English

Oljira Alemayehu,Belay Fenet

doi:10.5897/jaerd2018.0985

Abstract

Gender is a crosscutting issue that attracts the attention of development professionals, policy makers and politicians. It is due to the fact that in any development, interventions involvement of women has become compulsory. To this end, considering the roles of men and women is very important, and gender roles vary across culture. In Ethiopia where agriculture is the backbone of the economy, the participation of women in the field is very high. Though men are taking the lion’s share in agricultural production, the contribution of women has also been an undeniable fact. Rural Ethiopian women must work up to twice as many hours per day compared to men, since they are primarily responsible for their households, including gathering firewood and water, cooking, cleaning, and providing child care. The contribution of women to agricultural and food production is significant but it is impossible to verify empirically the share produced by women. This paper re-affirms that women make essential contributions to agriculture and rural enterprises across the developing world. But there is much diversity in women’s roles and over-generalization undermines policy relevance and planning. Key words: Gender, women, gender role, agricultural extension.

Highlights

Women of Ethiopia play key role by working with full passion in production of crops right from the soil preparation till post-harvest activities
This review shows that both women and men take part in agricultural activities in spite of some differences among different regions
Despite decades of agricultural investments from International Finance Institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank (WB), overall productivity in Ethiopia‟s agriculture perennially dependent on food security programs, and several million more who are susceptible to food insufficiency in the event of adverse climatic shocks” (WB, 2008)

Summary

Introduction

Women of Ethiopia play key role by working with full passion in production of crops right from the soil preparation till post-harvest activities. Their activities naturally comprise crops production, livestock ranching, food processing and preparation, fetching water and collecting fuel-wood, working for wages in agricultural or other rural enterprises, caring for family members and maintaining their homes. The majority of rural women are food producers working on joint family farms and tending their own land for household food production while only a small percentage is independent farmers. They are involved in both crop and livestock production at subsistence and commercial levels.

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Conclusion