Community Awareness on Changing Gender Roles in Seed Yam Production Implications for Food Security_ Example of the Community Action for Improving Farmer Saved Seeds (CAY-Seed) Project

Abstract

Yam production in West Africa is male dominated, despite the different roles played by various genders in its production. This male dominance creates gender gaps in terms of access to and control over yam production resources especially where agricultural interventions are not gender responsive. However, gender is dynamic and gender roles change for sustained yam productivity. A mixed method approach with the use of gender sensitisation workshops and a questionnaire survey was used to examine the changing gender roles and social dynamics in seed yam production. The results revealed that gender roles in seed yam production had changed and farmers of different genders were aware. The awareness of changes was because of the training and sensitisation interventions of the CAY-Seed project and the changes were partly as a result of the project’s interventions and the availability of already existing technologies that enabled men, women and youth to perform relevant roles. Seed cutting and planting, which were formally dominated by men were currently performed by women and the youth. Some males allocated some portions of their fields to their spouses for seed yam production. Women and youth had a stake in the decision-making processes in yam production, had control and took decision on their own yam production activities. Men accepted the need to empower women and youth in seed yam production to complement their efforts in providing for the household. These dynamics confirmed that gender roles were not fixed but have changed with time. It also depicted the importance of gender responsiveness in the development and implementation of agricultural development projects for enhanced productivity and food security.