Livestock diseases are a major barrier to productivity for both male and female livestock keepers in Africa. In Kenya, two of the most devastating livestock diseases are Newcastle Disease (ND) in poultry and Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) in goats. Female livestock keepers tend to own more small ruminants (goats, sheep, etc.) and poultry and their livelihoods are adversely affected if their herds are not vaccinated against these diseases. Livestock farming has gender specific challenges and opportunities, with implications for the empowerment of women smallholder farmers, their household well-being, food security, and livelihoods. There is a need to estimate the level to which women benefit personally, socially, and economically from keeping livestock, yet there are very few studies that can measure if livestock production does in fact empower women smallholder livestock farmers. This study was done to examine linkages between women’s empowerment and access and control over livestock products and vaccines. The Women Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) tool, which was customized to include questions on livestock vaccine access, was used to capture baseline data on empowerment scores for women in Machakos county, Kenya, prior to implementation of animal health and vaccine test models. In total, 400 participants were surveyed in two wards of Machakos County, Kola and Kalama, which were purposively selected. Women’s empowerment was mapped to three domains (3DE): intrinsic agency (power within), instrumental agency (power to), and collective agency (power with) measured against adequacy in 13 indicators. Our results indicate that the household structure (female headed or dual headed household), age of respondents and number of members in a household influence the adequacy score. Work balance was the most significant negative contributor to women’s disempowerment. Women contributed the most to livestock productive activities and attained adequacy in this area compared to men, directly impacting the WELI score. Women smallholder livestock farmers report low CCPP and ND vaccination rates, minimal knowledge on livestock diseases, a lack of access to cold chain storage and rarely visited veterinarians. The WELI score was 0.81 indicating a high level of empowerment for women in this community compared to men leading us to conclude that the overall WELI score was not an accurate indicator of women‘s empowerment in Machakos County. However, the decomposability of the index allows us to disaggregate the drivers of change and to examine how individual indicators contribute to disempowerment.
<p><strong>Background.</strong> Traditionally, poultry is kept and reared by women in extensive production systems. In Kenya and most developing countries, smallholder poultry productivity is constrained by diseases such as Newcastle disease (ND), which is preventable via a vaccine, yet contributes to significant morbidity and mortality among flocks primarily owned and managed by women in villages. <strong>Objective.</strong> This study aimed to map the Newcastle disease vaccine value chain stakeholders and identify the barriers and opportunities for women's engagement along the Newcastle disease vaccine value chain. <strong>Methodology</strong>. Qualitative data were collected with 15 key informant interviews and four focus group discussions with a total of 42 poultry farmers in Machakos Town sub-county, Kenya. <strong>Results.</strong> The majority of the vaccine value chain consumers were women, and limited information was one of the root causes for not vaccinating their chickens. Vaccines were considered expensive and difficult to access as the production areas were remote from the agrovet shops that retail vaccines. <strong>Implication.</strong> The study showed that women farmers had no financial control to enable vaccine procurement. <strong>Conclusion</strong>. Based on the results the government using the Extension service providers should train smallholder farmers on how to use the ND vaccine. Furthermore, manufacturers of thermo-stable ND vaccines should furnish Agrovet shops with data to enable its adoption in remote areas where the cold chain is unreliable.<strong></strong></p>
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.