In Africa, agriculture is the most important sector in national economies. About 80 per cent of the active population works in agriculture. Further, apart from few exceptions, agriculture makes up more than 50 percent of gross national product. Nevertheless, Africa remains the only region in the world in which agricultural production declined between 1970 and 1980, when the growth rate was less than 2 per cent and moreover the gross national product (GNP) per head is one of the lowest in the world.

The problem of low productivity is fundamental to the long-term deteriorating trend in agricultural and per capita food production that has characterized African agriculture during the past decades. Widespread desertification and degradation of African farmlands and the present heavy dependence on natural rainfall which are some of the causes of low productivity, reflect the inability of African member States to sufficiently invest in and develop technologies and farming systems suitable for adoption by small farmers.

Aujourd'hui on s'accorde pour reconnaître que les femmes jouent un rôle important dans l'économie des pays et plus particulièrement dans l'agriculture pour les pays fortement agricoles et sous développés comme le Burkina Faso. Cette conviction est traduite au niveau national par l’élaboration des stratégies nationales pour l'intégration des femmes au développement et plus récemment encore par la creation d'un ministère de la promotion de la femme.

In recognition of the problem of land tenure security and its effect on sustainable development, a study on Land tenure systems and sustainable development in Southern Africa was included in the ECA-SA work program. A draft publication on the findings of the study has been prepared. The publication addresses two core land tenure topics: (1) Land tenure security, and (2) Land rights of women and other groups.

This study represents an attempt to measure the extent of participation of women in development. It approaches this through

a case study of women in the fishing industry in Liberia's concentrating on their participation in industrial fishing. The subject of the case study is of particular interest from two dimensions. Foremost, the research is concerned with the participation of women in the informal urban sector of a developing economy and secondly, the industry in Liberia exhibits interesting linkages between the "formall" modern sector and the "informal" urban

Le Zaïre est un pays aux dimensions continentales qui regroupe des centaines de tribus. Il en résulte une diversité de langues et coutumes, mais aussi de systèmes juridiques. Pendant la période précoloniale, le Zaïre, comme la plupart des pays africains, était régi par le droit traditionnel qui se caractérisait essentiellement par une forme rigide du système patriarcal, sauf dans certaines tribus qui pratiquaient le matriarcat.

This paper focuses on the role of women in agro-industries in eastern and southern Africa. The women of Africa have' historically played key roles in the African economy as contributors to their society and as caretakers of the family while their, husbands are away working in mines, plantations or cities. African women are starting to get acknowledged as the ones who predominantly produce food crops.

The scale and persistence of the food crisis in Africa during the last

20 years is of the gravest concern to African governments as well as to the international community. Food production is not able to keep pace with population growth and many countries in the continent have become increasingly dependent on imports of food stuffs originating from international aid.

Women's access to and control of land is an important, even crucial issue because of its relation to and implications for food production and food security in the region. Women in rural Africa often do not own the land they are working. The land generally is registered as belonging to their husbands, who then pass it on to their sons, at least to those who remain in the rural area of origin.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the progress that has been achieved, identify innovatory experience and provide a frame for discussion on where to go next. Particular attention will be given to the benefits accruing to small farmers and livestock producers, particularly women. It will deal with policies and programmes in input supply and the provision of credit subject to the continuing constraints on the use of foreign exchange and government finance still prevailing m most African countries.