In the US, we tend not to think of farmers as women, arguably because women operate only around 11% of US farms (that number is rising). In the developing world, however, rural women on average comprise 43% of the agricultural labor force.
Women farmers tend to be the poorest of the poor, mainly because few women in developing countries have land rights. The chart below illustrates this widespread disparity by region.
Land inequality stems from a variety of factors including the tradition of leaving land to male heirs, a male bias in government land redistribution programs, and the fact that women have less bargaining power in land markets (i.e. they pay much higher prices).
It probably goes without saying that land ownership is extremely important for productivity, because it gives farmers—male or female—more security to plan and invest, which are key factors in growing food. But land ownership also fosters women’s overall empowerment and well-being because it can be leveraged for better economic and social outcomes within their marriages, their communities, and their broader political systems.
Created by CPE Member Economists Gül Ünal and Sue Holmberg
October 2011
Sources:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2010-11. “Women in Agriculture. Closing the Gender Gap for Development.” The State of Food and Agriculture report.
United States Department of Agriculture. 2011. “Women in Agriculture. Economics and Community Development program. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/economics/in_focus/small_business_if_women.html.
Notes: Regional aggregates do not include all countries due to lack of data.
