Land ownership wrangles pose hurdle for women farmers

Experts say eighty per cent of women in Africa are responsible for farm produce, but only one per cent own the lands.

AGRA head of gender and inclusiveness Sabdiyo Bashuna said it is unfortunate that land ownership still follows patriarchal patterns.

In many communities in Africa, women are still not allowed to own land.

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Data from the National Land Commission shows that less than a fifth of Kenyans own more than 1.5 acres (0.60 hectares) of land, while nearly 15% own no land at all.

While the farmers wait to one day make their own decisions on how they farm, Julius Muchiri said he and other Mwea farmers have to hire land from neighbouring farms in the hopes of growing enough to pay off their loans and feed their families.

While the women are the major players in the food prodution, they have little say on the income generated by the crop.

"The idea is to move more women into the agribusiness sector, especially for younger women, as this does not need land as a priority asset," Shabdiyo added.

There are other businesses within the value chain such as extension, bulking and village-based advising. 

Bashuna cited a project in Agra where youth groups are involved in other value adding businesses such as selling sillage to dairy farmers.

Wendy Farms founder Caleb Karuga admitted that the land issue is emotive in Kenya, especially so when it involves women ownership.

He said in the face of such challenges, women and youth can explore available opportunities such as leasing. In some cases, leasing land may cost as little as Sh10,000 a year, according to Karuga.

Women and youth interested in agribusiness do not have access to owning land or control of the assets if they do.

"We should move the narrative from land ownership to leasing...there's a lot of idle land that can be leased to interested parties."

Karuga added that agriculture can go beyond farm production. There are more opportunities in the value chain.

He mentioned a web designer who now helps to design agriculture websites, saying youth need to be more open for opportunities that go beyond farm production and are equally an opportunity for them to apply skills they already have.

"You do not need to own land for you to be a farmer," Karuga said.

Bashuna said other than land ownership challenges, women are further crippled by the lack of or limited access to financing.

The majority of women do not seek funds from financial institutions, they rather focus on their own savings, which may be limited. 

However, with more finances, they can generate enough to support themselves in terms of building an asset base.

"There is a need for financial institutions to understand where the women are coming from and the kind of collateral they can leverage for," Shabdiyo added.