Women and Smallholder Farming - (Burleigh Dodds Agricultural Science) by Carolyn Sachs & Paige Castellanos (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book highlights the challenges faced by women smallholder farmers and considers how stakeholders in the agri-food supply chain can support, empower and sufficiently compensate them for their contribution to agriculture.

Book Synopsis

This book highlights the day-to-day challenges faced by women smallholders in regions such as Africa, Asia and South America, whilst also considering how key stakeholders across the agri-food supply chain can support, empower and sufficiently compensate women smallholder farmers for their contribution to agriculture.

From the Back Cover

"This is a valuable contribution to the important topic of women smallholder farmers. Leading experts discuss the roles of women in different types of farming. While acknowledging the constraints that women smallholders often face, there is emphasis on promising approaches to accessing resources and technology, which makes this volume a valuable resource for both scholars and practitioners." (Dr Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Research Fellow Emeritus - International Food Policy Research Institute, USA)

There are an estimated 500 million smallholder farmers across the world, of which a considerable percentage are women. Despite their large numbers and important roles, women smallholders remain largely unsupported and their contribution to agriculture is often devalued because of their sex.

Women and smallholder farming: Addressing global inequities in agriculture provides a comprehensive overview of the main obstacles and challenges women smallholders continue to face, such as restricted access to markets and education, as well as a lack of control over assets and property rights. The book also assesses the impact of sociocultural factors on women smallholder farmers in different regions around the world, including Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. In highlighting these issues, the book considers how key stakeholders across the agri-food supply chain can support, empower and sufficiently compensate women smallholder farmers for their contribution to agriculture.

Edited by two internationally-renowned experts on gender and agriculture, the book will be a standard reference for university and other researchers studying smallholder farming systems in departments of agricultural science, gender studies, international development, politics and development economics, as well as government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in development programmes focussing on women smallholders.

Dr Carolyn Sachs is Professor Emerita of Rural Sociology at The Pennsylvania State University, USA. She serves on an expert panel to the United Nations Programme on Gender, Water and Sanitation and is involved in several extension and outreach programmes, including the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network (PAWAgN), in which she provides agricultural, entrepreneurship and leadership training. Emerita Professor Sachs has held previous positions as Visiting Professor at Charles Sturt University, Australia and Visiting Professor at the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome, Italy. She has published widely on gender and agriculture, contributing books, chapters and journal articles, and in 2020, she co-edited the Routledge Handbook of Gender and Agriculture with Dr Paige Castellanos and other notable researchers.

Dr Paige Castellanos is Senior Manager of Gender Justice and Inclusion at Oxfam America, USA. Before moving into her new role in 2022, Dr Castellanos was previously Director for the Gender Equity through Agriculture Research and Education (GEARE) Initiative at The Pennsylvania State University, USA. From 2016-2019, Dr Castellanos acted as Project Manager for the Women in Agriculture Network (WAgN): Honduras - a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve women's participation in the horticulture value chain in Honduras. She has published widely on gender, empowerment and agriculture and co-edited the Routledge Handbook of Gender and Agriculture alongside Emerita Professor Carolyn Sachs and other notable researchers in 2020.

About the Author

Dr Carolyn Sachs is Professor Emerita of Rural Sociology at The Pennsylvania State University, USA. She serves on an expert panel to the United Nations Programme on Gender, Water and Sanitation and is involved in several extension and outreach programmes, including the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network (PAWAgN), in which she provides agricultural, entrepreneurship and leadership training.

Dr Paige Castellanos is Senior Manager of Gender Justice and Inclusion at Oxfam America, USA. Before moving into her new role in 2022, Dr Castellanos was previously Director for the Gender Equity through Agriculture Research and Education (GEARE) Initiative at The Pennsylvania State University, USA. From 2016-2019, Dr Castellanos acted as Project Manager for the Women in Agriculture Network (WAgN): Honduras - a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to improve women's participation in the horticulture value chain in Honduras.