New ruralities – old gender dynamics? A reflection on high-value crop agriculture in the light of the feminisation debates

Abstract

Abstract. While a remarkable continuity in smallholder agricultural production has been identified, the shift from subsistence orientation towards more wage dependence appears in a different light when analysed under a gender perspective. "Feminisation" has been a catchphrase to characterise some of these processes; however, the debate has been subject to overgeneralisation, and can only inadequately grasp the gender dynamics in what has been referred to as "new ruralities". Illustrated for high-value crop production as an expression of agricultural transition in the Global South, this contribution offers a critical account of the feminisation thesis. Instead of discarding the notion of feminisation, it advocates a reassessment of its potential as a comprehensive framework against which empirical findings can be reflected. While conventional uses of the feminisation thesis have, in their great majority, come up with the conclusion that for women it can always only get worse, I propose a perspective which reveals gains and risks and how they are shared between men and women as they engage in new agricultural labour markets. This perspective rests on a methodology for case-based, comparative studies developed in this paper as a contribution for assessing the nature of agricultural transition and to investigate the qualitative change associated with new ruralities. A distinctive appreciation of the substance of agricultural change for different members of the rural society -namely men and women, but also different men, and different women -is the premise for overcoming barriers to shared development, and for framing effective governance in the context of global development.

Renegotiating gender roles and cultivation practices in the Nepali mid-hills: unpacking the feminization of agriculture

“…The concept of feminization originates from its application to poverty trends by Pearce (1978) and has been widely accepted, discussed, and applied in agricultural development literature (e.g. Bieri 2014;Chant 2006;Chilibeck 2004;Deere 2005;Gaddis and Klasen 2014;Lastarria-Cornhiel 2006;Medeiros and Costa 2008). Changes in labor and decision-making responsibilities of women in agriculture can be linked to and understood within several globalizing forces, including increasing trends in export-oriented agriculture, and push and pull migration factors (Lastarria-Cornhiel 2006).…”

“…This feminization phenomenon, however, is a sweeping and oversimplified generalization given the gendered complexity of how households divide labor, make decisions, and enact gender roles (Bieri 2014;Chapagain 2015). Considering women as "reserve labor pools" (Radel et al 2012, p. 116) in the context of male out-migration overlooks the contextual variation and complicated ways gendered beings navigate changes in their livelihoods.…”

“…Considering women as "reserve labor pools" (Radel et al 2012, p. 116) in the context of male out-migration overlooks the contextual variation and complicated ways gendered beings navigate changes in their livelihoods. Recent literature has called for destabilizing a priori assumptions of the feminization of agriculture (Bieri 2014;Ramamurthy 2010) and further understanding changing dynamics of empowerment "by studying how women are making incremental gains within the existing social order" (Lahiri-Dutt and Adhikari 2016, p. 1002).…”

“…Gartaula et al (2010) describes these two realms of influence as (i) labor feminization and (ii) managerial feminization, respectively. However, discussions of feminization are often rich with theory but lack consistent and reliable evidence, leading to an overuse of the term and a lack of an analytical framework to appropriately understand and unpack it (Chant 2006;Bieri 2014). We framed this study to dig deeper into the nuances of both of these processes.…”

Feminization of Agriculture in the Eastern Hills of Nepal: A study of Women in Cardamom and Ginger Farming

“…For the purpose of this article, feminization to agriculture is defined as, "observed process, procedures and practices of enhancement of participation of women in agricultural activities, workforce and decision-making, including its effects on women and existing gender relations." Studies of De Schutter (2013), Bieri (2014), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO; 2010a) and show that the feminization process is advancing over time. The debate of feminization first used in relation to the feminization of industrial labor was later applied to agriculture (De Schutter, 2013).…”