Carr, R. M., and Hartl, M., 2010, Lightening the Load: Labour-saving technologies and practices for rural women

2.4 APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LIVELIHOODS, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

2.4.5. Strengthening IE with attention to gender issues

Recommendation: 32) A gender-aware approach about labour saving technologies and on-farm activities requires ensuring that women have plenty control over the tools. A gender-transformative approach requires asking whether technologies are designed to meet women’s needs and whether women are involved in the innovation systems, both as clients and as providers of innovations. Ergonomically designed equipment for women can reduce strain and make their labour more productive.

Reference: Carr, R. M., and Hartl, M., 2010, Lightening the Load: Labour-saving technologies and practices for rural women (African countries), General background document on issues in our research matrix, IFAD, Warwickshire.

Evidence sample: Lighter tools are also available to use with donkeys are also available and generally, unlike with oxen, no taboos exist on women working with donkeys. Time saving can be significant - a donkey-drawn inter-crop cultivator could reduce weeding time per acre from 2 to 4 weeks to 2 to 4 days. However women lack the cash to purchase such equipment and their husbands may see no need to purchase donkeys and equipment for their wives when the work can be done by hand at no cost. In addition, animal draught technologies are seen as being men’s domain, and animal traction training courses tend to be restricted to men. Development programmes that have distributed donkeys and donkeys and equipment have not been sustainable due to women’s inability to pay for drugs to keep their animals disease free.