Tanzania’s potential in agriculture lies in rural transformat

Statistics show that hat women comprise about 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force globally and in developing countries. The international development community has recognized that agriculture is an engine of growth and poverty reduction in countries where it is the main occupation of the poor.

Women make essential contributions to the agricultural and rural economies in all developing
countries. Their roles vary considerably between and within regions and are changing rapidly
in many parts of the world, where economic and social forces are transforming the agricultural sector. Rural women often manage complex households and pursue multiple livelihood strategies.

Their activities typically include producing agricultural crops, tending animals, processing and preparing food, working for wages in agricultural or other rural enterprises, collecting fuel and water, engaging in trade and marketing, caring for family members and maintaining their homes.

Many of these activities are not defined as “economically active employment” in national accounts but they are essential to the well being of rural households. But the agricultural sector in many developing countries is underperforming, in part because women, who represent a crucial resource in agriculture and the rural economy through their
roles as farmers, labourers and entrepreneurs, almost everywhere face more severe constraints
than men in access to productive resources. Efforts by national governments and the international community to achieve their goals for agricultural development, economic growth and food security will be strengthened and accelerated if they build on the contributions that women make and take steps to alleviate these constraints.

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the livelihoods of Tanzania’s majority, providing both formal and informal employment with women accounting for about 70 per cent of the agricultural labour force.
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International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that in the mid-1980s women comprised 54 per cent of those economically active in agriculture. Approximately 98 per cent of rural women classified as economically active are engaged in agriculture.

Women farmers also contribute substantially to both commercial and subsistence agriculture, including livestock and fishing, as casual labourers and unpaid family workers.

Women carry the major responsibility for both subsistence agriculture, especially food crop production, and domestic work. Studies consistently show that women spend more hours per day than men in both productive and reproductive activities. Traditionally, women are responsible for almost all livestock activities of dairy husbandry (feeding, milking, milk processing, marketing).

Rural transformation is a process that requires an appropriate institutional framework and financial inclusion to provide an enabling environment for improved productivity and commercialisation to happen.

With improved market access and direct linkage to end buyers, rural communities are increasing their profitability, incomes and livelihoods. This in turn is having a direct contribution on rural communities' improved food security, nutritional status and economic freedom.