Approximately 50% of rural women are classified as members of the labour force. In 1992, 25.8% of the agricultural labour force, including fisheries and forestry were women. Women play important roles in both cash crops and subsistence production, and in small livestock raising. They also take part in some aspects of fisheries. To feed their families, women cultivate kitchen gardens and subsistence crops, mainly rootcrops.
Employment in Agriculture, by gender and class of worker, 1992
Division of Labour by Gender. Women and men have distinct, but not necessarily rigid, tasks and responsibilities which often vary by crop or activity. In general, land clearing and preparation are carried out by men, except where minimum tillage is required, as in vegetable gardening. Women supply the major part of the labour for planting, weeding and harvesting, while men are largely responsible for spraying chemicals and fertilizers and mechanized tasks. Women are heavily engaged in post-harvest tasks, such as threshing, processing and marketing. A similar division of labour prevails in agro-forestry production. Women are largely responsible for poultry raising and for most pig-raising activities, while men tend to cattle and water buffalo. In fisheries, women are responsible for processing and marketing. As transportation facilities improve, women are also increasingly involved in transporting produce to the market. In addition, women bear almost total responsibility for household tasks.
Gender Relations in Decision-making in Farming Activities. Although men tend to have greater decision-making power in farming activities, women participate in farming decisions to a great extent and have their own areas of authority, particularly in regard to seed selection, harvesting, threshing, storage, processing, and the utilization of the harvest. Women also have major decision-making power in regard to how to allocate earnings, how much of the harvest to sell and what to feed their families. Men generally have a greater say in regard to credit and loans, although in certain communities, such decisions are made jointly.
