Can labour saving technologies help rural

women in Uganda?

Florence L. KiyimbaNational Agricultural Research

Organization

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

April 13, 2023

ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

 

MASAKA

N

0 100 200 Kilometers

THE NEW SUDAN

DRC

TANZANIA

KENYA

BURUNDI & RWANDA

April 13, 2023

ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Argument Simply targeting women is not

empowering Impacts of technology influenced by

hhold organization Activities, labour, resources

Women’s welfare based on complex interactions within hholds

Important to understand how technology intertwines with these.

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Objective How FC consolidates or transforms

gender relations How & whether it works as a

labour saving device Examining assumptions about

gender Intra- & inter-hholds impacts on

gender relations Effects of targeting women

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Methodology Study area

4 dairying sub-counties in Masaka

Population: Smallholder dairy farmers

2 farmer categories selected Village sampling unit Household analysis unit

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Methodology cont… Technographic research

Study technology in everyday life Qualitative realistic evaluation Describing socially active

technology Map out different social entities:

actors, activities Resources being mobilized Interaction of these with technology

as they use itApril 13, 2023

ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Intra-household organization Constructing users – “virtual

user” Women for zero grazing High feed requirements High labour demands Low farm productivity

Context of users – “actual user” Labour patterns Economic activities/resources

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Context of actual users

3 types of households: MH, FH, FM

Livestock labour: family, hired, both

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

0

5

1015

20

25

30

3540

45

50

Family labour Hired labour Both

Labour source

No.

of h

ouse

hold

s

Male headed

Female headed

Female managed

Context of actual users cont…

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

M W JC JOC W I C M W JOC

Male headed Female headed Female managed

Household category

No

. o

f H

ho

lds

Land

House

Cattle

Main economic resource/assets: land, houses, cattle

Impact on labour Saved labour & time but in what

context & whose labour?

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Impact on labour cont…

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Impact on labour cont… Two possible interpretations:

Technology use allowed redefinition of roles

Decision to adopt depended on availability of family labour

KEY to women’s empowerment: Power to control or influence

reallocation of saved labour Saved labour used to increase incomes

whose allocation women influencedApril 13, 2023

ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Income allocation Two fold: increase and decrease Increased income:

Saving on hired labour cost Increased milk yield more money

Decreased income: Initial cost of technology nonusers Repair and maintenance

expelled lot Ability to control or influence

allocation was therefore keyApril 13, 2023

ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

⇨⇨⇨

Implication Several elements had to be mobilized Users, households & gender relation

not fixed Empowering women with technology

needs understanding of all these Technology + household composition

+ gender relations = determine use of technology

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Conclusions To put emphasis on women:

increase access! Detailed understanding of how

gender relations are negotiated & transformed

! Increasing access alone ≠ empowering

! Understanding context of actual user is key

! Making a technology work needs understanding what resources users mobilize to arrive at workable solutions.

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July

Thank You

April 13, 2023ICWES15 Australia 2011 - Adelaide 19-22 July