The study of gender issues in agricultural production has become an important subject of inquiry, ever since questions were raised on whether women and men benefited equally from economic development. The focus of the debate and empirical research has primarily been on the role of women in crop production to the virtual exclusion of the role of gender in general (women, men and children) in livestock farming. This review is based on the limited amount of available literature which shows that specific participation of women, men and children in animal husbandry is significant and varies from region to region according to the traditional gender division of labour, other variables, the farming systems and the demographic and environmental factors. The objectives of this review are to:
Ruminant livestock are important in maintaining the livelihoods of their keepers by providing food, traction power, manure, raw material, cash, security, social and cultural identity, medium of exchange and means of savings and investments. The smallholder ruminant livestock production systems considered in this review, and which are common in developing countries, are nomadic pastoral, agropastoral and mixed crop–livestock farming.
There is a distinct, but not very strict, age and sex division of work in pastoral (nomadic and sedentary) systems. This division of work is influenced by socio-cultural and economic factors, what the animal is used for and how valuable the animal is. Men are largely the decision makers for livestock production and are in charge of general herd management. Women carry out dairy-related activities, manage vulnerable animals (calves, small ruminants, and sick, injured and pregnant animals). Children undertake most of the routine work such as herding. Men own most of the livestock and sell live animals and meat. Women own a small proportion of the animals and are milk managers in the pastoral systems.
Gender division of labour in mixed systems varies from region to region according to culture, religion and socio-economic variables. Both men and women take part in the harvesting and transportation of feed, chaffing of fodder, feeding of animals, milking, cleaning of sheds and sale of milk. Processing of milk is done solely by women while children of both sexes tether and herd animals. As in animal husbandry activities, crop cultivation tasks are shared among household members and vary across regions.
The welfare effect of technological change at the household level is of concern to many researchers and policy makers involved in ruminant livestock development. For example, intensified dairying has been shown to potentially raise milk production and household incomes, but the welfare consequences on different household members may not be the same. The effects vary over time and across regions. In many places, women are involved in marketing milk and other dairy products in informal markets but they share the proceeds of the sales with other members of the family to meet family expenses. Similarly men may be required by law to register with formal marketing institutions such as co-operatives and may be responsible for collecting revenues for milk deliveries, but they may not spend the entire revenue on their own.
Performing certain tasks may not be equal to control. The issues surrounding ownership of livestock, control over resources, income and expenditures and their implications for gender roles, equity and household welfare are not well understood and need to be more intensively researched.
Ruminant animals are important sources of livelihood for millions of smallholder farmers in developing countries, but their productivity remains low. This can be explained by both biological and constraints. Constraints such as shortage and high cost of improved breeds and commercial feed, lack of market access and unstable livestock and livestock product prices, and access to veterinary services and drugs are gender neutral. Obstacles such as the lack of capital and access to institutional credit; competing use of time, and lack of technical skills and access to extension service may affect women more than men and further limit women’s participation and efficiency in ruminant livestock production. Research leading to the identification and resolution of such constraints will enhance women’s participation in livestock production.
Ruminant livestock ownership directly and indirectly affects the nutritional status of children in developing countries. The significant correlation between the quantity of milk consumed by children and the nutritional anthropometric variables corroborates the importance of protein food sources from animal origin to child growth. Better quality diets, such as those from animal origin, are important in fostering growth in toddlers. Nutritional status of children with low consumption of dairy products has been shown to improve with the intake of ruminant animal product. However, drinking non- human milk before the age of 6 months and the presence of ruminant animals close to the household without proper veterinary care and good hygiene poses serious risk of disease to children. The limited evidence available indicates that the potential impact of any livestock technology on gender roles and household welfare, particularly human nutrition, should be carefully incorporated in the design, testing and diffusion processes of research projects.
Overall, research on gender and ruminant livestock is limited, especially gender disaggregated data on work sharing, access to resources and benefits. Total labour allocation, relative burdens and intra-household decision making processes need to be examined to fully understand the implications of technological change in ruminant livestock production systems at individual and household levels. All of these need to be undertaken using appropriate conceptual and theoretical constructs that fit the varying socio-cultural situations prevailing in the developing world. The studies reviewed in this document rarely used any conceptual/analytical framework; rather they describe or quantify certain elements in an isolated manner.
We suggest that future studies on gender in livestock technology research should consider using an appropriate conceptual framework to understand the inter-linkages between technology and its users and beneficiaries. The theoretical underpinnings of such a framework may be based on the new household economics and related models, e.g. the unitary and collective models. Both models treat the farm household as a unit of production and consumption. They differ in that the unitary model treats the household as a single entity with one set of preferences represented by a household utility function, while the household is considered by the collective model as a collective entity allowing heterogeneity in preferences among its decision makers. The tenets of collective models may not be applicable in many developing countries, where men and women may not always own different resources. Division of responsibilities and tasks, and ownership of livestock and collection of revenues from sale of different farm products by different family members (husbands, wives and children) may not, in most cases, reflect differences in control of resources, income or other outcomes. Also there may be flows of resources and incomes between members of different sexes in the household, but such flows may not represent or signify control and exchange (e.g. intra-household labour market) relationships, but rather sharing of responsibilities and incomes to assist individuals in meeting their socially assigned responsibilities, which contribute towards the attainment of family goals and welfare. Consequently, the simpler unitary model may still be an appropriate framework for gender analysis in the context of most developing countries. Within this framework, there may still exist gender inequities in terms of work burden and benefits. These need to be understood and addressed to make development more equitable.
