Address rural women’s plight

the backbone of food production in the economy.
They work the longest and hardest, often on pieces of land over which they have no ownership.
Over 80 percent of women in Zimbabwe live in the communal rural areas where they form the bulk of the farmers and also provide the most labour.
They work between 16-18 hours daily, spending at least 49 percent of their time on agricultural activities.
However, ownership and control of agricultural land and resources remains heavily dominated by men.
Over 80 percent ownership of A1 and A2 land in Zimbabwe currently lies with men, while women own less than 18 percent.
The few women that actually do own land have limited control and encounter serious challenges of discriminatory land distribution processes, poor access to agricultural inputs and other resources, having to deal with the vagaries of climate change and poor access to markets and market information. It is with these issues in mind that the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network in partnership with Action Aid International last week convened an advocacy workshop for policymakers.
This was a forum in which rural women farmers got an opportunity to engage the Parliamentary Portfolio Committees on Agriculture, Water, Land and Resettlement.
The women presented issues of concern and also suggested possible ways forward which they feel could be enforced through the Parliamentary Portfolio Committees through their influence over law-making processes.
The rural women farmers decried the impact of climate change on production and water resources with some indicating that they now have to walk long distances and spend long hours in queues competing for scarce water at communal boreholes with their male counterparts herding livestock.
Climate change has also increased food insecurity through floods and droughts and this has threatened food insecurity in households.
As a result most women said they were now finding themselves in a precarious position as they are somehow expected to ensure that their families have meals every day.
In seeking to address the impact climate change has had on their livelihoods, rural women farmers implored lawmakers to ensure their participation and involvement in processes of developing policies to alleviate such consequences since they are the most affected.
They also requested that the Ministry of Agriculture look into availing alternative crop varieties and more knowledge for women farmers to stay on top of issues.
Concerning access to resources, lawmakers were informed of the discriminatory practices in land and agricultural input distribution.
Because a lot of rural women had little or no access to education in their childhood, they find the procedures of acquiring land very complicated and difficult to comprehend.
Lack of collateral means that loans are not accessible to women — a situation that then sees only their husbands prevailing over them as they as they own the land.
In selling produce, women farmers felt that pricing regimes tended to be incomprehensible and unfair, and also late payments from buyers affected their planning and ability to meet domestic needs including paying their children’s school fees timeously.
Key issues advocated for with regards to access to resources included requests for relaxation of collateral requirements as well as for land offer letters to include spouses as signatories so that women could maintain control over the estate even in the event of death of their spouses.
Women asked for greater involvement in planning and requested for stricter regulation of market prices over produce. 
In terms of marketing, women farmers encounter problems mainly with accessing markets with their produce.
Costs of transportation are high due to poor road networks. Oftentimes, transport providers are not prepared to deliver goods to certain areas considered inaccessible, thus women farmers have to make do with carrying produce on top of their heads across rivers and bad terrain just to deliver to their markets.
In seeking to do business, many women travel long distances to the city and spend nights sleeping on cold floors, waiting for their produce to be bought and paid for.
Some have to hustle in unfamiliar market places like Mbare where the gullible often make huge losses.
Policymakers were informed of the desperate need to create an operational environment favourable to women, starting with developing better road networks in rural areas as well as bringing Grain Marketing Board collection points closer to the people.
Nevertheless, as much as the rural women farmers seek interventions at policy level, it was noted that on a personnal level the women themselves have started taking matters into their own hands to come up with creative means of going round some of the challenges.
Action Aid International currently works with Rural Women’s Assemblies (RWAs) that are making significant efforts to organise rural women and impart new knowledge, skills and technologies necessary to overcome farming challenges.
Through the RWAs, rural women farmers are empowered to solve everyday challenges faced in their livelihoods, and learn about production and sustainable farming practices like conservation farming and ecosystem maintenance.
Some positive aspects of the encounter between women farmers and relevant Parliamentary Portfolio Committees included the fact that women were informed of the currently ongoing processes by the Ministry of Agriculture to review the agriculture policy.
Women were invited to grab the opportunity to contribute and participate actively in these processes.
The ministry also acknowledged that the current tenure system in Zimbabwe is not favourable and does not give easy leeway for ownership of land by women.
This is mainly what the review of the agriculture policy seeks to rectify and it is hoped that the policy will also address the rest of the challenges highlighted by women farmers.
l ZWRCN is an information-based organisation committed to gender equality and equity. It is currently providing free basic computer skills training to women across all age groups. For all enquiries, please contact ZWRCN on email:  [email protected]/  website: www.zwrcn.org.zw/ call on +2634 700250/252388/ visit ZWRCN offices at 288 Herbert Chitepo Avenue cnr Seventh Street, Harare.