| dc.description.abstract | In view of the emphasis given to improving women's
agricultural production in the Fourth National Development Plan of
Zambia, the main objective of the study was to determine whether
women's agricultural productivity is affected by the amount of
land they have access to and the type of tenure security they
exercise over it. The other major objective was to find out whether
the amount of land women have access to differs according to their
marital status or gender of head of household. other objectives
were to establish the relationship between women's involvement in
cash crop production and the amount of land they have access to and
whether their marital status had any effect on their productivity.
Research work was carried out in Monze District of the
Southern Province, Zambia. A sample of 100 women were interviewed
about their access to land and their tenure security, their
agricultural production, access to extension, level of education
and decision making power.
The analysis involved calculations of percentages, means of
subsamples and regression coefficients. The findings reveal that
different types of women have access to different amounts of land
and that their agricultural productivity also differs. Married
women were found to have access to the least amount of land
(2.15ha) while widows had access to the highest amount of land
(4.85ha). On the other hand, married women were shown to have the
highest agricultural productivity (K6298/ha) and widows the lowest
(K4891/ha). The study has therefore concluded that the poor
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productivity of widows and other women in female headed households
is not caused by their having access to less land but by other
factors like the level of input use and availability of family
labour. It was also concluded that it is the limited amount of land
accessible to married women which constrains their total
production.
The findings in the study reveal that decision making power
is also important in increasing women's productivity. The study
could not, however, show any relationship between women's land
tenure security and their productivity.
Findings in the study showed that women involved in cash crop
production have access to more land (4.34ha) compared to women not
involved in cash crop production (l.78ha). The study has not shown
that women in customary land are better-off in terms of access to
land compared to women in other land tenure systems. It, however,
revealed that older women, women in smaller households and those in
households with larger land areas have access to more land.
In general, the study indicated that different types of women
face different problems in their agricultural activities. Hence,
in order to improve the productivity and total agricultural
production for different types of women, their problems should be
addressed by the relevant authorities differently. | en |
