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Women in Agriculture in Contemporary Africa

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The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies

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Abstract

Agriculture remains one of the most important livelihood options for women across Africa, yet there are multiple challenges which include lack of access to land and productive assets, credit, and markets. In this chapter, we use a systematic review of the literature to analyze how women intersect and participate in the agriculture space in Africa. The chapter draws from multiple studies on women in agriculture across Africa and focuses on important thematic areas including land access, labor, agricultural policy, decision-making, livestock, and horticulture. Throughout the analysis, it is clear that women are largely marginalized and excluded from the lucrative parts of the agricultural value chain. Agriculture is thus largely constructed as a patriarchal system in which women play subordinate roles. Such a state of affairs poses serious challenges given that the vast majority of African women are in some way dependent on agriculture as a source of livelihood. The chapter shows that women are largely marginalized across the agrarian landscape in Africa. This includes suffering the brunt of negative policy options such as large-scale land deals and also climate change. Yet there are very limited interventions focused on increasing women’s access to key agrarian resources especially land.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Zimbabwe and Research Associate, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Manase Kudzai Chiweshe & Sandra Bhatasara

  2. Department of Sociology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa

    Manase Kudzai Chiweshe & Sandra Bhatasara

Authors
  1. Manase Kudzai Chiweshe
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  2. Sandra Bhatasara
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Correspondence to Manase Kudzai Chiweshe .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Babcock University , Ilishan Remo, Nigeria

    Olajumoke Yacob-Haliso

  2. Department of History, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Toyin Falola

Section Editor information

  1. Faculty of Education, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

    Agnes Atia Apusigah

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Chiweshe, M.K., Bhatasara, S. (2019). Women in Agriculture in Contemporary Africa. In: Yacob-Haliso, O., Falola, T. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_109-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77030-7_109-1

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