• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Lifestyle
According to Professor Amanda Gouws up to 200 million tons of agricultural produce is produced in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two-thirds of this is produced by small and subsistence farmers and women make up over 65% of the producers.

Give female farmers greater access to land and credit

27th August 2019
Many people love avocados, but did you know that the introduction of just one of these fruits per day can improve the overall quality of your diet? Photo: Pixabay

An avocado a day can keep the doctor away

10th August 2022
Davidzo Chizhengeni, animal scientist, founder of KvD livestock, Ika Cronje, farmer and participant in the Corteva Women Agripreneur 2022 programme, Vuyokazi Makapela, a Director at Afrivet, and permaculture farmer, Stephanie Mullins. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Podcast: Prevent rabies with vaccination

10th August 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Control and prevent downy mildew on crops

Control and prevent downy mildew on crops

10th August 2022
The value of South Africa’s informal farming sector is understated, experts say, and many farmers say that they prefer trading to this segment of the economy. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

New farmer? Informal markets ‘the way to go’

10th August 2022
Gauteng police recovered and confiscated sheep and goats in Sedibeng this week. Photo: Supplied/SAPS

ICYMI: Police recover stolen livestock

10th August 2022
Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

9th August 2022
Setting up a regenerative smallholding

Setting up a regenerative smallholding

9th August 2022
Determination drives this #SoilSista to succeed

Determination drives this #SoilSista to succeed

9th August 2022
The women who dared to start farming in Mzansi when few others would. Photo: Food For Mzansi

She bosses: ‘We see farming changing for good’

9th August 2022
Refiloe Molefe has vowed to build a new urban farm after the City of Johannesburg bulldozed the site she built in Bertrams. Photo: Supplied/GroundUp

ICYMI: Mama Fifi determined to rise again

9th August 2022
Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

8th August 2022
Claire and Martin Joubert have sacrificed and struggled to become top breeders of Ankole cattle in South Africa. But giving up was never an option, because they wanted to offer only the very best Ankole genetics in the country. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Farming couple lives and breathes Ankole cattle

8th August 2022
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
11 GLOBAL MEDIA AWARDS
Thursday, August 11, 2022
Food For Mzansi
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
    • All
    • AgriCareers
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Farmers
    • Groundbreakers
    • Innovators
    • Inspiration
    • It Takes a Village
    • Mentors
    • Movers and Shakers
    • Partnerships
    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Claire and Martin Joubert have sacrificed and struggled to become top breeders of Ankole cattle in South Africa. But giving up was never an option, because they wanted to offer only the very best Ankole genetics in the country. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Farming couple lives and breathes Ankole cattle

    Tackling climate change, one tree at a time

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Once struggling farm now a family heirloom

    Optimal yields now at farmers’ finger tips

    Some of the children with the ECD practitioner Yolanda Shabalala. Zero2Five Trust promotes holistic Early Childhood Development in formerly disadvantaged areas by improving learners’ health and education outcomes with nutrition and education programmes. Photo: Supplied/Zero2Five Trust

    Zero2Five: Giving hope to KZN flood victims

    Agripreneur 101: Kupisa Sauce is going places

    Agripreneur 101: Kupisa Sauce is going places

    Ncumisa Mkabile, is a farmer, community activist that has won numerous awards for her work in agriculture. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Farmer, influencer, go-getter – Ncumisa’s all that

  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
No Result
View All Result
Food For Mzansi

Give female farmers greater access to land and credit

by Dawn Noemdoe
27th August 2019
in Farmers, Female Farmer, Food for Thought, Land Reform
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
According to Professor Amanda Gouws up to 200 million tons of agricultural produce is produced in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two-thirds of this is produced by small and subsistence farmers and women make up over 65% of the producers.

According to Professor Amanda Gouws up to 200 million tons of agricultural produce is produced in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two-thirds of this is produced by small and subsistence farmers and women make up over 65% of the producers.

Globally women play a significant role in agriculture. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, women are the backbone of the agricultural sector and make up almost half of the agricultural labour force, according to a working paper about the role of women in agriculture by the Agricultural Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

  • READ MORE: Women pushing to bridge gender gaps in agri sector

Despite this fact, female farmers are only able to access a fraction of the land, are unable to get credit and farm inputs, and too few are able to receive appropriate training and capacity building.

Women in agriculture and women as farmers are therefore not without controversy, says Amanda Gouws, a professor in political science at Stellenbosch University. Female-leaded farms bring a myriad of issues to the forefront of the social, cultural and political agenda in what is already being talked of as the fourth industrial revolution.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gouws, who is also the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) Chair in Gender Politics, says, “to be a woman and want to be a farmer challenges the gender roles as well as patriarchy”.

Officially, Statistics South Africa reported at the end of 2018 that the country has more than 800 000 agricultural workers. It is estimated that men make up about two-thirds of this statistic. Whilst they are in the majority with increased job security, it should be noted that the female labour force in the commercial sector are relegated to mostly seasonal labour, jobs that are by nature precarious and insecure.

But it is also important to understand that in many sub-Saharan countries there is a clear distinction between commercial and subsistence farming. Whilst the commercial farmers are able to access land through open markets, and with it the related credit and other inputs, subsistence farmers face a different set of conditions.

According to Gouws, female small-scale and subsistence farmers far outnumber males in the sector. She says there are 954 000 women compared to 315 000 men working in this arena, and despite their numbers, these women are still struggling to get access to extension services, credit and security of tenure.

“Up to 200 million tons of agricultural produce is produced in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two-thirds of this is produced by small and subsistence farmers and women make up over 65% of the producers. In the South African case, [it is often the] women [who farm] in male households.”

Alfreda Mars, a commercial grain farmer and CEO of Middlepos Farm in Moorreesburg in the Western Cape, says because she farms on leased land, she does not qualify for credit. Her success in the industry has come at a price. As a single woman, she struggles to gain access to extension services and has to instead pay for such services through the private sector.

  • READ MORE: How Alfreda Mars silenced doubters

Roseline Engelbrecht, Labour Rights Programme Coordinator for the Women on Farms Project, a Stellenbosch based non-governmental organisation, says: “Farm workers are the backbone of our economy and yet they are the most marginalised and forgotten citizens. Despite their selfless contributions they retire with nothing to call their own; no land, no housing and no retirement fund.”

Engelbrecht believes women face a particularly hard struggle as farm dwellers. “Workers, and specifically female workers, who live and work on commercial farms typically experience intersecting livelihood challenges arising from labour rights violations, landlessness, household food insecurity and lack of alternative income-generating skills and opportunities.”

She emphasises that housing rights on farms are linked to labour contracts and housing contracts are often in the name of male permanent workers. This leaves women who live on farms as “dependents” or “appendages” of their husbands, fathers and brothers and not contractors in their own rights. In a broader context, where gender-based violence is rife, women’s lack of independent housing and access to land renders them extremely vulnerable.

ADVERTISEMENT

Another critical question is what role agriculture can play in bridging the agricultural gender gap, and whether the sector is living up to its responsibility in encouraging equality. Gouws emphasises that in order to do this, women need access to credit and land: “In order for women farmers to feel more secure we have to look at this issue of land tenure and women’s access to land.”

  • WATCH: All-female panel discusses gender gaps in Food For Mzansi Power Talk

According to Gouws, the issue of land tenure and women’s access to land is a very serious one. Although the country has been looking at land redistribution for the past 25 years, it hasn’t been addressing the issue of how women’s relationship to land would be accommodated.

“In the past 10 years, the power of traditional leaders has increased dramatically through the communal land rights act and through the traditional leadership frameworks act and it’s not actually been to the benefit of women,” she adds.

This then leads to the discussion of and understanding how customary law needs to be transformed, looking at living customary law versus codified customary law. Gouws believes we cannot separate women’s access to land to how it’s entrenched in legislation.

An example of this can be found in research done by Professor Ben Cousins from the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape. He showcases two neighbouring communities with two different traditional leaders. The one leader adheres to codified law and the other follows living customary law.

The leader who looked at living customary law said he was prepared to say that cohabiting couples who were not married could have access to land. He gave permission to single women to access and to work land. The other leader, who adhered to codified law, said no, unmarried people could not access land, single women cannot access land. The result was far higher production levels and equality in the customary law community compared to the one where they adhere to codified customary law.

Here, government needs to be at the forefront of law reform. They need to take the lead in opening the doors for women to be accommodated in agriculture and how they can be accommodated through law reform.

Given all these challenges they face, particularly in South Africa, why should women even bother farming? Women are about fifty percent of the population and just as capable as men to own land and work it. They have the potential to be changemakers in their communities.

Women already work in all aspects of agriculture. They are soil scientists and plant breeders, they work in training and development and they operate planting and harvesting equipment. Commercial farmers and subsistence farmers have to manage farm systems and their labour force. The effective input of women in commercial agriculture is essential and will significantly increase the potential to address food insecurity in South Africa and rest of the world.

  • READ MORE: Women pushing to bridge gender gaps in agri sector
Tags: Agricultural Development Economics DivisionAlfreda MarsAmanda GouwsFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFood For MzansiRoseline EngelbrechtStatistics South AfricaStellenbosch UniversitySub-Saharan AfricaWomen On Farms Project
Previous Post

Late registrations now accepted for Annual AFASA Young Farmers Summit (AAYFS)

Next Post

Choosing a career is daunting, but Limpopo learners are keen to explore options in agriculture

Dawn Noemdoe

Dawn Noemdoe

DAWN NOEMDOE is a journalist and content producer who cut her teeth in community radio. She brings a natural curiosity instinctively dedicated to truth telling. Persistent and nurturing a strong sense of commitment, Dawn’s heart for equality drives her work, also as Food For Mzansi’s Project Editor.

Related Posts

Employment in the agricultural sector has proven increasingly invaluable in recent years amid South Africa's worsening economic state. Photos: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Agri stands its ground amid ‘endemic unemployment’

by Staff Reporter
2nd June 2022
0

In a country suffering endemic unemployment, the agricultural sector has once again showed its worth, says Agri SA. Despite a...

Dr Obvious Mapiye, whose studies helped develop new livestock management software. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Dr Mapiye’s driven to help small-scale farmers commercialise

by Tiisetso Manoko
16th May 2022
0

After seeing first-hand the challenges and unsustainable plans that small-scale farmers had to live with, this innovative agricultural researcher is...

The late Professor Mohammad Karaan, a former member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s high-level panel on land reform and agriculture. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Naidoo to address historic first Karaan memorial lecture

by Staff Reporter
12th April 2022
0

The life and memory of the late Professor Mohammad Karaan will be honoured during a memorial address on Wednesday. Stellenbosch...

Russia-Ukraine war: ‘Keep food, fertiliser trade open’

Russia-Ukraine war: ‘Keep food, fertiliser trade open’

by Staff Reporter
15th March 2022
0

Over the past two years, Covid-19 has presented many challenges to global food security. What is happening in Russia and...

Next Post
Close to 700 learners from a number of schools in and around Settlers in Limpopo joined the fourth and final leg of the VKB Food For Mzansi agri career roadshow.

Choosing a career is daunting, but Limpopo learners are keen to explore options in agriculture

The value of South Africa’s informal farming sector is understated, experts say, and many farmers say that they prefer trading to this segment of the economy. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi
News

New farmer? Informal markets ‘the way to go’

by Tiisetso Manoko
10th August 2022
0

Apart from the 40 000 commercial farmers in Mzansi, hundreds of thousands of smallholders contribute to the economy too. Many...

Read more
Gauteng police recovered and confiscated sheep and goats in Sedibeng this week. Photo: Supplied/SAPS

ICYMI: Police recover stolen livestock

10th August 2022
Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

9th August 2022
Setting up a regenerative smallholding

Setting up a regenerative smallholding

9th August 2022
Determination drives this #SoilSista to succeed

Determination drives this #SoilSista to succeed

9th August 2022

Get the best out of your pigs’ genetics

60m. mouths to feed: ‘We’ve got you, Mzansi’

Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

Farmers fight on despite lost export markets

R19-million breakthrough for sugarcane farmers

Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

THE NEW FACE OF SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

With 12 global awards in the first three years of its existence, Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication. It is a movement, unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture. We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society.

An avocado a day can keep the doctor away

Podcast: Prevent rabies with vaccination

Control and prevent downy mildew on crops

New farmer? Informal markets ‘the way to go’

ICYMI: Police recover stolen livestock

Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

  • Our Story
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824
News: info@foodformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought

Copyright © 2021 Food for Mzansi

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.