Resource information
Women in most rural communities in Africa dominate farm activities in terms of labour
supply and management. Overall, Africa's performance in terms of agricultural
production and productivity remain inadequate and the region has failed to make progress
in food security (Republic of Kenya, 2002). Therefore, successful agricultural reform
programs will require raising women's productivity. The current study examines the
existence of real evidence that women's limited access to land constitute a significant
barrier to agricultural improvement.
This study examines the relationships between the amount of agricultural land accessible
to women of different marital status, women's tenure security and agricultural
productivity. The study was carried out in central division, Machakos District, Kenya. A
sample of 100 women farmers was interviewed about their access to land and their tenure
security, their agricultural production, access to extension, level of decision making and
level of education. The study involved descriptive analysis, using percentages, cross
tabulations, correlation coefficients, chi-square and graphs to show the nature and the
influence of these variables. A regression analysis was used to establish the relationship
between various important variables.
The results established that the main factors that determine women's agricultural
productivity are: level of education, land tenure security, level of decision making and the
total production costs. The study also established that women access to land is influenced
by land tenure security, total area of land owned by the household and the household size.
The study showed that different categories of women face different problems in their
agricultural activities, widows being the most disadvantaged. Based on these findings,
several policy recommendations are made, including the fact that all stakeholders be
involved in providing a comprehensive tenure reform that considers women of different
marital status among others.
