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.
Highlights
Rural spaces in the Global South are transforming dramatically
The drivers, effects and quality of this transformation are the subject of a number of recent publications, including this special edition of GH, fuelling an increasingly intense debate on agriculture and sustainable rural livelihoods which has gained traction since the 2007 financial and subsequent economic crises (Babigumira et al, 2014; Collier and Dercon, 2014; Diao et al, 2010; Hazell et al, 2010; Henley, 2012; Jayne et al, 2010; Kerr, 2012; Riggs and Vandergeest, 2012)
“Feminisation of agriculture” has been the catchphrase to illustrate some of the dynamics referred to above
Summary
Rural spaces in the Global South are transforming dramatically. The drivers, effects and quality of this transformation are the subject of a number of recent publications, including this special edition of GH, fuelling an increasingly intense debate on agriculture and sustainable rural livelihoods which has gained traction since the 2007 financial and subsequent economic crises (Babigumira et al, 2014; Collier and Dercon, 2014; Diao et al, 2010; Hazell et al, 2010; Henley, 2012; Jayne et al, 2010; Kerr, 2012; Riggs and Vandergeest, 2012). By providing ideas on how to frame the gendered nature of agricultural transition, this article shall contribute to the overall aim of this issue in terms of forging conceptual tools for the analysis of rural transformation and to assess the nature of the purported new ruralities, in view of the called-for “multidimensionality” of the analyses. This includes a methodological outline to gauge outcomes of shifting agricultural production in high-value crops and related labour market transformations. Initial thoughts on how comparative data beyond the case-study level can be gained in order to illuminate the gendered production of new ruralities at the intersection of agriculture and wage employment for the case of high-value crops will conclude the article
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