Gender
Gender inequality in agriculture has often been cited as a key challenge to achieving inclusive agricultural market growth.
Studies have shown that despite smallholder farmers facing specific gender related constraints in accessing productive resources, the constraints are more acute among female farmers who also face cultural barriers in their access to, ownership of, and control over productive resources which are all critical elements in determining a farmer’s capacity to adopt such technologies. When disaggregated by gender lines, women account for over 70% of the rural agricultural workforce and produce the majority of food in both male headed households and female headed households.
This large proportion of agricultural production that is attributable to women makes them important agents in agricultural markets. However, there is very little specific effort from the private sector to recognize and harness this critical role that women play in unlocking the growth potential of rural agricultural markets (IAPRI,2015).
Given the above, the productivity and economic empowerment of women is therefore a logical priority for Musika.
This priority is warranted both in terms of the importance of women’s agricultural production as a source of economic growth, and as a source of rural livelihoods and poverty reduction.
Musika acknowledges that gender is critical in achieving sustainable and inclusive growth in rural agricultural markets and recognises that the term “poor rural farmers”, entails both men and women in the rural settings of Zambia. Moreover, that both these men and women benefit from development interventions differently. With this, Musika commits to mainstreaming gender in all of its operations with its private sector clients and day-to-day activities.
Musika takes a four-pronged approach to improving the participation in and benefit from improved agricultural markets by women farmers and women-run small rural businesses:
• Internal Capacity Development
• Knowledge and Skills Development:
• Engendering Agricultural Market Development
• Gender Responsive Research
Apart from Gender, three other key themes transect all the work that Musika undertakes in its practice areas and these are:
• Environmental Stewardship
• Agricultural Markets and Nutrition
• Business Environment and
• Land Rights
