This study was presented during the conference “Production and Carbon Dynamics in Sustainable Agricultural and Forest Systems in Africa” held in September, 2010.

1. new seeds and women’s welfare
johanna bergman lodin, dept of human geography, lund university. johanna.bergman-lodin@keg.lu.se
the case of nerica upland rice and gendered labor
dynamics in hoima district, uganda
ABSTRACT
African women farmers do not always benefit from, and are sometimes adversely affected by, the
introduction of new technologies, including high-yielding varieties and their often-associated
improved management systems. This paper seeks to further this claim in the wake of what has
been referred to as the NERICA revolution in Uganda, by providing an illustration of the impact the
introduction of NERICA upland rice has had on the gendered labor dynamics in smallholder
households in Hoima District. The concrete effects on women farmers are particularly considered.
To date, “the success” of the dissemination of NERICA has mainly been measured
econometrically in terms of production growth or household income gain. This type of analysis
allows for capturing shifts in physiological deprivations on household level. But it omits the
dimension of social deprivation that on an individual level considers the prevalence or absence of
empowering elements such as time, influence on decision making, access to information and
education, etc. Having researched women’s experiences of the introduction of NERICA both
qualitatively and quantitatively, we conclude that while households that have adopted NERICA
have, as units, become better off in economic terms (their physiological deprivation reducing), the
extreme labor burden NERICA induces on women exacerbates their social deprivations,
particularly in terms of time poverty and drudgery. This has policy implications. If NERICA is going
to become a sustainable powerful poverty fighter in Uganda, as many hope, it is imperative that
this aspect is addressed so as to avoid farmers opting out of the production over time.

2. new seeds and women’s
welfare
johanna bergman lodin
dept of human geography lund university sweden
johanna.bergman-lodin@keg.lu.se
the case of nerica upland rice
and gendered labor dynamics in
hoima district, uganda
september 28, 2010

3. nerica (new rice for africa)
new group of high-
yielding and stress-
tolerant upland rice
varieties

4. nerica in uganda
 rice is becoming an important food!
 NERICA introduced in 2002
 high-level commitment by top leadership
and development partners
 est. +50,000ha
rapid adoption rates
decreasing households’ income poverty
annual rice import bill cut by 1/3 in 5y

5. our study
2008-2009, main focus: Hoima District
mixed methods research:
 survey of 302 NERICA growers (smallholders)
 2008 diary study to record precise family
labor input (13 households)
 more than 50 focus group interviews
 key informant interviews with various rice
value chain stakeholders
 additional interviews in Kampala and in
Luwero and Wakiso districts

6. nerica is an important crop
 +1/3 of total cultivated acreage
 +75% sold off
 realizing +50% of farm income
 (farm income share of total income: 85%)
 this is the major benefit: MORE MONEY!
 BUT: the sharing of benefits is gendered!
 and so is the sharing of costs!

7. labor intensity of nerica
 the labor intensive nature of NERICA was the
most frequently raised and returned-to topic
during interviews and discussions
 the farmers claim that the labor intensity of
NERICA is their core production concern and
constraint
 labor intensity perceived by the farmers as
being made up of two dimensions: time
consumption and labor exhaustion/drudgery

8. most time consuming task in
nerica production; 1st rank (%)
sex of respondent
all
N=299
male
N=197
female
N=102
crop protection (birds) 58.4 (3,5) 67.6 (4,7) 61.5 (2,8)
weeding 28.4 (3,2) 16.7 (3,7) 24.4 (2,5)
land preparation 11.7 (2,3) 8.8 (2,8) 10.7 (1,8)
other tasks 1.5 (0,9) 6.9 (2,5) 3.3 (1,0)
total 100,0 100,0 99,9
Data refer to the second season 2008. Numbers in parentheses
indicate standard error means.

9. the gendered division of
labor in hoima
women men
land preparation + +++
planting ++/+++ +/++
weeding +++ +
crop protection, incl. bird scaring +++ +
harvesting ++/+++ +/++
threshing + +++
Sources: Interviews with farmers and key informants (extension workers,
NGOs, local government staff etc.).

10. scores: 1 – 10
time increasing
with score
time consuming
women
Ruhunga
men
Kigabu
rice 10 4
cassava 8 10
bananas 10 10
groundnuts 7 3
coffee -- 10
maize 7 3
beans 5 2
millet 7 --
sweet potatoes 5 --
tobacco -- --
cabbage 6 --
greens 3 --
tomato 4 --
onions 2 --
women’s
and men’s
scores for the
most
important
crops they
grow with
regard to
time
consumption

11. scores: 1 – 10
exhaustion
increasing with score
labor exhausting
women
Ruhunga
men
Kigabu
men
Ruhunga
rice 10 7 8
cassava 9 7 2
bananas 3 7 --
groundnuts 6 6 5
coffee -- 7 5
maize 6 7 2
beans 5 7 --
millet 8 -- --
sweet potatoes 7 -- --
tobacco -- -- 10
cabbage 2 -- --
greens 4 -- --
tomato 2 -- --
onions 1 -- --
women’s
and men’s
scores for
the most
important
crops they
grow with
regard to
labor
exhaustion

12. bird scaring
respondents’voices

13. red-billed quelea
”the greatest biological limit to african cereal
production”
board on science and technology for international
development, national research council, u.k. (1996). lost
crops of africa: volume 1: grains; p. 273
photos: www.biodiversityexplorer.org; www.mangoverde.com

14. diary study log of family labor
hours in nerica production
N=13 total
hours
% of total
hours
hours/
acre
land preparation 360 (69) 19,6 (4,2) 329 (79)
planting 208 (38) 10,7 (1,3) 143 (21)
weeding 265 (55) 11,2 (1,7) 210 (50)
bird scaring 652 (102) 36,9 (4,2) 540 (112)
harvesting 371 (64) 21,6 (3,3) 314 (64)
total family labor 1783 (193) 100,0 1518 (211)
Data refer to the second season 2008. The numbers in parentheses
indicate standard error means. Except for bird scaring, the data is
coherent with the findings by Kijima et al. (2007). The farmers in Hoima
use more family labor in bird scaring than what the Kijima study
indicated (difference significant on the 1 per cent level).

15.  time consuming:
 in absolute terms: 12-13 hrs/day for +1 month
 relative other crops: not needed for those
 labor exhausting / inducing drudgery:
 you have to run up and down the field,
shouting, waving, clapping hands, throwing
stones, using rattles and drums
 mainly affecting women and children!
 some men have started to get engaged, but
their participation is not yet undifferentiated

16. weeding
respondents’voices

17. diary study log of family labor
hours in nerica production
N=13 total
hours
% of total
hours
hours/
acre
land preparation 360 (69) 19,6 (4,2) 329 (79)
planting 208 (38) 10,7 (1,3) 143 (21)
weeding 265 (55) 11,2 (1,7) 210 (50)
bird scaring 652 (102) 36,9 (4,2) 540 (112)
harvesting 371 (64) 21,6 (3,3) 314 (64)
total family labor 1783 (193) 100,0 1518 (211)
Data refer to the second season 2008. The numbers in parentheses
indicate standard error means. Except for bird scaring, the data is
coherent with the findings by Kijima et al. (2007)

18. seasonal family labor demands for
selected crops in uganda
total family
labor input
family labor
input:
weeding
source of information
hours/
acre
hours/
ha
hours/
acre
hours/
ha
tobacco n.a. n.a. 251 620 our survey data
nerica 1518 3749 210 519 our diary study data
bananas 158 391 59 144 Bagamba et al. 1998
beans 404 998 111 274 Kijima et al. 2007
maize 291 720 85 209 Kijima et al. 2007
coffee 191 460 75 185 Bagamba et al. 1998
g-nuts 116-160 287-395 64 158 Obuo et al. 2003

19.  time consuming:
 relative other crops; (two or) three weedings
instead of one
 labor exhausting / inducing drudgery:
 backbreaking work
 endure it thrice instead of once
 hand and hoe weedings combined while
usually only hoe weeding in other crops
 mainly affecting women and children!
 some men have started to get engaged, but
their participation is not yet undifferentiated

20. synthesis
 household income gain from NERICA
 but extreme labor burden for women (and
children)
exacerbates their time poverty and drudgery
may prevent the formation of their social and
human capitals
 women not always in control of output and
proceeds

21.  the suboptimal distribution of costs and
benefits between men and women may
jeopardize future interventions and the
chances to achieve sustainable results!
 adoption is not an irreversible state – in some
districts dropouts are already systematic!
 interventions should therefore aim at both
improving rice adoption/ production/
productivity and increasing the productive
capacity of farming activities in which
women are engaged
policy implications