IPM and gender - an overview

Integrated pest management - an introduction
Gender - an introduction
Why does gender matter?
'Women' as a conceptual category

Integrated pest management - an introduction

The loss of agricultural produce due to pests is a problem as old as agriculture itself. It is estimated that between 5% and 40% of crop losses each year are due to insects, weeds, disease and other pests (Stephens, 1991). Today, with a rapidly growing global population and increasing numbers of people in the developing world facing food insecurity, the maximization of agricultural production, and especially food production, is critical.

Over the centuries, farmers around the world have devised and experimented with a multitude of means to combat harmful pests. Traditional techniques of pest management have included crop rotations, inter-cropping, strategic flooding, altering of planting dates, the setting of traps, and the selection of pest-resistant varieties.

In the late 1800s, pest control was revolutionized by the introduction of synthetic pesticides. Synthetic chemical insecticides and herbicides provided the means to reduce pest populations massively in a more effective and large-scale manner than had ever before been possible. Unfortunately, the widespread use of synthetic pesticides over the past century has not brought an end to the pest problem, while in recent decades, many of the drawbacks and dangers of pesticide use have become increasingly evident. These include the contamination of land and water resources, dangers to human health (both acute and chronic), the widespread and indiscriminate killing of plants, insects, birds and wildlife other than the target organism, as well as increasing insect resistance and resurgence (McCracken and Conway, 1988; Thrupp, 1991). Growing concern over the serious problems and costs associated with chemical pesticides has led to efforts to reduce pesticide use as much as possible and to seek alternative forms of more sustainable pest management.

Integrated pest management is a flexible and holistic approach which views the agro-ecosystem as an interrelated whole and utilizes a variety of biological, cultural, genetic, physical and chemical techniques as required to hold pests below economically damaging levels with a minimum amount of disruption to the cropping ecosystem and surrounding environment.

Gender - an introduction

Why does gender matter?

Over the past several decades, awareness of gender issues in development has steadily increased. At least three different, but interrelated, schools of thought as to 'winy gender matters' can be identified in current development literature. These might be referred to as the equity approach, the developmental approach and the efficiency approach.

Women across the developing world are disadvantaged relative to men. Under male-dominated social structures and political systems, women are denied equal access to land, technology, education and resources. As a result, rates of poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and premature death are significantly higher among women and girls than they are among men and boys (Dixon, 1980; Horenstein, 1989). The equity approach argues that any meaningful development strategy must actively attempt to correct these gender inequalities. Genuine and balanced development and growth will be achieved only when gender inequalities have been redressed.

Rather than focussing on the inequalities between women and men, the developmental approach merely asserts that if development is aimed at helping the poor, and if a majority of the poor are women, then development means, by definition, helping women. Despite the self-evidence of this fact, the reality has been that, either through ignorance or error, women have largely been excluded from the development process. Most development projects have been designed by men and for men, with the result that, on average, development has benefited men more than women. Dixon (1980) states that unless women are:

. . .specifically identified in project papers as intended beneficiaries they are likely to remain invisible. (p 48)

A shortcoming of many development projects has been to assume that when the income of a household is increased, all members of the household will gain equally. Evidence shows that, in fact, women and girls receive a smaller share of income, food, health care and leisure time than do men and boys (Lipton, 1989; Horenstein, 1989). Given this fact, it becomes clear that development must not only consider the welfare of 'households', but must also concern itself with the welfare of individuals, both male and female, within households.

A further point made by advocates of the developmental approach is that women may have a unique role to play in development. Because women tend to be responsible for the care of children, the aged and the infirm, attempts to improve the welfare of these 'vulnerable' groups must involve women (Horenstein, 1989). Studies show that men and women do not spend their incomes in the same way. While rural men may spend their extra income on investment goods, personal items and 'extras' such as cigarettes and beer, a far higher proportion of women's incomes goes towards meeting basic household needs such as food, clothing and children's education (Lele, 1991; Guyer, 1980). This observation has led some to argue that an increase in women's resources may bring about more direct and immediate developmental effects (Young, 1989; Gabriel, 1991).

A final argument as to why gender awareness is essential to any development strategy is based on pure practicality. Many development projects have failed in the past because of their neglect of gender and their failure to take account of men's and women's particular roles and responsibilities. Evidence has shown that an understanding of gender considerations is essential in ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of development projects.

For example, on numerous occasions male extension workers have transferred information and technology, which pertain to crops grown by women, to male farmers. The assumption has often been made that any information received by the male 'head of household' will be passed on to his wife. Studies, in fact, show that very few wives receive agricultural information from their husbands. Because agricultural activities tend to be divided along gender lines, and because men and women possess different systems of knowledge and communication networks, information does not tend to 'trickle across' from men to women. Data from a 'Women in Agricultural Development Project' in Malawi found that:

The presumed transfer of technology from husbands to wives did not take place. The assumption that if husbands were trained or assisted, other family members would be trained was not confirmed by the data. (FAO, 1989 p 16)

Obviously, in cases where extension information is not reaching the relevant recipient, project effectiveness is jeopardized.

The failure to consult women or to consider their specific roles and responsibilities can also prevent new technologies from being adopted. For example, several cases have been recorded (ICRISAT, 1991; Lundborg, 1987; Jiggins, 1986) where pest-resistant varieties, which were well adapted to local conditions and produced superior yields, failed to be adopted by local farmers or were inexplicably abandoned after one or two growing seasons. Further research found that the reasons for non-adoption were related to factors such as taste, cooking time and storage qualities of the new varieties. Because cooking and storage tasks were the exclusive responsibility of women, and because women had not been consulted during the development and testing of the new varieties, these important criteria were never taken into account.

'Women' as a conceptual category

Women are by no means an homogeneous group, and any analysis which generalizes about women as one broad category is obviously subject to certain limitations. Although gender-specific trends and disparities clearly exist, it must not be forgotten that the situation and experiences of women across the developing world are highly diverse. While this paper will refer specifically to rural African women, important divisions and differences still exist between women of various ages, cultures, religions, classes and economic and marital status. Diversity exists between independent female farmers, farmer's wives, paid and unpaid labourers and traders especially in terms of decision-making authority.

Women in female-headed households represent a unique and growing group. It is estimated that nearly one third of rural households across the developing world are headed by women (Elabor-Idemudia, 1991). In Africa, the FAO (1985) has estimated that over one half of rural households classified as 'poor' are female-headed. Because of their particular socio-economic situation, women in female-headed households represent a category of their own, often working a longer day and earning a substantially lower income than women in households with adult males (Sadik, 1991). Throughout the following analysis an attempt will be made to identify aggregate gender-related trends, while bearing in mind diversity among individual women and groups of women.