Gendered impacts of conservation agriculture and paradox of herbicide use among smallholder farmers

Abstract

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is increasingly taking a central stage in agricultural\npolicies and rural development among developing countries like Zambia. The challenge of\ngender gaps in agriculture has persisted despite efforts of gender mainstreaming. This paper\nassesses gender based impacts of conservation agriculture (CA) basins among smallholder\nfarmers under the Conservation Agriculture Programme (CAP) in Zambia. Qualitative and\nquantitative approaches were used to collect data. Quantitative data was analysed mainly\nby descriptive statistics and qualitative data by thematic and content analysis. Results\nindicated that women and children experienced reduction in labour with respect to clearing\nof fields before tillage and during weeding where herbicides were used correctly.\nImprovement in household food security was also reported. Digging of CA basins was labour\nintensive and the chaka hoe was heavy for women. Labour requirement for women and\nchildren was more than for men during hand weeding. Herbicides have increased labour\nrequirements for men because they are predominantly involved in spraying. Women needed\nto reduce their labour during weeding but feared that the use of herbicides would increase\nfood insecurity during hunger peak period. This was because the use of herbicides is\ninconsistent with the practice of mixed cropping and selection of valuable wild vegetables\nthat were important for food security. Results suggest that usage of herbicide such as\natrazine could have health concerns that may affect women more than men. Use of\nherbicides raises questions as to what extent CA is environmentally sustainable.\nInterventions in CA need to be both gender sensitive and minimise tradeoffs between health\nconcerns, socio-economic benefits and environmental sustainability.