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Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance (AIJMEG) 2(3): 96-105 (ISSN: 2518 -0827)
decades. There has been continuous loss of African countries like Burkina Faso,
soil fertility, increase of desertification, Burundi, Kenya, and Tanzania, the labor
shortage of water and limited access to farm force involved in agriculture has been
inputs. Agricultural productivity has been declining, as their economies turn into
facing a continuous cycle of potential commercial industrialism (Knox, 2007).
harmful effects on the environment, and According to Kinoti and Kimuyu (1997)
declining household socio-economic status, about 80% of the population in East African
and human health. Food insecurity has led countries live in rural areas and largely
to chronic hunger among members of the depend on agricultural activities.
rural communities who rely on Empowering women in rural communities
unpredictable seasonal rains. The most has a great potential in promoting Gross
affected groups of the rural poor ere women Domestic Product (GDP) of the developing
and children (Miller, 2007). countries, thus promoting sustainable
The rural populations in the East African community development. In Kenya, more
region get their food from subsistence than 80 percent of the rural population is
farming which is mainly produced by engaged in subsistence agriculture and they
women. However, in the past, these yields need to be empowered in order to improve
have been poor leading to looming food their crop productivity toward sustainable
insecurity at household levels. This has led community development (Oparanya, 2009).
to food imports from other countries which Knox (2007) defined agriculture as the
are barely enough to satisfy household growing of crops and the tending of
demands. This has also exaggerated trade livestock, either for subsistence or for trade.
imbalance that affects foreign exchange and Historically, agricultural activities replaced
the rate of socio-economic growth and hunting and gathering of wild fruits in
development. In Kenya, the priority of most supporting livelihoods. Agriculture has
rural people, especially women in poor evolved into the most widespread economic
households, has been and still is to produce activity found in all world regions where
enough food for family members (Mudgal, environmental circumstances like rain
2006; Yousif, 2006). In spite of this, their seasons, moisture, temperature and
efforts have been marred with a number of productive soils permit (Getis, 2008).
challenges that jeopardize their full Historical development of rural
potential. Therefore, empowering women in communities have led to transformation of
rural communities to actively participate in agriculture in stages that have been
food production of high quality and classified on the basis of; providing
quantity is vital since agricultural crops are household food, off-farm sales and level of
the basic sources of human food and farming equipments and mechanized used
women provide up to 70% of the in agriculture. However, most rural poor,
agricultural labor force in this sector. especially women use traditional methods
In most developing economies, majority of of farming on small pieces of land to grow
labor force is involved in farming activities crops that are hardly enough for household
to support their livelihoods. But, in some consumption. This has led to a continuous
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Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance (AIJMEG) 2(3): 96-105 (ISSN: 2518 -0827)
cycle of under nutrition and food insecurity, They are forced to plant crops long after the
physical body weakness, inability to work onset of the rain season because decision-
hard in the farm, low productivity, and making processes rest in the hands of men.
chronic poverty. In order for women in In cases where there is shortage of rainfall,
rural communities in Kenya to fully their crops dry prematurely, leading to food
participate and engage in meaningful shortage and starvation. This aggravates
agricultural production, they need to be food insecurity and poverty at household
empowered to increase agricultural food levels. Gillespie, Ruel, and Braun (2008)
production (Knox & Marston, 2007). observe that agriculture is the primary
source of livelihoods for the majority of the
3. Methodology of the study world's poor people, especially women in
The study used desktop research method to rural communities. Women are in turn the
assess the dynamics of participatory most vulnerable to health problems related
empowerment of rural women to increase to nutrition. Agriculture produces healthy
agricultural productivity in the theoretical balanced diet for healthy and strong people
basis of gender and sustainable who are able to work hard in farming
development in Kenya. The available activities. However, this is not always the
findings of research information in related case because majority of the women in rural
theme of empowering rural women for communities rely on the unpredictable
increased agricultural food production seasonal rains. During long dry spells, they
toward sustainable community are vulnerable to starvation as they are
development were used to inform the study unable to get enough balanced diets needed
and to form basis of conclusions and for a healthy living. Alternatively, during
recommendations. The library and online floods, women who live in rural
sources of information were used to inform communities with poor drainage systems
the study, where online sources were have all their crops damaged leading to
searched and accessed using the above key food shortage (Hulse, 2007).
terms. Therefore, interactions between agricultural
food and health are in such a way that
4. Study Findings agriculture affects health, and health affects
This section presents documented research agriculture. According to Gillespie and
findings on the participatory empowerment Braum (2008), agriculture influences the
of rural women for increased agricultural world’s major health issues, including
food production toward sustainable under-nutrition, especially among women
community development. Data was and children under five years of age. Efforts
reviewed and presented according to the to empower women in rural communities
objectives of the study as follows: can contribute to the alleviation of these
4.1 The role of women in agricultural nutritional related health problems. On the
production other hand, the occurrences of these health
When women in rural communities use hoe conditions have serious effects on
to cultivate, it needs more energy and time. agricultural productivity among women in
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Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance (AIJMEG) 2(3): 96-105 (ISSN: 2518 -0827)
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Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance (AIJMEG) 2(3): 96-105 (ISSN: 2518 -0827)
people according to their goals and The third objective of the study set to
contexts. On the first extreme, participation explore the effects of food productivity on
is perceived as the passive process of the social and economic status of farmers in
receiving benefits from agricultural the rural communities. The economic aspect
development institutions. On the second of effects of food productivity includes
extreme, it is viewed as the complete market income after selling crop produce
ownership of agricultural production efforts and the standard of living among people in
by the local community. The latter is the rural communities in Kenya. Limbitu (2011)
type of empowerment needed for rural in a study entitled ‘empowering subsistence
women engaged in agricultural production farmers toward sustainable development’
in rural communities however, this is asked the respondents what the thought
seldom done and this weakens the process were the effects of food productivity on the
of empowerment (Donnelley, 2007). socio-economic status of people in rural
4.3 Effects of food productivity on the communities and the findings generated are
socio-economic status of rural presented in Figure 4.1.
communities in Kenya
Figure 4.1: Effects of food productivity on social and economic status of households in rural
communities
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Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance (AIJMEG) 2(3): 96-105 (ISSN: 2518 -0827)
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Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance (AIJMEG) 2(3): 96-105 (ISSN: 2518 -0827)
organic farming are important in promoting asked if they were often given subsidies on
food security and environmental protection farm inputs, 46% of the respondents said
towards sustainable development (Yousif, “yes” they were. This corroborates with the
2006). findings by Alila and Atieno (2006) that
found that the government of Kenya and
Limbitu (2011) further found out that 69% other development stakeholders employed
of the sampled respondents said that the issuance of subsidies on farm inputs as a
provision of policy guidelines in means of empowering women in rural
empowering women to increase agricultural communities and ultimately improve
productivity was rarely used or if used, general agricultural productivity to enhance
most of the respondents did not know sustainable development in Kenya.
about it. This implies there was an In a study by Kalungu, (2014) different
opportunity of empowering women in rural strategies were proposed as critical in
communities by providing policy guidelines empowering women in rural households to
that could promote them to embrace better increase agricultural production. Two
farming practices in order to improve crop strategies; capacity building and provision
productivity and protect the environment of agricultural subsidies to farmers were
towards sustainable development as reported by most respondents. However,
opinioned by Bishop-Shambrook (2005). strategies related to policy formulations and
According to Narayan, (2002), establishing guideline implementation such as
ready market for crops produced by promoting of irrigation-based agriculture,
household members in the rural market creation and removal of middle men
communities was equally a vital necessity. who exploit and take advantage of poor
When asked if there were strategies in place farmers, and empowerment of women to
that worked towards improving markets make independent decisions in agricultural
accessibility for agricultural products, 72% production were rarely utilized. Hence, to
of the respondents reported that such promote women’s empowerment in
strategies were not known to them and if agricultural production geared towards
any, they were rarely used. This means that food security and environmental protection,
surplus food crops women in rural it is critical to effectively popularize and
communities produced did not have a utilize these strategies that have not been
ready market. This further aggravated effectively utilized in the past.
poverty levels because surplus produces
was not translated into economic benefits 5. Conclusion and Recommendations
for the people. Therefore, as (Kalungu, The paper established that women in rural
2014) argues, there is need for accessible communities work very hard in labor
markets for farmers to sell their surplus intensive agricultural production, but have
agricultural products. very low control over how crop yields are
Limbitu (2011) also found out that farm utilized. Men dominate decision making
inputs were very important in improving processes with regard to agricultural
crop productivity. When respondents were produce, mostly characterized by selling
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Africa International Journal of Management Education and Governance (AIJMEG) 2(3): 96-105 (ISSN: 2518 -0827)
food produce soon after harvesting and social and economic well-being of the
controlling all the benefits accrued form women in rural communities in Kenya.
these sales. Weather patterns and climatic The study recommended further research
changes were also found to affect and action that could empower rural
household food security. This led to women to meaningfully and actively
frequent food shortages that increased participate in increasing agricultural
nutritional-related health problems among productivity, food security and
women and children in rural communities. environmental protection. Women need to
There was need for community education be enabled to take active role in
through rights-based approach to determining appropriate utilization of crop
empowerment to overcome socio-cultural produce to improve the well being of rural
challenges of indigenous paternalistic vulnerable households, a key strategy to
culture common in most rural communities sustainable development. The study also
to achieve gender integration in sustainable pointed out the need to expand irrigation-
development through the processes of based agriculture instead of depending on
mutual decision-making, participation and the traditional rain-fed agriculture given the
control of processes related to agricultural unpredictable nature of weather patterns
production and environmental protection. and extensive climatic changes experiences
This paper also established that decline in globally.
food productivity leads to decline in the
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