An Analysis on Gender Differences in Malawian Agriculture

In Malawian culture, most households have some sort of involvement in the field of

agriculture (Kilip, Palacios-Lopez & Goldstein, 2013). While all genders are involved in

agricultural work, and all are affected by agricultural development, there has historically

been a vast divide in productivity and improvements by gender. This essay aims to

understand how efforts to boost agricultural productivity for women is an example of the

Women in Development (WID) approach, as well as how we as onlookers can

understand this agricultural experiment as well as the policy recommendations that

result from it through the Social Relations of Gender approach.

In order to understand how this policy brief is an example of the WID approach, we

must first understand what the “WID” approach actually is. The Women in Development

framework revolves around a few main concepts. First and foremost, this is an

approach that encourages development as a means of modernization but worries that

women as a whole are being left out of this developmental process. (Ramamurthy,

2022). This could lead to negative outcomes for women, especially in low-income

counties and communities. According to WID theory and literature, the way to solve this

issue is by including women in development and thus in Modernization (Kabeer, 1994).

In this policy brief, one of the main sources of development in Malawi is its agricultural

sector, as most households are involved in agriculture in some way. Following the WID

approach, the policy brief does not discourage the development of agricultural growth
and innovation, but it actually encourages it as a means of modernization for the

country. Now according to WID, there must be some sort of concern that women are not

being included in the efforts of modernization. We can easily see that this criterion is the

main focus of the policy brief, as the authors worry that Malawian women and children

are not reaping the same benefits of modernization as their male counterparts. The brief

revealed that women-owned agricultural plots were 25% less productive in comparison

to their male counterparts (Kilip, Palacios-Lopez & Goldstein, 2013). To fully satisfy the

WID approach there must also be some sort of solution that fully includes women in

development and lessons the gender gap in modernization efforts (Kabeer, 1994). The

policy brief mentions a few possible solutions in their “Next Steps” section. The main

solutions include giving women access to higher quality seeds, inorganic fertilizer,

improved tools, and equal education to men in regard to agricultural research ( Kilip,

Palacios-Lopez & Goldstein, 2013).

These policy recommendations are extremely important and can be viewed through a

Social Relations of Gender Approach (SRG). The SRG approach is one of

intersectionality. It examines how concepts such as class, gender, race, caste, and age

among other factors interact with each other in specific locales and at specific time

periods (Ramamurthy, 2022). This is because concepts such as gender and caste are

dynamic and are susceptible to change based on time and space.

The policy brief mentions many aspects of Malawian life that could negatively impact

women and children's agricultural work as well as their role in development. One of the

most important factors that the policy brief mentions are the intersection of education on
agriculture and gender. According to the brief, Malawian women usually have far less

education than their male counterparts (Kilip, Palacios-Lopez & Goldstein, 2013). While

the increase in education for women would be an amazing way to reduce the

agricultural gender gap, I believe that the policy brief does not address the vast

difficulties and negative outcomes that could come from this. Earlier in the brief, the

authors mention that women (even agricultural crop leads) are still in charge of the daily

care of children. The brief does not mention this fact in its policy recommendations nor

does it acknowledge how women who are working in agricultural labor AND taking care

of children, as well as sick/elderly family members, are going to have the time to also

have formal education when nothing is done to ease their burden of care.

In addition to this, the policy brief recommendations seem to place the burden of

improvement on women. They have to get the education, they have to learn the new

tools, they have to plant better seeds, etc. This vastly ignores the fact that these women

are living in a patriarchal society where, just because they are women, they are less

likely to be able to succeed. In the movie Pins and Needles, women in India mention

how it's men who are choosing who gets a chance to work in the first place. (Badhwar,

2021). Male supervisors and male buyers of agricultural products are a major reason

that women are falling behind in the first place. Because this policy brief does not

acknowledge the role that patriarchy has in terms of women's success in agriculture, its

recommendations may end up hurting those it is trying to protect. All the efforts to fix

this gap are being placed on women, not the men in power or anyone else.
 Works Cited

1. Badhwar, Natasha, director. PINS and NEEDLES | Labouring Bodies in the

Gurgaon Garment Industry. YouTube, YouTube, 13 Oct. 2021,
2. Kabeer, Naila. Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought.
Verso, 1994.
3. Kilic, Talip, et al. “Caught in a Productivity Trap: A Distributional Perspective on
Gender Differences in Malawian Agriculture.” Policy Research Working Papers,
2013, doi:10.1596/1813-9450-6381.
4. Ramamurthy, 1 February 2022
5. Ramamurthy, 3 February 2022