of technologies in terms of their impact on the lives of farming women (Agarwal 1984). The effect of modernization can be seen in terms of the expansion of female employment in large-scale agribusiness and export-oriented farming (see Barrientos and Perrons this volume), but also affects the resources given to deal with the needs of women working on small, arid plots on the margins of the agricultural sector. The latter is particularly problematic for women in the African subcontinent who are the providers of basic food for much of the population. This chapter is concerned with the policy initiated by the Nigerian government, entitled the Better Life Programme (BLP), in response to greater World Bank focus on women farmers, who remain the backbone of the livelihood of the poorest section of people in Nigeria. This policy was formulated in the context of the global vision of relocating responsibility to the non-governmental and local agencies that are expected to replace and/or enhance governmental policies in the rural context. Although Nigeria is at the forefront of the liberalizing economies, what is of interest in this case is that the state itself funded and created the BLP and facilitated its activities, which mirror those of other NGOs to help develop a support network.¹