Has Sixty Years of Tanzania’s Independence Reduced Women Drudgery in Agricultural Value Chains?

Abstract

This paper presents findings of the study, which assessed the gaps in time and labour savings technologies in rice,
maize, and cassava value chains in Tanzania, sixty years after independence. The aim of the study is to provide information
about these technologies to inform policy and programmes aimed at improving the existing and introducing new ones so
that farming communities can adopt them well in the rural households. In addition, the information will be used as
input for the designers and marketers of these technologies. Time and labour savings technologies are normally introduced in
agricultural technologies to increase efficiency as well as labour productivity. This focus not only increases
agricultural productivity but also plays a crucial role in releasing rural women of working age from unpaid time burdens so
that they have more time for productive work and to participate in development opportunities. This study was done in Mbarali
and Kilombero regions for the rice value chain, in Babati for the maize value chain and in Mkuranga for the cassava value chain. The
study areas were selected purposely based on the production history, experience, volumes of production, trading activities
and the status of the value development. The research design was a rapid assessment, and data were collected through focus
group discussion and key informant interviews. Data were analysed qualitatively and through descriptive analysis. The key
findings show that there are times and labour-saving technologies, which have been introduced in the crops under study at
different nodes along the value chain, some of which have been able to reduce women's drudgery, especially in the processing and
transportation node of the cassava value chain. However, some of the technologies have not been well adopted by women
such as the use of power tillers in maize and rice cultivation. In addition, the findings show further that some technologies
cannot be afforded by poor farmers, such as the use of tractors in ploughing. Therefore, it can be concluded that an
enabling environment through transformative approaches, community, household, and policy dialogues can help to transform
the situation and engage men or other simple technologies instead. However, this also requires challenging cultural norms in
the farming communities. In turn, this will be much more instrumental towards achieving inclusive and sustainable rural
development and poverty eradication, especially sixty years after Tanzania gained its independence, by introducing equitable
time and labour-saving technologies which women can use. Hence, it can be recommended that when introducing such
technologies, issues of introducing the best technology options, acceptability by women or the community, women's priority needs
and accessibility should be taken into account.