Summary
The Teso Farming system region, encompassing the districts of Kumi, Soroti, Katakwi and Kaberamaido in Northern Eastern Uganda, is characterised by a bi-modal rainfall, a prolonged dry season and periodic droughts.
The region is predominantly agro-pastoral and livestock are important contributors to food security as they are more resilient to the climatic fluctuations as compared to crops.
Women, who do not generally own livestock, especially the larger stock, are the custodians of food security and ultimately the family livelihood. Where women own livestock (cattle and goats) they face unique challenges from being in a male dominated arena. The restocking process has availed many women the opportunity to enter the livestock sector (cattle, goat keeping). This opportunity is greatly underscored by the fact that women are generally within the bracket of the poorest of the poor, and yet almost 25% of the homes in the TFS region are female-headed (Awa et al. 1999).
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| Primary Relevance |
Low - High |
| Feeding and Nutrition |
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| Animal Health |
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| Commodities and Markets |
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| Other Husbandry |
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| Policy Relevance |
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This project addresses the policy and
production challenges women in livestock production in the TFS face.
Policy provides an enabling environment: are polices supportive
of women's participation in livestock production in the TFS area?
Production skills enable confident and sustainable participation;
do women have the necessary skills? Due to its system wide coverage
the restocking process has helped highlight the challenges and needs
of women.
The status of women in the TFS region indicates that they play a major role in livestock production and participate in all its associated activities. However, men dominate ownership of cattle while women own the low-value small stock, such as goats, pigs and chickens, to which they have reasonable authority over disposal. Because of this, women provide more detailed management to small stock compared to cattle. The lack of cattle ownership and equal access to land and other production resources have made women poor and socio-economically insecure.
Small stock, especially goats and chickens, are a major livestock resource for women, children and landless livestock keepers. Small stock are suited to the resource-poor smallholder system due to their high growth and reproductive rates and adaptive characteristics to high ambient temperatures, feed and water scarcity and disease tolerance. However, streamlining is required in the restocking process to enable women to have equal access to production resources, extension, education and other services to gain skills on modern livestock production technologies. Women should be sensitised, and empowered to demand the provision of essential services, such as access to, and use of, improved animal breeds and breeding practices.
The opportunities offered by small stock in the provision of protein-rich food and income for resource-poor and vulnerable groups, such as families affected by HIV/AIDS, should be strengthened. Women should be enabled to have access to diverse national, regional and global markets for both livestock and produce. Targeting gender insensitive policies is an important pre-requisite for policy makers and implementers in order for women to effectively contribute to the livestock sector and move from subsistence to market-oriented production. This is achievable by reducing continued male dominance, sensitising development partners, in both the public and private sector, including non-governmental organisations, to be more effective and gender balanced in offering extension, education, other services, credit and savings facilities, at reasonable interest rates, to women involved in livestock production.
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References
Awa, A.A., Goromela, E.H., Okuru-Akol, H., Sembirig, J., Spilsbury, H. and Touza, A.L. (1999). Towards a better integration of livestock and crops in the Teso Farming Systems. ICRA/NARO working document series No. 79, Uganda. |
