Feminisation, agricultural transition and rural employment (FATE)

Background: Agriculture is by far the most important source of income for rural households in the poorer regions of the globe. It remains a primary engine of rural development and growth, building resilience and livelihoods and providing a critical route out of poverty. Nevertheless, agriculture in the global South is also viewed as underperforming. There have been demands for more capital-intensive commercial agriculture to promote forms of employment that can generate higher returns. Non-traditional agricultural exports such as delicate spices (ginger, cardamom) or nutritious grains (quinoa) have been a response to these demands, creating wage labour and stimulating high levels of – notably – female employment in rural areas. Aim: The developmental impacts and the implications of an increased commercialisation of agriculture are the subject of FATE. The project will analyse the premises of the supposed integration of rural women and men into export-led agriculture, highlighting how the gains and risks are shared within and between households. Can high-value crops be transferred into high-value jobs for rural men and women? The FATE team assesses the conditions under which the shift from subsistence orientation towards wage reliance enhances the well-being of household members, or, in contrast, adds pressure on farming families, as they opt out of subsistence and are being pushed towards capital investment. Instead of increased choices – the promise of development – small farmers may bear the risk of losing their land and face added dependency and vulnerability. Adopting a within-case as well as a cross-case research framework, quantitative and qualitative data will be collected across four less developed, land-locked countries. The comparison aims at understanding the social and political conditions required for asset building at household level, and it illuminates the barriers to improve capabilities. Against the background of the dramatic transformations of rural spaces this project discusses potentials of the given dynamics for rural labour markets, and addresses the risks rural men and women face, as they engage in wage employment. Relevance: The findings will feed into debates on the transformative power of economic change induced by globalization and will contribute to policy frameworks which not only aim at creating jobs but prospects – namely for the poorer portions of developing societies to actually escape from poverty. Transdisciplinary in nature, this project will provide evidence for governance – knowledge that can inform negotiations of social justice in the context of agricultural transition and rural employment. It thus contributes to opening up pathways to sustainable development viable for those segments of the population who usually get bypassed by the benefits of globalization. Geographic scope: Bolivia, Rwanda, Lao PDR, Nepal.

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