The Africa RISING program comprises three projects in West and East Africa, and Ethiopia's highlands, led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and International Livestock Research Institute. It is supported by USAID to create opportunities for smallholder farmers to improve food security and lift themselves out of poverty through sustainable agriculture. An associated project monitors the impact. This study examines gender dynamics in vegetable farmers' households in Tanzania related to labor, income, and expenses to understand who contributes most labor, income, and covers expenses.

1. The Africa Research In Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (Africa RISING) program comprises three research-for-
development projects supported by the United States Agency for International Development as part of the U.S. government’s Feed the
Future initiative.
Through action research and development partnerships, Africa RISING will create opportunities for smallholder farm households to move out
of hunger and poverty through sustainably intensified farming systems that improve food, nutrition, and income security, particularly for
women and children, and conserve or enhance the natural resourcebase.
The three projects are led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (in West Africa and East and Southern Africa) and the
International Livestock Research Institute (in the Ethiopian Highlands). The International Food Policy Research Institute leads an
associated project on monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment.
www.africa-rising.net
GENDER DYNAMICS IN SMALLHOLDER VEGETABLE PRODUCTION:
INSIGHTS FROM TANZANIA
NicolasPatt1,GundulaFischer2,AndreasGramzow3,PhilipoJosephLukumay3
1DeutscheGesellschaftfürInternationaleZusammenarbeit(GIZ)GmbH,RuralDevelopmentandAgriculturalEconomy
2InternationalInstituteforTropicalAgriculture(IITA),AfricaRISING,Tanzania
3AVRDC– TheWorldVegetableCenter,EasternandSouthernAfricaRegionalOffice,Tanzania
Correspondingauthoremail:npatt09@gmail.com
Thisstudyinvestigatesgenderdynamicsinvegetableproducers’householdsasrelatedtolabor,incomeandexpenditureallocation— a topicthathasnotyet
been sufficiently researched. It addresses the following questions: Who invests how much labor in the vegetable production process? Who gains how
much incomefromvegetablesales? And finally,who coverswhichhousehold expensesthrough theincomegained?Researchwasconductedunderthe
Africa RISING project funded by USAID and led by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Target areas are the Babati, Kiteto and Kongwa
districtsinnorthernandcentralTanzania.
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
• Vegetable production mayconstitute abeneficiallivelihood
strategyandeconomicnicheforwomeninruralareas.
• Low cooperationand distrust between household members
areseriousobstaclesforpovertyreduction,foodsecurityand
womenempowerment.
• Development interventions should address underlying gender
issues by gender-transformative approaches that engage both
menandwomenindialogueandactivities.
KEY FINDINGS
FOLLOW-UPINTERVIEWS
• Clarifyingremaining questions
through keyinformantinterviews
• Examiningenvironmentof
households
SURVEY
• Collectionand analysis of
quantitativedatafrom 403 male and
femalevegetablefarmers,living in
targetvillages.
STAKEHOLDERVALIDATION
• Validatingand contextualizing
quantitativefindings duringfocus
group discussion withgender-
separatedfarmergroups.
LABOR,INCOME AND EXPENDITUREALLOCATION
• In male-headed households both maleand female
respondentsperceivetheirownlaborsharetobehigher
than thatof theirpartner.
• Men receiveandcontrolsignificantlyhigheramountsof
moneythanwomen(incomeandexpenditures).
• While maleand femalehousehold heads receivedequal
amounts of money through leafyand fruitvegetables,
womeninmale-headedhouseholds mainlyreceivedincome
through leafyvegetables.
• Informationonownincomeisinmostcasesnotshared
among husbands andwives.
• Patterns of cooperationvaryconsiderablebetween
households.
Fig 1: Female farmers improving soil quality through mulching
CONCLUSIONS &
RECOMMENDATIONS 900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Male household
heads
Femalespouses Femalehousehold
heads
AVERAGE YEARLY PERSONAL INCOME(in USD)
Sale of leafyvegetables
Sale of othercrops
Sale of fruitvegetables
Other activities