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Conference on
GENDER ISSUES IN FARMING SYSTEMS
RESEARCH AND EXTENSION
TECHNOLOGICAL DOMAINS OF WOMEN IN MIXED FARMING SYSTEMS OF
ANDEAN PEASANT COMMUNITIES
Maria E. Fernandez
This research is being carried out as part of the Title XII
Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program under
Grant No. AID/DSAN/XXII-G-0049 in collaboration with the
Peruvian Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Promocion
Agraria. Additional support is being provided by the
University of Missouri-Columbia.
Conference on: Gender issues in Farming Systems
Research and Extension
February 26 March 1, 1986
Gainsville, Florida
Introduction
Extension and social science literature recognize that a
division of labour by gender is common to most peasant
production systems. In the Andes, women are attributed the
tasks of grazing, collecting supplementary fodder for
animals, curing, seed selection planting and weeding among
others. Although men are attributed tasks such as
ploughing, shearing, purchase of supplementary inputs and
harvest, it is common to argue that they make the decisions
related to production.
We propose however, that in mixed cropping and livestock
systems there is a constant in the division of labour such
that men have greater responsibility over crops and women
over animals, or vice versa. This responsibility implies not
only a division of tasks, but control over technological
knowledge related to that specific area of production and
consequently the right and ability to make decisions over
the product itself.
In Andean mixed farming systems, women are the principal
herders. In similar systems in many parts of Africa, women
are the principal cultivators. The division of labour among
family members by gender does not necessarily imply specific
biological reasons for one or the other to assume certain
production activities. The distribution of responsibility
and tasks is basically a functional one.
given farming system, are often assigned tasks and
responsibilities which are compatible with the care of small
children. "Women's tasks do not take them far from the
home, and frequently require less concentration than men's.
....the division of labour is informal and flexible." Men
can and do cook, carry water, clean the house, wash clothes
or graze sheep when the women are away or are busy at
another task. (Harris: 1985 p.28)
Depending on the society, roles (productive and
reproductive) become less flexible as the power structure
begins to impose systematic categories upon its members.
These roles are not negative initially, but become so when
one or another category (eg. gender) is excluded from
production decisions (relegated to reproductive activities).
It is in the realm of production decisions that economic
independence (within an interdependent unit) is maintained.
Not only do male and female members of a social group carry
out certain tasks, but they control bodies of technical
knowledge and skills needed for the management of the areas
of production for which they are responsible. This control
over knowledge and skills is related to the decision-making
power men and women have over the production process itself,
as well as over the ultimate disposal of the product. This
is not to say that within a family unit a man or a woman has
Women, within a
complete liberty to make decisions, even over the areas of
their principal responsibility.
The village family might be compared to a management unit of
a firm where the adult members form a sort of a board of
directors. Decisions made by this "board" are made for the
good of the unit as a whole. Just as in a firm however,
specific areas of production are run as sub-divisions of the
company and the section managers have a great deal of
liberty as to the production decisions that he/she makes.
The same men and women carry out specific tasks in the
other's production unit as a means of maintaining checks and
balances. The village farm is a multi-crop, animal, task
and responsibility unit. The members of the family
(nuclear/extended) and community take on various roles at
different times under different circumstances--from "board"
member to simple labourer.
Task allocation, responsibility for production area
decisions and production unit decisions then, are overlayed
and interacting as are the biological parts of the system.
For example: oxen are used as farm equipment (ploughing), as
sources of fuel (manure), for reproduction and as financial
reserves. Llamas are used for transport, sources of manure,
fiber, meat, shoes and ropes (hides and intestines). The
donkey carries seed, farm implements and manure to the field
and brings back the harvest to the family patio. Sheep
graze on the weeds of allowed lands or on the stubble of
recently harvested crops. Women do the seed selection and
planting where men are responsible for agriculture. Men do
the shearing and care for the suplementary feeding of oxen
where women are responsible for livestock production.
The interaction of tasks along gender lines and between them
has broad implications for the transfer of knowledge and
technology. The ways by which technological knowledge is
passed on from one generation to another and who has control
over it within specific farming system is closely linked
with the gender division of labour and decision-making
power.
The organization of the Highland Communities
Aramachay is a community of 120 families situated on the
southern side of the Mantaro Valley at an altitude above
3,500 meters above sea level. The soil varies from
clay-like to sandy and from black to red with capacity for
water retention increasing with altitude. Natural
vegetation is mainly native grasses, while shrubs are more
common than trees. The rainy season lasts from September to
March and crops are planted between October and December in
staggered fashion. Between one and two-thirds of
agricultural land is allowed at any given time. Fallowing
periods range from three to seven years depending on
altitude and soil quality (Mayer: 1981).
Livestok includes cattle, sheep, swine, poultry, guinea
pigs, and donkeys. Grazing is done on fallowed and/or
communal range land, the use of which is governed by the
community assembly. The total number of animals held by
each family is associated with its wealth and is determined,
in part, by the relation between agricultural and pastoral
activities. On an average, a family maintains 25 sheep.
Most of the livestock is either criollo (breeds adapted
during and just after the spanish conquest) or criollo
crossed with recently imported breeds (eg. Corriedale).
Crop and livestock production interact. Most households
raise sheep and cattle and plant potatoes, barley,
broad-beans, wheat, peas, olluco, mashua and quinua
(traditional Andean crops). As a rule, historical
cultivation techniques are used, although fertilizers and
pesticides are applied to improved varieties destined soley
for market. A given household plants an average of eight
crops per growing season, on a variable number of dry
farming-plots (sometimes more than 40), making up a total
area of not more than three hectares and most often less
than one.
Labour is shared by all active members of the family.
Livestock production is the responsibility of women and
children aid in the grazing. Men are responsible for
dipping and sharing activities. Agricultural activities are
the responsibility of men, although women are responsible
for seed care, selection and planting and food processing.
They also share cultivation and harvesting activities with
the men. Older men and women take over household chores and
grazing activities. The family labour force averages four
to six adults depending on the degree of extensiveness of
the family and the fase of its cyclical development. By the
age of 15, a youth is considered capable of an adults work
load although he/she continues to work under the advisorship
of a more experienced member of the family, usually of the
same gender. It is not uncommon for family heads (women and
men) to work seasonally outside the community either in
mining or as agricultural day labourers.
The communal assembly is made up of all male heads of
households, together with' widows and single women who are
family heads (Swindale 1985). Production for the market is
a flexible endeavour. "It is the flexibility of the
relation between the capitalist and subsistence sectors of
the economy that is crucial to village autonomy, as well as
household (and interhousehold) viability. The relative
complementarity of these two economic sectors (means
that)....the impact of fluctuations in one of the sectors is
buffered by the successful outcome of economic activities in
the other (Lund Skar: 1984 p.84)".
The Women's Livestock and Crop Production Committee of
Aramachay
The National Institute for Agricultural Research and
Extension (INIPA), of Peru and the Small Ruminant
Collaborative Research Program (SR-CRSP) began working in
the Community of Aramachay in 1983. The community was
chosen for its representativeness of highland mixed farming
systems where the majority of Peru's rural population and
small ruminants are concentrated. Aramachay is the hub of
11 similar communities.
The objective of the project is to look for technological
alternatives based on small farmers knowledge and on an
understanding of the historical production system. This
information, which takes into consideration, ecological,
economic and organizational constraints, is being used to
select, together with the farmers, recovered or introduced
technologies which will improve production. Although the
project aims at sheep production (in this case), research on
alternatives encompasses the crop component of the system
due to it's complementary interaction with livestock
production.
The methodology proposed includes multi-disciplinary (the
team includes an animal science specialist, an agronomist,
and an anthropologist participatory-action-research, based
on organized groups within the community.
The project began activities after making a joint agreement
with the village assembly to work on production problems
which the farmers (men and women) would themselves identify.
The assembly appointed a committee of 10 members whb would
work more closely with the research/action team and who
would serve as a link with the larger population. In spite
of the team's request and the recognition by the male
members of the assembly that women are as active in the
production process as men, none were included in the
committee formed. Although the thrust of the project was in
the direction of livestock production, the problems posed by
the committee were centered on agriculture. Work was begun
on these problems while a concern remained that women--the
principal livestock producers--were at the margen, although
they had been the .active voice in the original signing of the
agreement. (Fernandez: 1986)
In an attempt to solve the impasse, an International Labour
Organization (ILO) project, oriented toward research and
action on women's labour and use of fuel, was invited to
join forces in the construction of an organization which
would provide a channel for productive action with women.
The project, in the person of a sociologist in the village,
decided that the basis for organization existed in the
mother's health committee--a recognized support organization
for the local health center. The leadership of this
committee was made up of wives of family heads. The men,
whose wives would take on the leadership of the committee,
were appointed by the village assembly. Nearly two years
were spent supporting this organization. In spite of the
enthusiasm of a small number of women, things never seemed to
get off the ground. Neither the small animal production,
food processing or bread-making projects (proposed by the
ILO project) nor the attempts at forming a stable
organization were successful.
After a careful joint team evaluation it was decided that a
different approach must be taken. All of the women (above
the age of 15), married or not, would be invited to a
meeting to discuss production problems. Twenty-three women
(from the 120 families') attended the first meeting. Twenty
of them participated actively and posed their production
priorities in the following order:
1. Control of internal and 'eternal parasites in sheep
2. Provision of fodder during the dry season
3. Improved management of communal rangelands
4. Improved seed selection and conservation techniques
5. Knowledge of seed density criteria
They expressed their desire to work as a group and decided
to call themselves "The Women's Livestock and Crop
Production Committee of Aramachay". Three weeks later, an
on the spot meeting was called to discuss the possibility of
on-farm research which entailed the planting of legumes on
fallowed lands to increase fodder capacity as well as to
improve soil quality for the following rotation cycle.
Thirty women attended this meeting and twenty signed up to
plant 1/4 to 1/2 of vuqada (the area an ox-team can plough
in one day) of land for the experiment. Only two of the
women left the meeting place to consult with their husbands
on the feasibility of designating the plots for this use.
The discussion on improved animal nutrition included a group
analysis of the possibility of improving the communal
rangelands. The women decided that they would make a formal
request to the community assembly for two hectares of
natural pastures for the purpose of experimenting with
improved techniques. They would organize themselves to
oversee this land which means building a hut nearby (the
area is 45 min. walking time from the village center) and
would sleep on the site by turns. All agreed that one of
the main problems of improved communal range management and
conservation is associated with boundary disputes with
neighboring communities. They suggested that it would be
imperative to resolve these disputes and stated that if the
community assembly itself did not take action on a
short-term basis, they would take the initiative to
stimulate a settlement.
When the pasture specialists visited the community one week
later, the experimental lands had been ploughed and four
plots were used for demonstration of planting and
fertilization techniques. Fourteen women participated in
the group training effort and received the seed necessary to
plant the parcel each had allocated. Simple registry sheets
were designed on which each woman could set out data on
plant growth over time. The design of the sheets took into
consideration that some of the women are functionally
illiterate and that most have very little experience with
written material. Ten days later the twenty plots had been
planted.
At the following meeting, after reporting that the community
assembly had ceded the requested communal range land for
improvement tests, the women decided that this effort could
be better guaranteed if it were initiated at the beginning
of the 1986-87 agricultural year. They felt that more time
was needed for planning and organizing among themselves and
with their husbands. They decided to request a veterinarian
from the nearby livestock experimental station to instruct
them on types of parasites in sheep and their influence on
production. These discussions are underway at present.
Case Study Analysis
Althouth this case study allows for an analysis of project
and team methodology, for the purpose of this paper we would
rather concentrate on the community organizational aspects
it demonstrates.
The fact that women were not included in the collaborating
committee did not seem to show a desire on the part of men
to exclude them. Rather it seems that within a mostly male
group (community assembly), it is "natural" to appoint
members from the group itself. Although men did make an
effort to think of women who could act on the committee,
they did not have much success. This may be due to a lack
of cross-gender groups within the village as well as to the
absense of women's limited previous participation on formal
committies. It appears to be an example of the imposition
of inflexible roles as a result of community organizational
factors rather than of a conscious exclusion of a given
category of community members.
The organization of the village mother's health committee,
on the basis of household head (male) apointeeship, would
seem to have another rationale behind it. In the community
assembly, the family spokesman, generally the husband or
elder male member, is charged with the obligation of
speaking in the family unit's interest. If this charge is
not carried out well, the man or the assembly's decision can
be modified in a subsequent assembly. No one doubts that
this public change in opinion is due to consultancies or
pressures exercised upon him/it, when the decision made is
considered to be contrary to the interests of the group or
its members.
When a man accepts an appointment for his wife, he is
acting as spokesman for the production unit. There is a
tendency however, to charge women with reproduction related
(rather than production related) public responsibility.
This practice can not be attributed to the local social
system alone, because it is the Ministry of Health which
encourages that the health support committy be made up of
women.
The ability of a large number of women to prioritize their
production interests at an initial meeting suggests that
they are not task oriented. The five priorities listed are
problems directly related to the quality of production.
Only the second priority, provision of fodder in the dry
season, might be interpreted as a request for a solution.
The other four, express a need for broader technological
knowledge. The women are conscious of their responsibility
for making decisions within the production unit in specific
areas. It is also evident that the area of greatest
responsibility is that of livestock production, although
their is concern for agricultural production as well. It
might be worth mentioning that the woman who suggested point
five is a household head. In any case the interaction
between crop and livestock production spheres is evident..
When the women signed up for the experiment on allowed
lands, not only the team but the principal researcher
herself was surprised. None of us expected that the women
could make unilateral decisions concerning "farm lands".
Upon further inquiry however, it was explained that allowed
lands revert to communal use for grazing. This is clear
evidence that women make decisions over livestock
production. It would appear that because of the type of
interaction between private and communal use rights, it was
not necessary to ask for assembly approval as it was in the
case of the communally managed rangelands.
In the case of the discussion of boundary problems, it
becomes clear that women publicly accept the right to
influence their production unit representatives (male heads)
in the resolution of broader political problems. Not only
that but when stating that they will initiate action in the
event that the assembly is not effective, they recognize
that they can be active members of the family as well as of
community bodies.
The implementation of the totality on the experimental plots
and the request for formal training on the relationship
between parasites and sheep production, only reinforce our
analysis of women's decision-making power. This is only one
case study and on its own proves nothing. It was chosen
however, not for its singularity, but because it seems to
unify a series of observations made during the past three
years. It is unique because it is a group experience.
In terms of research conclusions, the information
illustrated here is only one more step in our comprehension
of what the interactions between the organizational and
biological components of the system are. The limits of
women's technological knowledge and skills as well as the
spheres over which they have decision-making control are
still to be defined.
Conclusion
The result of this analysis then is not that women's tasks
should be alliviated, or that understanding of women's work
load be built up among other members of the society (men).
We propose that if women can build a space for increased
production decisions (or at least not have their present
position undermined), social change will take place from
within the production system. Women will be able to demand
equality from a position of strength and not beg for it from
a position of weakness.
In a farming system where activities of all kinds, social
and productive are divided along gender lines it is logical
that outside agents will cause less damage to the power
balance within the community if they respect this division.
When a male animal science specialist enters a village where
the women are responsible for animal husbandry, he still
tends to find contact with male counterparts easier. He
therefore unconsciously reinforces the right of men to give
information and make decisions regarding animals which can
later be reflected by the men themselves in the respect they
show toward their wives' productive efforts. The same
specialist could feel that little is known- about animal
health, management, breeding and grazing, therefore deeming
the peasant ignorant, when in truth a great deal of
knowledge exists, but among the women and not among the men.
It is quite possible that either a complete balance between
male and female decision-making in village production units
never existed or that the influence of other more
male-oriented societies has created or reinforced an
imbalance. The fact is that in most situations, women are
now at a disadvantage. They have had less access to formal
schooling as well as to contact with outside agents and
institutions which often make them put themselves
voluntarily into secondary positions when communication with
researchers and extensionists is needed. This means that if
research and validation is to be carried out with the
producers themselves, when these producers are women, much
more time must be given to the process of building
participation and channels for the expression of ideas and
knowledge by them.
References
Fernandez, Maria
1986 Participatory-Action-Research and .the Farming
Systems Approach with Highland Peasants (in
press). Columbia: University of Missouri.
Harris, Olivia
1985 "Complementariedad y Conflicto: Una Vision Andina
del Hombre y la Mujer. Allpanchis. Vol. XXI
No.25. Cusco: Instituto Pastoral Andina.
Lund Skar, Sarah
1984 "Interhousehold Coopertion in Peru's Southern
Andes: A case of multiple sibling group marriage".
In: Family and Work in Rural Societies:
Perspectives on non-wage labour. Norman Long
(ed.). London: Travistock Publications.
Mayer, ,Enrique
1979 Land Use in the Andes: Ecology and agriculture in
the Mantaro Valley of Peru. Lima: International
Potato Center.
Swindale, Anne J.
1985 Diagnostico de las Comunidades Alto-andinas del
Valle del Mantaro. Lima: IVITA/SR-CRSP.
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