NOTES ON WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT NO. 9 (Sectoral Overviews) WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE REVIEW OF SOME SECTOR REPORTS Office of the Advisor on Women in Development World Bank August, 1980 WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE REVIEW OF SOME SECTOR REPORTS Office of the Advisor on Women in Development World Bank August, 1980 Gloria L. Scott/ra August, 1980/Pev. May 19, 1981 WOMEN IN ACRICULTITRF REVIEW OF SOME SECTOR REPOPTS AND PROJECTS INTRODUCTION The availability of enough food for everyone is one of the priority issues of the 19P0s, and it has become increasingly clear that only by producing significantly more of their own food, can developing countries be sure of adequate supplies. The provisioning of their growing urban markets requires increasing food surpluses. Particularly among rural poor, there will be greater need for family food supplies as population grows and hopefully incomes begin to rise. Food management, including the avoidance of waste through post harvest losses becomes critical as do the channels for marketing and distributing the output. To increase productivity, technical packages, which are affordable by small farmers are required as is training for their efficient use and management. Land tenure and sufficient authority over land use to introduce the innovations that will increase its productivity are, of course, a prerequisite and it is also necessary to Qnsure that the information about these innovations reach those who would adopt them. These are all obvious facets of any strategy to increase food supplies. What has been less obvious due to a habit of thinking of the farmer as "he", is che contribution women are making in agriculture and the concomittant re- ferences in the strategies for the sector. In most parts of the developing world, women play a significant role in aericulture and food production, and the assignments of tasks by sex and by crops are clearly defined. Women provide 50-80% of labour to small farm agriculture, women grow, manage, and -2- allocate food supplies for domestic consumption, and they have an important function in marketing and ditributing food: many crops are grown, harvested, and stored by women; women often cannot own land, and frequently though they are responsible for the farming e.g. when mhales migrate, they cannot decide on introducing innovations: in many situations women's views are essential to any decision on the expenditure of family income and to change agricultural practices. A random selection of eleven agricultural sector reports and memoranda issued in 1979 were reviewed as a basis for discussing issues pertinent to women's involvement in agriculture and food production. The issues and the reports are shown in Annex 1. While the treatment of these issues reflect the scope and differing purposes of each report, and some of the points raised may well have been covered in background or working papers, it seems nonetheless useful to attempt a synthesis of how the reports recognize the roles of women. We will discuss them grouped under the broad headings of Division of Labour and Migration: Reduction of the Food Gap; Forestry and Fuelwoodz Extension, Training and Research. There is obviously considerable overlap between these groupings. The findings from the sector reports will be complemented Trith examples from projects. In addition to the projects reviewed, which are listed in Annex II, references are made to others in early stages of preparation. DIVISION OF LABOUR ATn MIGRATION There is considerable variation between countries and regions in the division of labour by sex according to tasks and crops. Particularly for designing small farmer projects this is imnortant information. In Nigeria, the role of women in agriculture deDends on the area, tribe, and faith to which they belon-. Agricultural production is almost entirely in the hands -3- of small farmers whose levels of technology and productive efficiency are low. The report concludes that the "real potential for increasing production during the next few years lies in exploiting the production potential of age old Nigerian cropping systems through the widespread adoption of those improved technologies that can easily be infused into the farming system." The sex division of labour would seem to be an important dimension of this, however, nowhere in the report are women mentioned. It is noted that farmers usually plant only as much as their weeding capacity: the "weeding capacity" commonly is family labour, principally that of women and children. Although Yugoslavia is atypical, the Kosovo Rural Sector Survey is of interest here for its reference to the important issue of the feminisation of agricilture. Tn Kosovo, one of the noorest provinces of Yugoslavia, the traditionally cultivated individual sector of agriculture engages 95% of the agricultural labor force. The report projects that female participation rates will rise to 58.8% by the end of the century, compared with 20.1 in 1971. There is a high rate of unemployment in the province and the report notes the need for creating employment for both men and women. This need is underscored by the ethnicity of the region (74% of the population are culturally Albanians) which limits mobility of surplus labour out of this province. The report proposes promotion of small scale activities inter alia because they provide a medium for productive employment of a larger proportion of the female labour force. Several projects in Niger deal with the very complex systems for division of labour in that country. In the area of the second Maradi rural development project, for instance, the predominant ethnic group is the Hausa. The farming structure which is quite complex involves a system of -4- family fields and individual plots which are assigned to the women by the male head of the household. Women do not have decision making powers in relation to the family fields, but can decide what to do with their individual plots. Customarily they must devote more time to the family fields than to their own plots and consequently any improvements in the latter are difficult to implement. Utder the first Maradi project a system of Centres de Promotion Purale (CPR) was established where young farmers and their wives are trained in agricultural practices, functional literacy, health, nutrition, and small farm animal raising. Under the second Maradi project an additional CPP. will be established. Three main ethnic groups: the Hausa, the Djerma, and the Fulani inhabit the area of the Dosso agricultural development project also in Niger. Land is held mainly in small subsistence farms. The Hlausa women participate in agricultural work during the rainy season, while dry season cultivation is male work. The Djerma women on the other hand do not undertake rainy season cultivation but do most of the dry season field work. The population in the area is 50% Hausa, 40% Djerma, and 10% Fulani. The Fulani, although sedentarized, practice short-cycle transhumance from their home base. As noted above, the Hausa women can make decisions relative only to their own plots which they cultivate usually working two days a week. Under the Djerma farming system the family heads (men) make all the decisions about choice of crops, timing, and cultivation techniques. The women's fields represent approximately 30% of the family's cultivated area, but as in the case of the "aradi project, it is difficult to improve their productivity as frequently Iecause they are planted too late. -5- The sector report on the Yemen Arab Republic examines the effects of emigration of the rural population (primarily males) on the agricultural development of the country. Yemeni women are responsible for the majority of work in grain production. Subsistence agriculture is also their respon- sibility. One of the immediate effects of emigration is that there has been an increase in the use of women and children as farm labour, in non-traditional tasks. For women this work is additional to their customary tasks. The report proposes the expansion of agricultural research, one purpose of which would be the introduction of labour saving devices to reduce women's work load. Such an effort is being tried in Zaire in the smallholder maize project. In the project area, the Kasai Oriental Region, family labour is the crucial input. Women are in charge of the bulk of farm work. Their input is made predominantly during weeding and post-harvest processing. Whereas the bulk of farm labour is required for harvest and post-harvest processing, the technical input package offered by the project reduces the demand for labour per ton of maize only in pre-harvest operations. However, the project's research, training, and extension component will promote the development and local manufacture of labour saving devices designed to avoid the post-harvest labour (female) bottle- neck. Items being considered include maize cribs to permit longer storage of corn on the cob and allow the shelling process to be done during less busy seasons. Mannually operated maize shellers and manioc shredders are also being considered. The Mali agricultural sector memorandum invites attention to the OED review "Rural Development Projects: a Retrospective View of Bank Experience in Sub-Sahara Agriculture." This OED review, inter alia had noted that ignoring the role of the family and of women in particular in agricultural systems in Africa, had caused major problems in implementing Bank projects successfully. In Mali women play an important role in the agricultural sector; they not only produce vegetables for consumption by the family, but also work in the fields cultivating cash crops, perform household chores and food processing and participate in small income generating activities. In recent years there have been dramatic changes in Indonesia in total labour use, in the sex division of labour and in the composition of hired and family labour. Particularly in relation to rice, these changes have affected women, especially landless women. The innovations most widely adopted have been for weeding and hulling, both largely women's tasks. A related discussion in the Indonesia report on Employment and Income Distribution notes on women's role in processing rice that "Even if the labour of the pounder, usually women, is assigned no value, mechanical milling is to be preferred because of the significantly higher extraction rate and the better quality of rice production by mechanical units." In addition to the loss of employment oDportunities, the tendency to imill,mechanically,larger quantities of rice,has sometimes represented for poor farmers an additional loss from having to buy back rice at higher prices before the next harvest. Other projects that have noted the division of labour by sex in agri- culture include two recently appraised agricultural projects in Burundi which considered the importance of women's work in the agricultural sector in that country. The Kirimiro rural development project appraisal report for instance points out that 52% of the local population is female and 10% of the households are headed by women. Many men have migrated in search of work and women contribute more time to foodcrop cultivation than men do. In the area covered by the Ngozi III--integrated rural development project, 25% of the households are headed by woman. Here the women also do most of the foodcrop cultivation while the men concentrate on cashcrops. -7- In both areas it is noted that women hive limited decisian making authority. Although both projects have recognized the important role of women, only the Kirimiro project specifically makes provisions to help integrate women in its activities and includes pilot activities in appropriate techn'ology for grain conservation, water storage, corn shellers, social welfare for women and training of additional female social workers. In many countries the incidence of households headed by females is a socio-economic phenomenon of increasing significance and has implications for the agricultural sector. Economic pressures in Nepal are aggravating already strong tendencies towards migration to India and within Nepal to the Terai area seasonally e.g., for harvesting, or permanently. Particularly in the Hills, from which there is most migration, the families left behind experience hardship and more households may de facto be headed by women who need ways of supplementing family income. Absence of males also affect farming yields. These aspects of the problems of migration are not discussed in the Nepal sector report. The impact of migration of males from Yemen was noted above in relation to the changing responsibilities of women in agriculture. The majority of the migrants are married. On their return they often bring consumption items which can improve the quality of life for their families. As in most situations where families are disrupted by migration, it is questionable how far these compensate the family left behind for the problems the absence of the male creates (the need for labcur, uncertainty of remittances, disrupted social organization including the pattern of decision-making, child discipline, etc.). The report notes that ".....great hardships are imposed on women during the absence of husbands or sons as they must assume multiple responsibilities for which they have little preparation or outside assistance." -8- Recent agricultural projects in the Yemen Arab Republic have taken into account the increased role of women in agriculture due to male migration to other Arab countries. Among the activities of the Tihama development project. IV (Wadi Rima II) will be the expansion of extension to reach women not only with the customary training in home economics and family life subjects but also in agricultural production. The project recognizes that there is need for this training for women if the economic improvements gained under the project are to be fully used. For instance, better incomes will change the pattern of food consumption, but nutrition will not be improved unless infor- mation on food values,both of new crops and imported goods is imparted to the population; improved water supply can improve health conditions only if the population are aware of basic hygiene principles. In addition to agriculture and livestock practices, the training programs will include consumption habits in relation to nutrition, caloric intake and intra-familial food distribution; home food processing and storage; home hygiene, first aid, infant and child care. The Yemen southern uplands rural development II project, also aiming at improving the quality of rural life, will bring to women information and training on agricultural production, health, hygiene, nutrition, food storage, and processing. The project also includes the hiring of two expatriate home economics specialists and a consultant to help establish a training program for women extension agents. RLDUCTION OF THE FOOD GAP The several rrovisions noted above in relation to the division of labour would result in increased productivity of small farmer agriculture. Also, improvements proposed in harvesting and storage technology by reducing the considerable wastage of food due to inefficient methods would make more Food available. -9- Given that Burundi has the second hiOhest population density per "hillv" square kilometer in Africa, "Finding ways to increase productivity in the small]-older food-crop sector should be the overriding national 'objective." The sector memorandum identifies the family as the predominant farming unit and notes that the actual number of plots farmed by the average family is large. In this connection, it would be useful to identify the division of labour by sex (and age) within the family and the implications on this of the spontaneous nigration which is taking place due to population pressure. The Indonesia sector report, which examines the supply proppects for the major food crops for human consumption (rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, soybean and peanuts) is silent on women's significant role in production and trading of food in Indonesia. Women in farming households have traditionally had varying degrees of control over individual food crops, which new technologies and greater commercialisation can alter. While it is noted that the house ompound gardens represent a substantial source of food for the household, the role of women in working these gardens is not mentioned. In Nepal the "most urgent task for agriculture is to provide food for a growing population and to raise nutrition standards from present low levels in the hills and mountains." The report notes that women take full responsibility for many farming operations, in the mountains particularly, and that project designers will take this fact into account. Nigeria was a major exporter of food and agricultural products until 1974. Today the Government is subsidiz:ng some food imports and domestic production cannot compete with the prices, e.g. frozen meat imports may be - 10 - displacing meat from the goats, poultry, etc. raised by women. The report notes that because of the significant rural-urban shift, marketing systems serving the urban areas will have to carry 5 times more produce by 1990 than in 1970. Women do a considzrable amount of the wholesale and retail marketing of food and also prppare and process food for sale. The primary concern of the Mali sector memorandum is crop production. It does not examine the problem of shifting of lands now under food crop cultivation to cash crops. Such changes in land use- has unbalanced the dividion of labotr between the sexes noted above and has damaged the nutritional status of the population, especially that of women and children. These problems were dealt with by the Mali Basic Needs Mission, among, the conclusions of which was the need for more careful targeting of development interventions on women and children. While we will discuss extension separately, it is appropriate here in connection with women's efforts towards reducing the food gap to note the failure of extension services to reach the women who are farmers with technical packages and information to improve the returns to their efforts. For example, in Liberia the smallholder rice production improvement project will provide improved seeds for smallholder producers to increase the quality of the rice produced in the area. To prepare the farmers to accept and use the improved seeds correctly, the project will strengthen the local extension service. The project recognizes that in Liberia women are soley responsible for swamp rice cultivation, for the cultivation of upland rice after the men have cleared the land, and for the processing of harvested rice. Up to now the efforts of the extension service have concentrated on reaching only the '/ Imnlications of changes in Traditional Land Tenure and land use systems are discussed b Noronha, CPS/OA (fortbcomine). - 11 - male farmers. However, the participation of women farmers' in extension programs is seen to be expanding and under this project the rice technicians of the extension service will encourage the farmers' wives to attend demonstrations and meetings to learn the best way to grow the improved seeds, better techniques for harvesting, threshing, and storing the rice, and improved technology for drying and milling it. Several projects make provisions for increasing the production of women's plots to improve the family food supplies and also give attention to the use of food for improving nutrition. The Volta region agricultural project in Ghana provides for improving the nutrition of farm families through increased production of vegetables and staples and improved techniques for food prepara- tion and preservation. The project will train and provide equipment and audio-visual aids for nutrition extension agents who would increase the awareness of the population of the project area about food values and dietary habits and would also work closely with the agricultural extension agents to develop special extension programs for women farmers. Under the Brazil-Piaui rural development project the extension component will deal with the development of vegetable and fruit gardens and the raising of small livestock with the goal of ultimately improving the nutritional level of the population. In the semi-arid and arid zones of the project area, new techniques for home garden cultivation which dispense with systematic irrigation during droughts will he applied. In areas where water is available, a system of irrigation with locally produced clay pots will be introduced. Training the women in the preparation and preservation of the vegetables, fruits, and meats produced in the region is also part of the projects extension program to imDrove local food suDDlies. - 12 - The Sudan southern region agricultural project IT attempts to deal with the problem of periodic food shortage through improved storage techniques as well as production of additional crops. Farmers training centers are being established where farmers wives will also be trained in nutrition and home economics. In Thailand the main poverty groups whose welfare any strategy for the agricultural sector should aim to improve, have been identified as the rainfed rice farmers in the North East and North, and the rice/rubber cultivators in the South. The sector report notes that several socio-economic studies in Thailand are producing information on the characteristics of farm households and farm enterprises in different agro-climacic zones, and that the Bank is doing a detailed review to locate poverty communities in the Northeast. Informatien about rural women is available in The Basic Economic Report which describes division of family labour in Thailand, the limited education of females in farm families, and the characteristics of households headed by females. Such information was not reflected in the sector report. With an analysis of women's roles in farm level decision making, in planting and harvesting of crops, and their contribution to family income from other sources such as small livestock and weaving, it should be reflected in the profiles of farm households which are to be prepared as a basis for project planning. One of the aims for the agricultural sector of Yorocco is to reduce the growing food gap by removing the constraints to the sector's growth. The strategy outlined in the sector memorandum concentrates inter alia on target group oriented agriculture projects. One such target group is the poor in rural areas who are the landless or are farming holdings of under 5 hectares and whose living conditions are deteriorating. The memorandum recommends that to address - 13 - the poverty problem more efficiently the regions where it occurs should be better identified and their economy and social structure analyzed to ensure that relevant programmes are designed. While women principally remain inside the house compound participating from there in the family decision making e.g. on the disposal of its income, they also perform field labour. The variations in women's roles would there- fore be an important dimension of the above mentioned analyses, and should also be reflected in the monitoring and evaluation framework which the memorandum proposes. Including women on monitoring teams would facilitate access to information directly from women. FORFSTRY AND FTFELUTOD Women's involvement and interest in forestry related activities is dealt with in a separate note. Given their close link with agriculture, food production and consumption and women's interests therein, some brief reference here is appropriate and a forestry sector report was included among the reports reviewed: the Sri Lanka Forestry Sector Survey deals with the problem of firewood supply and also with the commercial use of wood. It suggests that a comprehensive rural energy survey-should be undertaken but does not mention women and their role in fire- wood collection and use. The sector report proposes an action plan for the forestry sector which includes provision for settinR uD firewood plantations. The introduction of energy efficient stoves might have been mentioned as one of the ways to conserve fuelwood. Burundi's agricultural sector is affected inter alia by three inter-related problems which bear on the welfare of woT-en and their role in the agricultural sector, namely poor soil, its erosion, and the need for reforestation. The memorandum suggests the planting of hedges and reforestation both to control erosion and for firewood. It suggests that with easier access to firewood, the */ Scott, G.L. Forestry Prcjects and Women, July, 1980. - 14 - cattle waste will be used as fertilizer thus improving soil fertility. However, the report does not mention that,as women are in charge of collecting and using the fuel,they should be the target of extension efforts to promote the use of cattle waste as fertilizer,and explain the need for planting the hedges and for reforestation, in several stages of which women's labour would be involved. In a Bank assisted urban project in Burundi, efforts are being made to introduce energy saving stoves to conserve fuelwood, and this experience could be useful also for rural areas. The Burundi sector memorandum also raises the problem of nutrition and notes the need for nutrition education campaigns especially related to post-weaning feeding practices. Women, who are the obvious target of these campaigns, are never mentioned. Nutrition information on consumption practices should effectively be melded with and offered to women at the same time as information on agricultural production practices, the use of animal wastes as fertilizers, and ways of preventing soil erosion. EXTENSION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH Extension,training and research which are obviously critical to introducing innovations in this as in other sectors,were discussed in the reports and some references have already been made in oreceeding sections. Frequently the success of extension efforts persuading farmers to use "packages" of new inputs will be influenced by what women know about these innovations. The Nepal sector report notes that desoite women's responsibilities for farming operations (responsibilities which are increasing notably), but for two females, the extension services are staffed entirely by males whose work is "strongly oriented towards males in rural societies." It recommends training female extension workers and developing systems for them to reach women effectively, and it proposes a study of the way in which agricultural advice reaches women. - 15 Four newly established trainin5 centers will train women in home science (hopefully offering training which is appropriate to their rural environment), but there is an obvious need to relate the training to women's farming activities also. In Indonesia the second agricultural training project is making significant efforts to increase the number of female extension workers. In its limited discussion of extension, the Thailand Memorandum also does not reflect the need for female extension agents. The sector memorandum proposes efforts to reach farmers to encourage increased use of fertilizers and to teach the farmers to use it pronerly. It would be wise also to reach the farmer's wives with this information since, in Thailand, especially in parts of the Northeast, it is very clear that they share in farm level decisions and have a say in how the family income will be spent. Women extension agents should be trained in agriculture as well as for home economics so that they can explain to women the improvements proposed to the men, and also the exoenditures on which both sexes must agree. This in fact is being done in the second national agricultural extension project which will strengthen the extension service in 39 of Thailand's 72 provinces which were not covered by the first project. The project recognizes the considerable influence that Thai women exert on the decision making process of farr activities, in particular in relation to the nurchase of seeds and other inputs, and notes that women are the main source of labour for planting, weeding and harvesting. To reach rural women, the project will assign female extension aqents and subject matter specialists and 15% to 25% of those employed in each province as well as all of the home economics agents provided under the project would be women. The extension agents would make a point of always contacting the farmers' wives and would organize and visit farm women's clubs - 16 - regularly, offering information on subjects such as vegetable and fruit cultivation, food preparation, and preservation, etc. They will coordinate their activities with the Community Development Department to teach family care, sewing, and cottage industries. Farly recognition of women's role in agricultural production enables it to be considered in the project design. A project brief for the India-Himalayan integrated watershed development project notes that women do most of the agricultural work in the project area, with the exception of ploughing and levelling. There are very few trained female extension workers in the area, and the Bank has re- commended that more women should be trained to degree and diploma levels in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, and possibly forestry to work in the area. The Sedhiou IV project in Senegal, also at an early stage of preparation, has recognized the need to consider women's role. Previous agricultural projects there have run into difficulties in reaching the women farmers with credit for cultivating swamp rice. During the implementation of some vrojects, it has become clear that convincing the women in the project area is necessary for the success of the activities being undertaken. This was the case in the Brazil-Minas Gerais integrated rural development project I where experience has shown that the farmers' wives were instrumental in accepting some of the credit components under the Project. Usually these farmers' wives were approached only by social extensionists, who are mostly female and deal with domestic subjects like health and education. XWhen the women's role in fostering project acceotance was nQted, it was suggested that the social extensionists should be thoroughly informed about the design and implemenation of the project and work more closely with the agricultural extensionists (mostly male) with whom they should be given equal importance. - 17 - The Philippines grain production review notes that more research into the socio-cultural inhibitors influencing farmers' milling decisions and rice-by-Droduct demands is required before formulating a new strategy for this sector. An important element in these decisions is that the cono milling process deprives farmers of the bran, etc, which women use for feeding the backyard livestock and this would disrupt their earnings and affect family welfare. In addition to raising backyard livestock for home consumption and for sale, women in the Philippines work in the fields, especially during the harvest, share with the men the responsibility for household decisions and are almost always in charge of the family budget. Thus women's roles in the processes of production and the causes of their resistance to certain changes should be considered in the proposed new strategy for the grain sub-sector. Women are frequently involved in the decision to market crops or store them. This has implications for the use of milling facilities that may be provided in anticipation of increased demand with increased grain production. Factors frequently overlooked in estimating such demand include the preference for home milling so as to retain the by-product for feeding small stock as noted above: that since dry paddy stores longer than milled rice without deteriorating, the farming households may prefer to store that part of the paddy not required to meet immediate debts, and hand pound quantities as required for their own consumption or sale; that if they can afford to delay sale, they will avoid the immediate post harvest glut and get a higher price for later sales; and that rice stored in the house is largely under women's control, and ensures the family nutrition. The need for information to be broken down so as to distinguish the roles of women has been noted. Such information is required to monitor the impact - 18 - of changes in the sector, as a basis for designing extension and training programmes and to direct them to the appropriate target groups. Research is also needed to improve the tools for cultivation and other equipment to enhance the efficiency of women's performance of their tasks in the agricultural sector. These would include improved storage equipment and tools for processing and food preparation as proposed in Zaire Kasai and Burundi Krimiro projects. Tools and equipment for saving women's time and effort,are also needed, as noted in the Nepal sector report. None of the reports reviewed discussed the question of on-farm transportation which can represent a significant burden to the small farmers. For inputs, it is frequently women that must carry the water for fertilizer application, and they also take out a share of the crop. Any strategy to reduce the food and nutrition gap should also make provision for research to improve the species of subsistence food crops for which women have responsibility. Under the Pakistan-Hill farming technical development project, a socio-- economic study of farming systems has been commissioned as part of preparation for a follow-up project. This study is expected to show that women perform a large proportion of the farm labour in the area. Therefore, the need for effective communication with women has been raised as a design issue for the follow-up project. Another aspect of extension and training for women which has contributed to improving the welfare of farm families has been the support for women's non-farm income generating activites. In the project area the Ceara rural development project II in Brazil will support small scale enterprises such as lace making, sewing, embroidery, food processing, jams and preserves. The entrepreneurs, mostly females, would receive remedial education, technical -19- assistance, and skill training. Also in Brazil, the Piaui rural development project will provide credit, extension, and training for cottage industries and artisanal production. Under the agricultural development component, the extension agents will offer training programs on the processing of locally available materials such as nuts (babassu and cashew), fruits, straw, wood, clay, leather, etc. for family use and for sale. Groups of women and youths will be formed to receive training and credit for the development of these activities. Under the fisheries component, there will be similar training and credit provisions, but the women and children of the fishermen's families will also receive training in net making which is one of their traditional occupations. Another activity under this project will be the provision of credit for the women who process mangrove-crab and shrimp. The credit will finance equipment such as aluminum tables for sun-drying, nots and pans; improvement of kitchens, etc. and the acquisition of basic materials such as salt and firewood. The earnings from these productive activities Performed by the women are the sole source of income for the fishermen's families during the off-harvest season, between September and December, when high winds prevent the men from fishing. None of the projects reviewed proposed assisting women to establish cooperatives, either for production or for marketing in agriculture or off-farm ventures. Often by working through and supporting indigenous groups already cooperating, extension agents can help women to increase their benefits from project provisions. The implications for women of opening up of new lands and creating new settlements for agriculture is an area which has received relatively little attention. In the new land development project (West Nubariva) in Egypt, farmers will re-settle in newly created villages in reclaimed desert lands. -20l -. Previous experience had indicated that the move to a new community, depriving settlers of their community ties, bore harder on women than on men. Among selection criteria for this project is the willingness of both male and female members of the family to participate in the educational and training activities which will include dairying, poultry, and rabbit raising for women. The project will train special female extension agents since women are expected to play a key role to ensure its success. CONCLISION In so far as sector reports contribute to the basis for the Bank's lending strategy, it is important that they at least indicate issues which are likely to affect the implementation of projects and the achievement of their objectives. One such set of issues relate to the involvement of women in the sector, examples of which have been suggested above. Thile the particulars of involvement will vary by country and region, the concerns fall into two broad categories: (i) those directly related to the performance of the agricultural sector including: - women in the agricultural labour force: sex, task, crop division of labour; - agricultural extension and training for women; - technology used (a) for agriculture, and (b) for household tasks to free time for agriculture- - time allocation between household maintenance, agricultural production (cash crops, subsistence crops, family farming, wage labour, reciprocal labour) and other productive activities: (ii) those related to family welfare, including: - displacement of wcmen's labour (and earnings) by technology: - social extension for family health, nutrition; - 21 - - household technology - opportunities for increasing family income. Broad topics, such as migration, of course, give. rise to concerns related to both categories. Many of the reports have indicated the need for additional information and proposed various surveys. The terms of reference for such research should as appropriate refer to women. This would be particularly important where the .data being collected is envisaged as a monitoring benchmark or with a view to designing pilot projects. The issues identified in the table of Annex I could be useful as the start of a checklist against which to raise questions about women's intervention in this sector. A significant proportion of Bank activity in the agricultural sector is aimed at increasing the productivity and hence the living standards of large numbers of rural poor. Seventy-five percent of the investment in the sector has been directed towards increasing food production. This trend may be expected to continue in the 1980s, and the effectiveness of the projects which will be financed can be enhanced by recognizing women's role in agriculture and their contribution to food production. SELECTED ISSUES IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ANNEX I A Implications for women noted in report Labour dis- Extension Nutrition: Household Research, Report 1979 Sex division placement by (Training/ Veg. gardens, food pro- Income Deci*ion Fuelwood Evaluation, No. Month of labour Migration new technology Employment) Small stock ceasing generation making__ stoves fonitorinp 2177 6 Philippines: Pil Agric. support services 2192a 1 Grain production in Ill Policy Review 2374 3 Indonesia: IND Supply prospects for A major food crops 2332a 3 Yugoslavia: A YU Kosovo rural sector survey 2181 3 Nigeria NI Agric. sector report 2205 4 Nepal: A A A NEP Agric. sector memo. 2554 6 Thailand: Til Agric. sector memo. 2585 6 Yemen Arab Republic A A A YAR Effects of migration of rural A labour on Agric. Dev. 2667 9 Morocco: A MOR Agric. sector memo. 9 Burundi: A A Agric. sector memo. 2567 10 Mali LI Agricultural sector memo 2672 Sri Lanka CE Forestry Sector Survey A ANNEX II LIST OF PROJECTS REVIFWFD FEPORT Nn. COUNTRY AND PROJECT 3010--E0T Egypt--New Land Development Project (West Nubariva) Staff Appraisal Peport, October 31, 1980 2420--TH Thailand--National Agricultural Fxtension II Project, Staff Appraisal Report, July 16, 1979 2194--iR 7aire--Smallholder Maize Project, Staff Appraisal Report, May 2, 1980 2493--NIR Niger--Dossa Agricultural Development Project, Staff Appraisal Report, November 21, 1979 2817--NIF Niger--Maradi Rural Development Project II, Staff Appraisal Report, May 1, loF.n 3n20--RP Prazil--Ceara Pural Development Project II, Staff Apnraisal Report, November 11, 10R0 2527--OH Ghana--Volta Region Agricultural Development Project Staff Appraisal Report, April 26, 1979 235f6a-SU Sudan--Southern Region Agriculture Project, Staff Appraisal Report, April 26, 1979 2Q21--VAR Yemen Arab Republic--Southern Uplands Rural Development Project II Staff Appraisal Report, August 20, 1980 2613--YAR Yemen Arab Republic--Tihama Development Project IV, (Wadi Rima II) Staff Appraisal Report, December 13, 1979 1291--BR Brazil--Minas Gerais Integrated Rural Development Project, Staff Appraisal Report, December 28, 1976 P--213Q--PAK Pakistan--Hill Farming Technical Development Project November 9, 1977 2728--ME Mexico--Oaxaca Rural Development (IFAD) Project (Green cover) Staff Appraisal Report, January 28, 1980 3351--LBR Liberia--Smallholder Rice Production Improvement Project (IFAD) (Green cover) Staff Apnraisal Report, Mary 12, 19Q1 3367--CY Cyprus--Fruit and Vegetable Export Project, (yellow cover) Staff Appraisal Feport, March 4, 1981 3402--BU Burundi--Kirimiro Rural Development Project, (yellow cover) Staff Appraisal Deport, March 20, 1981 ANNEX II LIST OF VROJECTS PEVIEWED REPORT NO. COUNTTRY AND PROJECT 3230--BU Burundi--NGOZI--III/Integrated Rural Development Project, (yellow cover) Staff Appraisal Report, December 5, 1980 3308--BR Brazil--Piaui Rural Development Project, (vellow cover) Staff Appraisal. Report, Narch 19, 1981