Partnerships for Sustainable Solutions Program: "Changing gender roles in Sub-Saharan horticultural family farming"

BMBF (2013)

The horticultural sector of Sub-Saharan African Countries is characterised by differentiated business structures to which women contribute about 50-75% of the work force (BARRIENTOS ET AL. 2003). Kenya can be regarded as a trailblazer, which has successfully developed professional production and marketing structures both in large scale and in small family farming in the last decades (DANNENBERG/NDURU 2012). Today a growing number of small-scale farmers in Kenya have successfully become export oriented and integrated into international value chains that usually end at European customer markets (DANNENBERG, 2008, DOLAN & HUMPHREY, 2004, OUMA, 2010). Even so internationalization leads to different threats (see for example the debate on exclusion of Kenyan farmers in international value chains; OUMA, 2010; DANNENBERG/NDURU 2012). However with professionalization and internationalisation most of these farmers could significantly increase the living conditions in their households - a trend which Tanzania tries to follow. Despite the enormous importance of small-holder agriculture in Tanzania the levels of intensification, mechanisation and the use of fertilizer are very low. For improving the situation and following the example of Kenya in intensification and internationalization horticulture in particular is promoted by national programs such as ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ (Agriculture First) or by several national and international organisations and NGOs such as USAID or SNV (Netherlands).
Apart from the professionalization and internationalisation of the Kenyan horticultural sector, Kenyan, but also Tanzanian and other Sub-Saharan farming household and businesses have been affected by another important dynamic; the rapid spread of cell phones and internet services, which play a key role in agricultural production and marketing (price comparison of inputs, organisation of sales; e.g. NEVEN ET AL. 2009) today. Different studies have already looked at the gender roles in large scale export orientated professional farming (see e.g. BARRIENTOS ET AL 2003) and also studies on the impact of the spread of cell phones (not so much on the spread of internet services) in African rural areas have taken place (see e.g. MUKHEBI ET AL. 2007). However, so far studies on the dynamics in gender roles in family businesses regarding the impact of both developments (value chain integration and spread of communication technology) are very few. Based on this background, the overall scientific aim of this subsequent re-search cooperation is to answer the question:
How far do the turn to professional international value chains and the spread of cell phones and Internet impact on gender roles in Sub-Saharan horticultural family farming?
Based on qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys we aim to document and explain differences and potential changes in gender roles in family farming in relation to the degree of professionalization and interregionalisation of sales markets (local, national, international), usage of cell phones, internet usage and other structural and relational characteristics (e.g. farm size, infrastructure access, access to development aid) in comparison.

Ausgewählte Publikationen:

Dannenberg, P. u. M. Velte (2014): Export horticulture – empowering female small-scale farmers in Kenya? In Die Erde 145 (3), 135-141.

Dannenberg, P. u. K. Schumacher (2014): Veränderungen von Geschlechterverhältnissen im kenianischen Gartenbau -Implikationen eines Millenniums-Entwicklungsziels. In Praxis Geographie 44 (12), 18-22.

"Network of European and U.S. Regional and Urban Studies" - (NEURUS/ICURD) EU (Atlantis Programme) (2009-2013)