There has been less recognition to women contribute to agricultural and food security. Women’s work in the agriculture and food security often remains invisible. The research sought to investigate the role of women agriculture in providing household food security and reducing of hunger and malnutrition in rural communities. The research used a survey research design, quantitative and qualitative data was gathered. Findings were that social and economic constraints place barriers around women’s access to agricultural land and empowerment. Women had a high positive attitude to the variables on; interest in contributing to household, understanding of food security and socio-economic development. Men own land and livestock at household level, livestock for women were realized through payment of the bride prize. The country was not food secured, 68% of the household could not afford three meals per day, malnutrition remains at 9% and the four dimension of food security were averaging 23.25%. Given equal treatment, women could produce high crop yield and can play role in food processing, in nutrition, gardening and agricultural cooperatives. Farming and agricultural policies need to address factors that were affecting the potential of women in improving food security. This would help in fully utilization of the roles of women in providing and improving household food security and reduce hunger and malnutrition in the rural communities. Noted implications of not involving and empowering women in agriculture was food insecurity in the rural communities as food availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability was to achieved year around in the communities.

1. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 12
RESEARCH PAPER OPEN ACCESS
The role of women in agriculture: Implications in providing,
improving household food security, for reducing hunger and
malnutrition in rural communities
Douglas Marowa*
Amrita School for Sustainable Development, Amritapuri, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India
Article published on February 10, 2022
Key words: Gender, Empowerment, Household, Agriculture, Food security, Malnutrition
Abstract
There has been less recognition to women contribute to agricultural and food security. Women’s work in the
agriculture and food security often remains invisible. The research sought to investigate the role of women
agriculture in providing household food security and reducing of hunger and malnutrition in rural communities.
The research used a survey research design, quantitative and qualitative data was gathered. Findings were that
social and economic constraints place barriers around women’s access to agricultural land and empowerment.
Women had a high positive attitude to the variables on; interest in contributing to household, understanding of
food security and socio-economic development. Men own land and livestock at household level, livestock for
women were realized through payment of the bride prize. The country was not food secured, 68% of the
household could not afford three meals per day, malnutrition remains at 9% and the four dimension of food
security were averaging 23.25%. Given equal treatment, women could produce high crop yield and can play role
in food processing, in nutrition, gardening and agricultural cooperatives. Farming and agricultural policies need
to address factors that were affecting the potential of women in improving food security. This would help in fully
utilization of the roles of women in providing and improving household food security and reduce hunger and
malnutrition in the rural communities. Noted implications of not involving and empowering women in
agriculture was food insecurity in the rural communities as food availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability
was to achieved year around in the communities.
* Corresponding Author: Douglas Marowa  briddids20003@am.students.amrita.edu
International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research (IJAAR)
ISSN: 2223-7054 (Print) 2225-3610 (Online)
http://www.innspub.net
Vol. 20, No. 2, p. 12-24, 2022

2. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 13
Introduction
There has been less recognition to women contribute
to farming and agricultural programmes, especially
food production as man has been generally
recognized. Ibnouf (2009) indicated that the reality in
most Sub- Sahara African countries is that more than
50 percent of the active female population works in
agriculture. Women’s work in the agricultural sector
often remains invisible because the products of their
labour are for the largest part intended for household
consumption and do not reach the market economy.
According to FAO (1996), around 75% of plant genetic
diversity has been lost since the beginning of the
century as farmers around the world have forsaken
their own multiple local varieties in favour of high-
yield, genetically uniform varieties. Gracia (2013) also
indicated that farming and agriculture helps to
maintain biodiversity, yet is also one of the primary
activities, which may lead to its loss. Many modern
agricultural practices aimed at high crop yields are
endangering the biodiversity in our crops, due mainly
to single-crop systems, which do not allow for
rotation, the use of improved varieties or hybrids to
the detriment of traditional ones and the overuse of
pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.
However, it is important to note that women are good
natural resource manager, as the real of natural
biodiversity in the form of firewood, fruits and food,
medicinal and social cultural site.
Ibnouf (2009) revealed that normally, for anyone,
food security depends not only on availability of
sufficient food supply, but also on sustainability of
permanent access to food. Achieving food security
refers to access by all people to safe and nutritious
food in adequate quantities to meets their dietary
needs and leads an active life. However, this in itself
does not confer adequate nutrition. A person's
nutritional status involves accessibility to resources
for food and translating the food obtained into
satisfactory nutritional levels. Therefore, food security
is a situation in which both food supply and effective
demand are sufficient to cover nutritional
requirements (Mittal, 2006). According to Ziblim
(2014), the debate on the role of women in societies
and their participation in economic activity has
sparked a lot of controversy for a considerable time.
Different groups of people such as women groups,
government, development partners, and civil society
groups have forwarded many arguments to support
their stand on access by all people at all times to
adequate food of good quality for active and healthy
life. Food security can be explained as an access by all
people at all times to adequate food of good quality
for active and healthy life (World Bank, 1986).
However, not all people have access to adequate food
at all times for active and healthy life. Hunger and
food insecurity are widespread in most developing
countries including Zimbabwe. The 1996 World Food
Summit (FAO 1996) which states that food security is
met when all people, at all times, have physical and
economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious
food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences
for an active and healthy life. This definition puts the
notion of access to food centre stage. Ziblim (2014)
suggested that gender differentials in the farm
household also play a significant role in the economic
performance of a given household. A great deal of
empirical research has convincingly demonstrated
that gender is important in defining the economic role
of rural people in Africa (Ziblim (2014). This in turn
has resulted in a growing recognition that men and
women often have very different rights and
responsibilities with respect to resource use and
decision making in the processes of agricultural
programmes. Doss (2018) suggested that the
development literature abounds with claims about the
benefits of targeting agricultural investments at
women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. These
claims take many forms, but in general it is argued
that increasing women’s agricultural productivity is
key to increasing overall agricultural productivity,
empowering women and reducing poverty.
The problem sought to be addressed in this research
was the fact that women contribute to farming and
agricultural programmes, especially food production
and processing at household level, but the
contributions and the roles are yet to be generally
recognized. The role of women’s work in the
agricultural sector often remains invisible and not
recorded, extend of contribution towards providing
and improving household food security, remain
unnoticed.

3. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 14
This research sought fill this knowledge gap on yet to
be recognized performance of women on food security
to household in rural. They contribution in household
food security, kind of agricultural activities was
assumed to have influence on sustaining rural
people’s livelihood, the socio economic and cultural
factors that affect women in farming and agriculture
activities.
Materials and methods
Research question
i. What are the social-cultural factors that affect
women contribution to agriculture and their
implications in providing and improving
household food security and for reducing hunger
and malnutrition?
ii. What is the women attitudes towards
contribution on household food security and
their implications in providing and improving
household food security?
iii. What are the roles of women in farming and
agriculture in rural communities and their
implications in reducing hunger and malnutrition?
Specific objectives of the study
i. To identify the social-cultural factors that affect
women contribution to agriculture and their
implications in providing and improving
household food security and for reducing hunger
and malnutrition
ii. To access the women’s attitudes towards
contribution on household food security and
their implications in providing and improving
household food security
iii. To investigate the roles of women in agriculture
in rural communities and their implications in
reducing hunger and malnutrition
Study area
The study was carried out in Zimbabwe, covering all
the eight provinces of the country with rural
communities. The provinces covered were
Manicaland, Masvingo, Mashonaland East,
Masholanad West, Mashonaland Central, Midlands,
Matebeleland South and Matebeleland North. The
provinces are heavily populated with rural
community farmers and the majority are women.
Research design, population and sample
This study adopted a survey research design method,
quantitative and qualitative data was gathered
through administering of questionnaires, focus group
discussions to a sample of individuals and
interviewing key informants. This research design
was preferred to other methods for it enables the
researcher to collect data for all the eight provinces of
Zimbabwe over a period of eight months. In 2020,
Zimbabwe's female population amounted to
approximately 7.77 million, while the male population
amounted to approximately 7.09 million inhabitants
to give a total of 14,86million (World Bank, 2020).
According to World Bank (2020), the rural
population was 10,070,822 and of these male to
female ratio has been 4,833,995 as to 5,236,827,
which is gives a sex ratio of 48:52. World Bank (2020)
indicated that 3,356,941, which is one third of the
total rural population are into farming and
agriculture. Therefore, a sampling intensity of 5
percent was seen fit to select participants for the
research, of this a sample of 167,847 participants were
identified, stratified sampling and simple random
sampling were used to select 80,567 male participants
and 87,280 female participants as per the sex ratio.
Plate 1. Research process, conducting focus group
discussions at a of the household in Matabeleland South.
Thereafter, purposive sampling was used to select
32,153 key informants across all provinces. Therefore
the total sample was 200,000 participants. The data
was analysed by reading, coding, displaying, reducing
and interpreting. The findings were presented in
means, standard deviation, percentages and
frequency tables and figures. Content analysis were
used to analyze qualitative data. The researcher
sorted responses into themes, categories and
patterns. This enabled the researcher to analyze the
statements in terms of the observed attributes hence
conceptualization.

4. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
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Results
The social-cultural factors that affect women
contribution to agriculture and their implications in
providing and improving household food security and
for reducing hunger and malnutrition
Table 1. Social-cultural factors that affect women
contribution to food security.
Statement Number Mean
Standard
Deviation
Female household
headship
167,847 2.08 1.22
Widowhood rites 167,847 2.36 1.13
Decision making 167,847 2.73 1.21
Subordinated roles
played by women
167,847 2.48 1.25
Access to education 167,847 3.27 1.11
Access to health care 167,847 3.37 1.08
Access to land 167,847 3.04 1.24
Access to credit facility 167,847 3.17 1.12
Insufficient purchasing
power to buy food
167,847 2.26 1.31
No recognition for
women’s actual roles and
responsibilities
167,847 2.37 1.45
Lack of data on female
contribution to food
security in the
community
167,847 3.01 1.15
No adequate knowledge
and skills on farming
and agriculture
167,847 3.08 1.06
Total averages 167,847 2.77 1.19
There were many factors pointed out by the
respondents as factors that affect women contribution
to food security and hindering the reduction of
hunger and malnutrition in the rural communities.
The respondents from the questionnaires, echoed by
focus group discussion and the key informant
interviews indicated that there was no inclusion of
women in the decision making process, for example,
the distribution of lands.
In addition to that, was the issue of widowhood rites
from some families’ members where immediate
brothers at the expense of their wives took property of
decease. Thereby depriving them from contributing
effectively to food security situation in the area.
Responses from the questionnaires indicated various
factors, twelve statements with respect to socio-
cultural factors that affect women roles in household
food security were presented to respondents. These
had to be answer using a likert scale of strongly agree,
agree, strongly disagree, disagree and no opinion. A
mean score between 2.20 and 2.35 shows that
respondents have neutral view about the statement. A
mean score below 2.20 indicates that respondents
disagree that statement is factor that affect women
contribution to household food security and a mean
score between 2.36 and above indicates that
respondents agree and strongly agree with the factor
that it affects women roles in farming and agriculture
for food security.
Plate 2. A small crop field manual prepared and yam
field adjacent in Mashonaland East.
It was agreed that decision making role of women in
the area affects their contribution to household food
security as small piece are allocated to women. A
mean score of 2.73 (standard deviation of 1.21) was
obtained out of 167,847 respondents. This means
respondents agreed that decision making affects the
contribution of women to food security in the country.
Overall, the mean score was 2.77 with a standard
deviation of 1.19, meaning that agree and strongly
agree with the factors that they affect women roles in
farming and agriculture for food security. However,
respondents were very salient and neutral on that
female headship in the family affects women
contribution to food security in the area, while
respondents were neutral to the view that insufficient
purchasing power to buy food affects women’s
contribution to food security in the country.
Women attitudes towards contribution in household
food security their implications in providing and
improving household food security
Data form the research consistently shows that
women are especially vulnerable to food insecurity

5. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
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and its health consequences. A large body of evidence
demonstrates that food insecurity has detrimental
impacts on health and well-being in the short and
long terms for children and adults. The research
revealed why are women more affected by food
insecurity. It was indicated that due to the historic
imprint left by the lack of women's rights, deep-
routed gender norms, and human-made conflict,
women experience hunger at a disproportionate rate
worldwide. It was concluded that in Zimbabwe,
women are more likely to live below the poverty line
compared to men. The table below shows
percentage of participants selecting positive
(strongly agree or agree) responses on the attitude
scale by province that is Manicaland, Mashonaland
East, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland West,
Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North Midlands
and Masvingo. Overall, 58.6% strongly agreed or
agreed that women have a strong contribution to
household food if given enough space as shown by
the women attitudes scale.
Table 2. Analysis of women attitudes towards contribution to food security.
Attitude variables Manic
Mash
East
Mash
Central
Mash
West
Mat
South
Mat
North
Mid Masv All
Understanding of food security 72.2 68.3 71.4 68.0 71.9 69.4 80.5 70.2 71.5
Spouse/family expectations 39.0 40.4 33.4 33.2 37.7 42.4 40.3 30.6 37.1
Interest in contributing to household 70.2 72.0 80.1 68.8 73.6 70.0 78.2 82.2 74.4
Confidence in other agriculture supportive
resources
52.3 60.7 55.9 53.0 56.4 68.6 44.1 59.4 56.3
Anxiety in governmental and
nongovernmental interventions
57.3 48.2 44.5 47.0 49.4 40.1 55.5 48.2 48.8
Socio-economic development and cultural
factors
68.4 69.0 65.2 63.5 63.5 61.7 50.4 68.0 63.7
All items 59.9 59.8 58.4 55.6 58.8 58.7 58.2 59.8 58.6
It was noted that gender influence food security,
women in the Zimbabwe disproportionately
experience hunger and poverty compared to
Zimbabwean men. It was clear from the research that
single-parent female-headed households were also
significantly more likely to be food-insecure than
single-parent male-headed households as shown by a
31.6% and 21.7% respectively.
Crop production for women and men in agriculture
The results clearly showed that women were not given
enough farming land, land given to women was
averaging 0.5 hectares. This is despite the signs that
they have great potential to produce high yield,
averaging 6.6 tonnes per hectare.
It was noted that women pay attention to farming
process as they target high yield from little input and
small area. Men occupy large land, averaging 1.7
hectares, but the average yield is very low, averaging
5.4 tonnes per hectare. It was noted that they rely on
high inputs which have been in short supply.
Plate 3. A sorghum field managed by a women
cooperative in Matabeleland North.
Table 3. Crop production area and average yield per
hectare by gender.
Crop
Men Women
Average
Area
Average
Yield/ha
Average
Area
Average
Yield/ha
Maize 4.2 5 0.5 3
Beans 1.8 3 0.3 4
Sorghum 3 6 1.5 7
Millet 2.5 1.3 0.6 1.7
Vegetables 0.25 5 0.15 9
Groundnuts 1.2 0.7 0.8 0.7
Roundnuts 0.8 0.7 0.2 0.7
Wheat 2 5 0 6
Yams 1.2 5 0.4 7
Potatoes 0.8 20 0.6 25
Sweet
potatoes
0.6 8 0.5 9
Total averages 1.7 5.4 0.5 6.6

6. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
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Livestock production for women and men in agriculture.
Table 4. Livestock production showing head size by gender.
Livestock
Men Women Men/Women Total
Number of
household
Average
head size
Number of
household
Average
head size
Average head
size
Men/women
Cattle 60,970 16 12,645 1 9 73,615
Goat 13,456 26 30,128 3 15 43,584
Poultry 1,567 12 38,416 8 10 39,983
Pig 3,101 6 730 0 3 3,831
Sheep 1,002 3 465 0 2 1,467
Others 471 2 4896 2 2 5367
Averages 80,567 9 87,280 2 167,847
Men were noted as the owners of household livestock
as an average of 9 animals were said to be for a male
person whereas 2 animals were said to be for a
female. The livestock for women were most realized
through payment of the bride (lobola) prize.
Plate 4. A woman keeping Roadrunner chickens at a
household in Masvingo Province.
Factors affecting production and value chain
addition
Women ranked gender inequality, lack of
empowerment, land shortage and change of land
use as the major factors affecting their role in
farming and agriculture activities. The three were
ranked 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Men ranked climate
change, lack of productive resources (inputs) and
poverty as the top three major factors affecting
farming and agriculture activities. The major
differences of identification of these factors were
based on land ownership, gender inequality and
lack of women empowerment. It was interesting to
note that poor healthy and age, did not bother the
participants as men and women ranked it to
number 10 and 9 respectively.
Table 5. Factors affecting production and value
addition activities.
Factor
Men Women Men Women
Frequency
(%)
Ranking
Frequency
(%)
Ranking
Lack of
empowerment
38 7 89 2
Lack of
productive
resources
88 2 48 6
Source of
financing means
74 5 32 7
Land shortage
and change of
land use
45 6 79 3
Lack of markets 68 4 13 10
Climate change
impacts
95 1 52 5
Gender
inequality
25 8 96 1
Lack of
knowledge and
skill
18 9 24 9
Poverty 55 3 68 4
Poor healthy and
age
15 10 23 9
Food security condition through farming
Table 6. Analysis of food security situation among
the households.
Food Security Variables at
household
Household
Numbers
Percentage
%
Meals per day (zero
hunger) <3 meals per day
53711 32
Food availability
throughout the year
58746 35
Food accessibility
throughout the year
43640 26
Food stability - continuous
supply of food at household
25177 15
Food utilisation - food diet
related disease
28534 17
Malnutrition rate at
household
15106 9
Only 32% of the household could afford three meals
per day, whilst malnutrition remains at 9%. Food
security remain a challenge in the rural communities
as the four dimension of food security showed that

7. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 18
23.25% of the household getting access, utilize, avail
and the food is stably supplied throughout the year.
Food products and value added products by women
and men in agriculture
Table 7. Analysis of food and value added products
by gender.
Food processing
Percentage of food
products
Men Women
Raw food production 80 56
Juice food production 6 10
Dried food production 8 21
Herbal production 4 8
Powder food production 2 5
Total production 100 100
Raw food products for
commercial - Marketing
55 10
Raw food products for
Household food -
consumption
45 90
Total production 100 100
Women were heavily involved in food processing
adding value to the raw food as 44% was converted
into juice, dried, herbal and powdered foods. Only
56% of crop product was consumed as raw food,
whilst 80% of food produced by men were consumed
as raw and 20% as processed food. Women were into
subsistence farming as 90% of the food was for
household consumption. The 55% of food product for
men was meant for marketing as they intended to get
money for other household uses.
Plate 5. Nutrition gardens for women coopratives in
Manicaland Province.
Plate above was a nutrition garden for a woman with
herbs, sugarcane and vegetables. Plate below is a
small crop field for a woman where yams amd mixed
cropping was done.
Plate 6. Yams produced and a small intercropped
maize field in Manicaland Province.
Roles of women in agriculture in rural communities
and their implications in reducing hunger and
malnutrition
Despite given small pieces of land, the results
revealed that women significantly contribute to food
availability and utilisation to the rural communities.
The performance in productivity to the small land the
women were working on ranged from 59% to 117%.
This reflected that the women were very productive
and have a big potential if enough land was given to
the women.
Table 8. Roles and contribution of women to food
security.
Role
Contribution
outcome
Percentage
%
Maize yield per
hectare
3 tonnes out of target
of 5.05
59
Beans yield per
hectare
4 tonnes out of target
of 4
100
Sorghum per
hectare
7 tonnes out of target
of 6
117
Nuts per hectare
0.7 tonnes out of
target of 0.7
100
Potatoes per
hectare
25 tonnes out of
target of 30
83
Wheat per hectare
6 tonnes out of target
of 7
86
Yams
7 tonnes out of target
of 7.7
91
Women employed
in farming and
agriculture
1,746 women
employed
2
Number of women
in food processing
57,605 women were
into food processing
66
Women in
horticulture
cropping
87,280 women
participants had a
horticulture garden
100
Women in
nutrition
gardening and
cooperatives
54,114 women were
members to either a
garden or a
cooperatives
62
Household food
preparation and
chores
87,280 women are
into feeding and do
all chores
100

8. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
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Then a range from 62% to 100% of the women
provided processed food and were into horticulture
cropping and group members to either a garden or a
cooperative.
Plate 7. Agroforestry, intercropping and gardening at
household in Mshonaland Central.
Plate 8. A nutrition garden where horticultural crops
are grow in Midlands province.
Whilst, 100% were involved in household chores
especially find and preparing food for the family.
However, only 2% were full-time employed in the
farming and agriculture sector. The roles were
contributing significantly to household food security
as that every small pieces of land they are using was
very productive and reduced hunger and malnutrition
at household level.
Discussion
The results revealed that social and economic
constraints place barriers around women’s access to
agricultural land, empowerment, and much needed
information. Lack of collateral denies them access to
agricultural credit. Culture or traditions accord
membership of cooperatives only to heads of
household usually a man. Garcia (2013) revealed that
women in rural areas of developing countries are at a
disadvantage due to the fact that they do not have
access to the same opportunities or resources as men
owing to stereotype issues based on gender.
The results revealed that women have a high positive
attitude as majority of the women are into food
production and food processing. The three highest
expression of positive attitude to the variables was in
interest in contributing to household, understanding
of food security and socio-economic development and
cultural factors with 71.5%, 74.4% and 63.7%
responding to them respectively. The table shows that
the provinces with the four most positive attitude
women towards household food security were in
Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Matabeleland South
and Masvingo with percentages 59.9, 59.8, 58.8 and
59.8 respectively. The least percentage positive
response was in Mashonaland West with 55.6%
responding to the statements. The provinces with low
positive percentages were said to be much into
mining as compared to farming and agriculture
activities. However, it also revealed that women are
discriminated when it comes to decision making with
regards to land and livestock ownership, equality and
other factors of food security. Ziblim (2014) indicated
that the women have a positive attitude and interest
in contributing to household food security.
The results revealed that men own both land and
livestock at household level, and the livestock for
women were most realized through payment of the
bride (lobola) prize. Therefore, a proper
understanding of this interaction in rural household
is indispensable for policy formation towards
ensuring food security, reduction of hunger and
poverty at the household level in developing
countries. Ziblim (2014) suggested that gender
differentials in the farm household also play a
significant role in the economic performance of a
given household. A great deal of empirical research
has convincingly demonstrated that gender is
important in defining the economic role of rural
people in Africa (Ziblim (2014). Both men and women
ranked the factors affecting farming and agriculture
differently because as they both based they choice on
land ownership, gender inequality and lack of women
empowerment.

9. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 20
There results revealed that the country was not food
secured as 68% of the household could not afford
three meals per day, whilst malnutrition remains at
9%. Food security remain a challenge in the country
as the four dimension of food security were averaging
23.25% of the household getting access, utilize, avail
and the food is stably supplied throughout the year.
Ibnouf (2009) revealed that normally, for anyone
food security depends not only on availability of
sufficient food supply, but also on sustainability of
permanent access to food. A person's nutritional
status involves accessibility to resources for food and
translating the food obtained into satisfactory
nutritional levels. Therefore, food security is a
situation in which both food supply and effective
demand are sufficient to cover nutritional
requirements (Mittal, 2006).
There were very high sign of potential in the women
to produce more processed food so that the food can
have long shelf life and consumed by the household
over the year. However, there was no indication that
developmental programmes towards food processing
were being targeted in the country. USAID (2016)
highlighted that the key to the success of development
of agriculture as an engine of economic growth, food
security, and poverty reduction is the empowerment
of women, who play a vital role in advancing
agricultural development, food security, and
nutritional outcomes. USAID (2016) revealed that
much of agricultural programmes support to rural
women has been concentrated at the production stage
and there is need to support the value addition stage.
The results of the roles and contribution of women as
presented above defeat the debate cited in Doss
(2014) that suggested that there was no evidence to
support the claim that women contribute to the
world’s food. The results demonstrated that given
enough or equal treatment with men, the women can
produce high crop yield. The results also
demonstrated that they play major role in food
processing, and active in nutrition, gardening and
agriculture cooperatives. Hence, any intervention that
may come would be of benefit if women are to be
considered. The results defeat the suggestion given in
Doss (2014) that interventions should not explicitly
target women rather than men. Doss (2018) added
that the arguments for targeting women can be
grouped into two main strands. One strand focuses on
the productive potential of women farmers. The claim
is that women are heavily involved in agricultural
production in the developing world and especially in
Africa and that they have been left out of many
development efforts. Thus, there are very high returns
to targeting current investments to women with these
returns showing up as increased aggregate
agricultural production and higher incomes for
women. Doss (2018) said that the second and not
mutually exclusive, line of argument posits that
women represent an important class of beneficiaries
of agricultural development efforts and that their
needs have frequently been neglected by programmes
that focus on productivity increases. There are
reasons to direct agricultural development towards
this group as many poor farmers are women. The
importance of women as beneficiaries increased by
the instrumental roles of women with respect to child
health, nutrition and education. Improving the well-
being of women and offering them expanded
opportunities will both increase their own welfare and
have the potential to create positive effects on the
next generation (Doss, 2018).
However, new data has allowed authors to challenge
some myths about women in agriculture. Evidence
for Africa and Asia (Doss et al., 2015) is inconsistent
with a widely cited figure that women own only
between 1% and 2% of the world’s land, although
they do own considerably less land than men they
are productive. In the six African countries for which
there is data, women provide 40% of the labour for
crop agriculture, a lower figure than the 60% to 80%
that is often cited (Palacios-Lopez et al., 2015).
Despite being suppliers of farming and agriculture
labour force, Smriti (2011) suggested that higher
capital costs for cultivators' post-liberalisation
increased the pressure to contain wage costs in
Telangana region where women form the majority of
the agricultural wage labour force. Under such
conditions, when women perform both own-
cultivation as well as agricultural wage work in the
fields of others, they face pressure to restrict
bargaining for higher wages, contributing to a
widening gender wage gap (Smriti, 2011).

10. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 21
To the extent that wages shape intra-household
bargaining power, the empowering effect of workforce
participation for such women would thus be blunted.
On the other hand, Doss (2014) suggested that there
was no evidence to support the claim that women
produce 60% to 80% of the world’s food. This was,
given women’s responsibilities for household chores,
it would be surprising if they produced most of the
food. Doss (2018) emphases that whether or not
interventions should explicitly target women rather
than men, it is clear that a gender-blind approach to
designing interventions will miss out on key
constraints, opportunities and impacts. Gender is
embedded in the distribution of essentially all the
resources used in agriculture including land
ownership, farm management decisions, market
access for inputs and outputs, information from
extension services, use of information and
communication technology, etc (Doss et al., 2015).
Gender is also embedded in the distribution of the
gains from increased agricultural productivity,
particularly influencing who controls the outputs and
decides how the proceeds will be used. If
interventions fail to consider how gender is
embedded in the system, it will then miss critical
opportunities for transforming agricultural systems,
increasing productivity, reducing poverty and
improving people’s lives (Doss, 2018).
According to Garcia (2013), as regards Europe,
gender equality is one of the main objectives of the
Europe 2020 strategy. In the specific case of rural
women, a concerted effort has been made over recent
years to get the member states to establish policies
aimed at improving their situation and their access to
technologies as well as increasing their representation
within public, economic and social bodies from the
agricultural sector (Garcia, 2013). Further indicated
that rural women play an essential role in the four
pillars related to food security, that is availability,
accessibility, utilization and stability. However, there
is a gender gap in access to resources such as land,
energy, technology, credit, pesticides and fertilizers.
In addition, women have less access to training
information, social protection and public services
markets. According to Garcia (2013), if women had
the same opportunities of access to productive
resources as men could increase yields by 20-30%.
Therefore, as requirement on the fight against hunger
and poverty is to promote the empowerment of rural
women. Ziblim (2014) indicated that research
evidences show that empowering rural women,
increasing economic assets that women control has a
positive impact on the family, particularly on food
and nutrition security, health and education. Women
also are known to spend a greater proportion of their
income on household basic needs such as food than
men. CARE (2020) added that gender equality and
women’s empowerment are central to achieve food
security for all, by raising levels of nutrition,
improving agricultural productivity and natural
resource management, and improving the lives of
people in rural areas with full and equitable
participation in decision making. Therefore without
gender equality and rural women’s economic, social
and political empowerment, food security will not be
achieved and hence affecting the achievement of the
zero to hunger vision, which is a sustainable
development goal.
In spite of social, political and economic
constraints, women farmers have proved extremely
resourceful and hardworking in their attempt to
ensure household food security (UNDP, 1995).
Social constraints place barriers around their
access to agricultural land, scientific and
technological information. Lack of collateral denies
them access to agricultural credit. Culture or
traditions accord membership of cooperatives only
to heads of household usually a man (UNDP, 1995).
Garcia (2013) revealed that women in rural areas of
developing countries are at a disadvantage due to
the fact that they do not have access to the same
opportunities or resources as men owing to
stereotype issues based on gender. Therefore, a
proper understanding of this interaction in rural
household is indispensable for policy formation
towards ensuring food security, reduction of
hunger and poverty at the household level in
developing countries.

11. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 22
The first step towards women's empowerment and
full participation in food security strategies is the
collection and analysis of gender disaggregated data,
in order to understand role differences in crop
production and food security, as well as men's and
women's differential managerial and financial control
over production, storage and marketing of
agricultural products (Ziblim, 2014). According to
Ball (2020), very little research about women farming
in developed countries has been produced, this is
despite its food security, hunger and poverty
alleviation and socio-economic implications. Ball
(2020) revealed that the extent women are becoming
more equal to men in farming and agriculture
activities has received almost no attention in
developed countries include comparisons of men and
women farmers’ productivity and their access to and
use of resources. Hence, discoveries in these and
other areas in this article was important not only for
their insights into the agricultural industry in
developed countries, but also because they informed
the role of women in farming and agriculture in
providing and improving household food security and
reducing of hunger and malnutrition in rural
communities of developing countries.
The engagement of women in economic and
agriculture activities in Zimbabwe is widespread,
ranging from the formal to the informal sector. Even
though a majority of their activities is in the informal
sector women perform many invisible activities that
may not be considered as economic activities. USAID
(2016) highlighted that the key to the success of
development of agriculture as an engine of economic
growth, food security, and poverty reduction is the
empowerment of women, who play a vital role in
advancing agricultural development, food security,
and nutritional outcomes. USAID (2016) revealed
that much of agricultural programmes support to
rural women has been concentrated at the production
stage. Jemimah et al. (2021) suggested that achieving
gender equality and women’s empowerment in food
systems can result in greater food security and better
nutrition, and in more just, resilient, and sustainable
food systems for all. There is a wealth of information
related to women’s economic empowerment through
production, but there is limited available data related
to best farming practices and promising approaches
for women’s empowerment at other farming and
agricultural value chain levels (Jemimah et al., 2021).
According to CARE (2020), the agricultural
productivity of women has direct implications on
income as well as on the food security of their
households. Increased income for women is
associated with greater food consumption and
improved nutritional status of household members.
Now, according to Europa World (1994), agriculture is
the predominant sector of the Zimbabwean economy,
with approximately 80% of the population dependent
on it for their livelihood. In 1991, agriculture
contributed 20% of the gross domestic products (GDP),
about one-third coming from the subsistence farmers
on communal lands, and employed 67% of the labour
force. The principal cash crops are tobacco, maize,
cotton, coffee and sugar, while wheat, soybeans and
groundnuts are also cultivated. Beef production is also
an important economic activity, and agriculture
supplies about 50% of raw materials for the
manufacturing sector (Europa World, 1994).
Overall, as roles of women in agriculture are
neglected, the noted implications in providing and
improving household food security and for reducing
hunger and malnutrition were: This research found
that food insecurity is associated with increased risks
of some birth defects, anemia, lower nutrient intakes,
cognitive problems, and aggression and anxiety.
Household food insecurity has insidious effects on the
health and development of young children, including
increased hospitalizations, poor health, iron
deficiency, developmental risk and behavior
problems, primarily aggression, anxiety, depression,
and attention deficit disorder. The reasons identified
why is food insecurity common in the rural areas
include unacceptably high levels of poverty in rural
households, low priority for nutrition on the agenda
of government and resulting poor funding, poor
understanding by policymakers of the content of
nutrition programs in relation to other sectors, poor
infant and child feeding practices.

12. Int. J. Agrion. Agri. R.
Marowa Page 23
Hence, the consequences of food insecurity, the
research shows an association between food
insecurity and delayed development in young
children; risk of chronic illnesses like asthma and
anemia; and behavioral problems like hyperactivity,
anxiety and aggression in school-age children.
Conclusion
The rural woman plays an essential role in the fight
against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Yet this
role is far from being recognized as the women are
not empowered, there is gender inequality, lack of
land ownership among other factors. Moreover, there
are other factors, which also affect land productivity
such as climate change, which makes them even more
vulnerable. As this article has demonstrated that,
there was a great deal of potential to increase
women’s economic empowerment in the farming and
agriculture sector. During the formulation of farming
and agricultural policies, there was need to address
factors that were affecting the potential of women in
improving food security. This would help in fully
utilization of the roles of women in providing and
improving household food security and reduce
hunger and malnutrition in the rural communities.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the Almighty God for guiding me
throughout the entire study. Many thanks go to
participants for their cooperation and time during
data collection. I would also want to acknowledge the
government department, non-governmental
organisations like Community In Need Africa,
agriculture and women organisations, Chiefs, Village
heads, rural community household members and all
stakeholders who were involved in one way or on
other and all other stakeholders.
Funding:
Acknowledgement to Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
This article has been funded by the E4LIFE
International PhD Fellowship Program offered by
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. I extend my gratitude
to the Amrita Live-in-LabsⓇ academic program for
providing all the support.
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