Developing Agricultural Extension For Women Farmers

Despite rapid advances in agricultural technology and heavy expenditures by governments and donors on agricultural extension, as much as a fifth of mankind - almost all in developing countries - still goes hungry. Extension programs can increase agricultural productivity and rural incomes by bridging the gap between new technical knowledge and a farmer's practices, but research and extension services usually assume that farmers are men. In fact, women play a critical role in a wide range of agricultural activities, and as men move into off-farm employment, women's importance to agriculture is growing. The specific needs and problems of women farmers must be addressed in the design and implementation of agricultural projects. This paper provides an overview of women farmers and their production systems, presents a framework for analysis of gender issues, suggests interventions and project components, and sets out guidelines for designing and modifying agricultural service projects.

The volume consists of nine chapters covering relevant issues on women in farming and its allied disciplines projecting multifaceted experiences, authored by several experts, academics and practitioners on the field from the countries like, Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands and India.

A profound shift is occurring among women working in agriculture - they are increasingly seeing themselves as farmers, not only as the wives or daughters of farmers. In this book, farm women in the northeastern United States describe how they got into farming and became successful entrepreneurs despite the barriers they encountered in agricultural institutions, farming communities, and even their own families. The authors' feminist agrifood systems theory (FAST) values women's ways of knowing and working in agriculture and has the potential to shift how farmers, agricultural professionals, and anyone else interested in farming think about gender and sustainability, as well as to change how feminist scholars and theorists think about agriculture.--COVER.

Operational guidelines on how to provide cost- effective agricultural extension services to women farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

First published in 1996. In what ways have women contributed to agriculture? To what extent have scholars addressed these contributions in the professional literature? What has been the impact of gender in agricultural policy and economic development? What is the status of gender equity in the division of farm labor and in agricultural education? Such questions are raised by students and researchers worldwide who seek documentation which focuses on these vital topics. The purpose of this bibliography is, therefore, to synthesize this unique widely dispersed information in one volume, to assist researchers, faculty, and students in expediting the research process.

In Cameroon's poor northwest province, agricultural extension was extended to women for practical, not ideological, reasons in a sustainable, replicable experiment that increased production and women's income.

Description of the FAO plan of action to integrate women in development. The plan outlines four spheres of activities : they relate to the civil status of rural women, to the economic status and social situation and to their role in decision making

Recommends the adoption of multiple strategies for agricultural extension and a flexible attitude by governments in addressing the issue. Agriculture contributes significantly to the growth of many developing countries. Its development is closely linked to several key interrelated factors such as infrastructure, research, extension, farm inputs, rural credit, price policies, and marketing. This paper examines agricultural extension within this context, drawing on a variety of ongoing cases throughout the world. The author stresses the need for governments to define a specific strategy for extension and to re-examine the role of the public sector.