Men and women in a household economy: evidence from Kisii

This paper is on interim report on research analyzing household economy in South Wanjare location, Kisii. The purpose is to understand the potential for agricultural development policy, particularly extension policy, to achieve its stated goals. This will depend, it is argued, on the extent to which policy assumptions concerning the household economy match reality on the ground. It is argued that a proper understanding of that economy must start with understanding the different structural positions and access to resources of men and women. This reveals that key constraints are strain on women's labor time due to non-agriculture activities and limited investment in agriculture by male wage earners who control the largest sources of potential investment. An additional potential resource is male labor, which is in surplus in the rural area, (in contrast to women's labor, which is not in surplus). Policy focus must be on freeing women’s labor time for agricultural activities, and including, both male labor and investment onto the farm.