Urban Harvest - Women Feeding Cities

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RUAF/Urban Harvest Women Feeding Cities Workshop

Gender Mainstreaming in Urban Food Production and Food Security20th 23rd September 2004, Accra, Ghana

Urban Agriculture and Gender in Latin America:

A case study of Carapongo, Lima, Peru(Urban Harvest-CIP)

Prepared by Blanca Arce, Gordon Prain and Luis Maldonado

International Potato CenterPO Box 1558Lima 12-Peru


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1. IntroductionAmong developing regions, Latin America has experienced the highest levels of urbanizationover the past decades. The origins of this large urban growth are connected to import substitutionpolicies widely adopted after the Second World War, which led to rapid industrialization in urbancenters (Lipman, 1977). A corresponding lack of investment in agriculture in rural areas resultedin high levels of rural-urban migration as people sought access to the new industrial employmentopportunities. This combined with relatively high overall population growth to create the high

urban populations we see today. By 2020, 85% of the population of Latin America is expected tobe urban.

Urbanization in Latin America has usually involved the biggest city in each country growinglarger and faster than the other cities. This phenomenon results in urban primacy or thedemographic, economic, social, and political dominance of one city over all others within anurban system. For example, the Lima metropolitan area has over 7.5 million inhabitants, one-thirdof Perus total population. Lima's growth, like that of most cities in Latin America, hadaccelerated after 1940. In the next half-century, its population grew tenfold. By 1993, seven outof ten Peruvians were living in urban areas, four out of ten in Lima.

Not only has there been a major shift of total population from village to city over recent years,there has also been a migration of poverty, as cities have proved unable to provide fullemployment for newly arrived migrants and the natural growth of the urban population.

Presently, more than 125 million urban poor are living in the region out of a total population of430 million1 (CELADE, 1993). Recent reports show clearly how falling incomes have affectedpoverty in the city of Lima. Between 1985/86 and 1990, it is estimated that the proportion ofhouseholds living below the poverty line rose from 17 to 44 per cent. After a single year ofstructural adjustment, the proportion had risen to 49% in October/November 1991. By 1992, theproportion was 55%, with 90% of the labour force earning less than US$400 per month. Whenpoverty is measured in terms of those unable to buy the minimum basket of goods, the proportionof Lima families living in poverty rises to a staggering 60% (DESCO, 1993). Of the 49% oflimeos living below the poverty line in 1991, 20% could be classified as living in structuralpoverty and the other 29% as newly poor. The first group suffers not only from a low income butalso from poor housing and low levels of education; the second group has an income below thepoverty line.

There is a body of evidence that urban agriculture has contributed to averting major food crisesduring the political and economical instability of the last couple of decades (Haddad et al, 1999).A stark recent example is Argentina, where a massive growth in urban agriculture followed thefinancial crisis (Spiaggi et al, 2003). In Peru, the importance of urban agriculture greatlyincreased with the implementation of land reform during the 1970s. Whereas prior to land reform,much of the agricultural land around Lima was occupied by large estates (haciendas) growing primarily industrial crops, the reforms resulted first in the establishment of productioncooperatives for former hacienda workers and then a gradual parcelization of the cooperativelyfarmed land into small plots of less than a hectare. Initially former hacienda workers and theirfamilies planted these plots to mainly food security crops such as maize and sweetpotato, butmore recently commercial vegetable production and livestock raising has become increasinglycommon (Raymundo et al, 2004).

The emergence in recent decades in Latin America of urban agriculture as a strategy for both food

security and income generation for poor urban households raises a number of questions about the

1 Between 1950 and 1990, population increased from 159 million to 430 million, growing annually at 2.5%.


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roles of men and women in this phenomenon. Who has been most instrumental in gaining accessto land for household food production? Who has invested more labor time in cultivation andanimal production? Who determines crop and animal production choices, the sale or consumptionof the produce and the use of income earned? Most importantly, how do different gender roles inagriculture affect the livelihoods of the household as a whole and the relation of agriculture toother livelihoods strategies? This paper seeks to answer these questions through a case study ofCarapongo, a neighborhood in the eastern shantytowns of Lima Peru. Carapongo is one of four

neighborhoods involved in a research and development project coordinated by Urban Harvest andsupported by the Spanish Government. The project is implemented in collaboration withgovernment and non-government research and development organizations and local municipalinstitutions.

The four neighborhoods are located at about 200 meters above sea level (masl) in the lower zoneof the Rimac watershed and cover approximately 3,000 hectares (Figure 1). There is an almostequal use of land for residential areas and roadways and for mainly vegetable production, withvery limited areas of large-scale livestock-raising or forestry (Table 1). The Carapongoneighborhood covers an area of 400 hectares and has more than three times as much cultivatedland as residential area. Lima is located in the coastal desert of Peru, with one of the lowestrainfall regimes on Earth. Carapongo therefore receives water for agriculture mainly from theRimac River, through a system of irrigation canals which permit farmers to produce 3-4crops/year. Agriculture constitutes an important part of the urban population's income, in addition

to others family jobs, some in the public sector, but most in the informal private sector. Most ofCarapongos population is literate (95.6%). Few have a diploma or degree, but men are morelikely to have received primary or secondary education (men 33%) than women (9%). Just overhalf of the populations are migrants from the Andean region.The average Carapongo family has5 members with three quarters of the population over 35 (76%). Almost half of the malepopulations are married, compared to 18% of women. For both men and women, legal marriage ismore common that co-residence (convivientes) (men 11%, women 6%).

Table 1 Characteristics of the research area

Land Type All neighborhoods Carapongo

Total area (hectares) 3000 400

Population 7,800 3,200Land use (%):

Residential/roads 44 18

Cultivated land 42 62

Livestock 2 1

Agro-forestry 3 3

Uncultivable land 9 16

Source: Satellite image Ikonos (2002); INEI (2004)

Carapongo people are likely to be part-time farmers (48%) combining farming with otheremployment. Part of the reason for this is the limited access to land with mean ownership of 0.81 0.5 ha per family and 1.9 1.0 of number of plots. Many families do not find sufficient on farmemployment in the locality. Among the working population 45% of men commute temporallyoutside the Carapongo area to look for other work.


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A significant proportion of the land is held by absentee landlords, who rent to local farmers foragriculture. Although 30% of the agricultural land in Carapongo has been lost to urban sprawlover the past two years, farming persists and is still very important, and is mainly characterizedby mixed cropping of vegetables. Farm plots are similar in size and planted with vegetables suchas beet, lettuce, turnip, radish, basil and herbs (huacatay), mainly for commercial sale, whileraising livestock is practiced for family consumption and for sale. Poultry, guinea pig or cuy andpigs are the most popular animals kept.

In Carapongo agricultural production for subsistence / food security and income and employmentgeneration are by no means mutually exclusive. They co-exist in a range of differentcombinations. In rearing animals, the women tend to emphasize the importance of production forsubsistence, her husband as an additional income source. In crop production both emphasize themarket, though also consume a small part of the harvest.

Figure 1. Map of the study area-Urban Harvest/LAC, Lima-Peru

Three functional groups can be identified by their production systems: crop-livestock productionsystems (65%); crop production systems (33%); and livestock production systems (2%)2.Structural categories defined by typical combinations of land, water, capital and labor can bedefined: type 1, subsistence livestock producers and type 2, diversified crop-livestock commercialand home consumption producers.

Using participatory approaches, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were usedto gather information for this case study (Table 2).

2 We expect to identify more households involved exclusively in livestock production when the populationhaving no access to agricultural land is surveyed


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Table 2: Gender toolsMain issues Specific tools General tools

Division of UA relatedlabour, tasks andresponsibilities

Seasonal calendar Survey Clocks

Decision-making power Gender consultation

Access to and control overresources

Survey

Transect walk Household resource flow

diagram

External factors Organisational linkages

diagram (Venn diagram)

Constraints, problems andOpportunities

Problem drawing

Review of secondary data Direct observation Semi-structured Interviews Individual or key informant

interviews

Household interviews Focus group interviews

2. Gender division of labour in Carapongo householdsGender-specific roles and responsibilities are often conditioned by household structure, access toresources, and the specific impacts of the global economy, and other locally relevant factors suchas ecological conditions (FAO, 1997). The paper analyzes the gender division of labour in orderto establish the implications of urban agriculture in the reproductive, productive, community,

political and cultural roles and areas of social interaction performed by women and men.

2.1 Division of labour in agricultural workOf the total population of Carapongo, 60% of the population is involved in agriculture, mainly inthe same neighborhood. In these farming families, men were reported to be mainly responsiblefor the farm in 70% of cases and women in 30%. Just over half of the men and women involvedin agriculture in Carapongo are immigrants from the rural areas of the Andean region and were previously involved in agriculture. It is therefore probable, that they continue to be stronglyinfluenced by rural gender divisions of labour. However, in Carapongo family labour is rarelysupplemented by casual labour, which increases the responsibility on the women in thehousehold.

In the study area, within the household, the various tasks and responsibilities are divided between

the male and female members of the household. The division of tasks between men and women ineach urban agricultural production system or farming type (mixed crop-livestock productionsystems, crop production systems, livestock production systems) is different, according to thefarmer type they belong to, cultural group, the socio-economic status of the household, thespecies and size of the livestock and the location of the household in the city (the same factors arefound to influence the decision-making power of women and men as well). For instance, the useof female labour in crop-livestock production is higher than male labour among the poorestfamilies (diversified subsistence livestock). Different from diversified crop-livestock commercialand home consumption farmer type, where urban agriculture involves male and female labouralmost equally. These use extra hired labour to replace family labour.

One of the most interesting aspects of the division of agricultural tasks between men and womenis the frequency with which tasks are shared. Primary responsibility for agricultural tasks betweenmen and women is summarized in Table 3. In only two types of tasksland preparation and pest

control

there is a clear assignment of responsibility to men. Only in special circumstances arewoman responsible or share these tasks. Thus women who are responsible for these tasks are


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either widows or are unmarried. Where land preparation is shared, women help to preparevegetable beds, which cannot be done by plowing alone. Many other tasks are more frequentlyshared than assigned as a male or female role.

Nevertheless, the data do suggest a general pattern in which men take on more of the agricultureactivities (60% to 40%) and women participate more in livestock activities (70% to 30%). Invegetables cultivation (beet, lettuce, turnip) men take responsibility more frequently for land

preparation, irrigation and fertilizer application. Men are responsible for (a few) cash crops (beets26% and lettuces 15%) for generating cash income for the family. The stronger role of men invegetable production does not, carry through to post harvest and marketing where women clearlyplay a bigger part. In Lima, women are considered the better and tougher negotiators. Womenare also actively involved in caring for livestock, including feeding, health care and marketing.For some types of livestock such as poultry, women are principally responsible in almost twothirds of cases. On the other hand, for larger livestock like cow and goat men are more commonlyinvolved. Men are more involved for the purchase of inputs (46%), and in obtaining land forfarming while women are responsible for marketing products (41%).

Table 3. Primary responsibility for agricultural tasks of men and women in

Carapongo

ACTIVITIESMen

(%)

Women

(%)

Shared

(%)

None*

(%)

Total

(%)

Crops Land preparation 78 3 16 3 100

Planting 36 6 55 3 100

Fertilization, weeding,

hilling up of soil, irrigation 30 6 62 2 100

Pest control 87 3 6 4 100

Harvesting 14 5 75 6 100

Livestock Raising small animals 6 23 28 43 100

Raising larger livestock 7 12 25 56 100

Purchase of inputs 46 22 30 2 100

Marketing

Products 23 41 36 0 100

Household 4 76 15 5 100

Day laborer (jornalero) 14 3 11 72 100

Off-farm activities 19 11 8 62 100* No agricultural activity

Source: Baseline survey Project Agricultores en la Ciudad-Carapongo,Lima-Peru-2004, n=125.

Animals play several roles in household livelihoods. These are as a food asset (poultry and guinea pig), provide animal traction (horses), as a savings bank (sheep, guinea pig), as well as aregular source of monetary income (pigs, guinea pigs). Womens management of animals is oftenrelates to securing household food and nutrition. The production of pigs as well as poultry tend toconstitute a source of short-term food. Livestock provides both a means of risk aversion and cashincome through occasional sales. Also, animals provide manure, especially in the case of poultrywhere it is an input for vegetable production.

Men and women differ in their activities and responsibilities, and in their preferences and priorities. They differ in relation to production goals (food versus market oriented), preferredlocation of plots (women with young children often prefer to work close to the home), preferred


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mode of production (single versus multiple cropping), use of the products (householdconsumption rather than sales). They also have different perceptions regarding gender roles(Table 4 and 5). Once again, there is coincidence between male and female perceptions aroundthe male-linked tasks of land preparation and pest control. However, there is quite strongdiversion of perceptions about many of the other tasks. Most notable is the absence of recognitionamong men that women may be mainly responsible for some of the tasks of agricultural production, yet many women perceive themselves as the person handling these tasks. A

particularly strong discrepancy in perceptions concerns the purchasing of inputs. Whilst 61% ofmen consider that this is a male responsibility, almost the same percentages of women think it is afemale task. One possible explanation for this is the discrepancy between the decision to purchaseinputs and the knowledge and contacts with vendors that facilitate such purchases and the actualact of purchasing. Women may be more frequently involved in the latter activity than menacknowledge. There is also a large difference in perceptions of the role of men and women inmarketing. Men recognize the importance of womens responsibility, but this is not seen asnoticeably greater than mens and is less than joint responsibility, which again may indicatemens role in decision-making. Women on the other hand very clearly see themselves as havingthe major responsibility.

Table 4. Mens perception of the division of responsibility for agricultural tasks in

Carapongo

ACTIVITIES Men(%)

Women(%)

Shared(%)

None*(%)

Total(%)


Planting 41 0 57 2 100


hilling up of soil, irrigation 34 0 64 2 100

Pest control 94 0 3 3 100


Livestock Raising small animals 7 19 30 44 100

Raising larger

Livestock 9 11 25 55 100


Marketing

Products 28 30 42 0 100Household 6 70 18 6 100





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Table 5. Womens perception of the division of responsibility for agricultural tasks

in Carapongo

ACTIVITIESMen

(%)

Women

(%)

Shared

(%)

None*

(%)

Total

(%)


Planting 25 19 51 5 100


hilling up of soil, irrigation 19 19 57 5 100Pest control 73 11 11 5 100


Livestock Raising small animals 3 32 24 41 100Raising larger

Livestock 5 14 24 57 100


Marketing

Products 10 68 22 0 100

Household 0 89 8 3 100




2.2 Non-farm division of labour

Over 60% of the farming population engages in off-farm activities (work outside the farms) thatprovide a source of income with a guarantee of a minimum annual income, 80% represents men(drivers) and 20% represents women (market seller, peddlers).

2.3 Reproductive responsibilities

Regarding the reproductive activities, women play a key role. Women are caretakers of the family(100%) and are responsible for securing household reproduction over time. Table 6, based oncase studies the different daily activities of women and men, illustrates.

The activity profile (the actual preparation of an activity clock by a woman) shows that women

have to combine a large number of activities during the day when they are at home, before andafter going to the field (figure 2). The work at home in the evening is similar to that done in themorning, but women consider it to be heavier because at the time they are very tired. Womenspend 7 hours working in agriculture activities and 8 hours in household activities. Men spent 9hours working only in agricultural activities. Women undertake the majority of environmentalmanagement tasks in urban households, including the purification of drinking water. In addition,most of the women have identified the need learn how to better manage and recycle organicwastes to produce nutrient-rich fertilizer, including the treatment of blackwater from householdsewage systems for use on vegetables production.

Thus, women carry out household care and maintenance regardless of the time they devote tofood production or other livelihood activities. This is particularly difficult for women heads-of-households who bear the sole responsibility for both reproductive and productive tasks.

Comment [MS1]: Theseto be mentioned


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Table 6. Daily activity profile by men and women in CarapongoActivity

TimeWoman Man

1:00

2:00

3:00

4:00 Sleeping Sleeping

5:00 Cleaning small animals (fenced area-Pigs)

6:00

Cleaning small animals (fenced area-Guineapig, poultry) Animal feeding

7:00 Breakfast Land preparation

8:00 Cleaning house Breakfast

9:00 Washing plates Land preparation

10:00 Cleaning house Planting

11:00 Cooking Planting

12:00 Lunch Lunch

13:00 Resting Resting

14:00 Weeding

15:00 Cutting grass Planting

16:00 Cutting grass

17:00 Animal feeding Irrigation

18:00 Animal feeding Irrigation and weeding

19:00

20:00

Cooking Resting

21:00 Family dinner time Dinner

22:00 Washing plates Sleeping

23:00 Prayer

0:00 Sleeping

Figure 2. Daily activities of women in Carapongo, using the clock tool


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In Carapongo, women participate very little as representatives with decision-making power in public or community organizations. For example, though women use and manage water infarming (crop-livestock activities) and in the house more than men do, they do not participate inthe irrigation commissions and committees. It is a tradition for men to hold the administrative positions in those committees. However, women play an important part in local communityorganizations that relate to food security. These are community kitchens and glass of milkprogram, which are coordinated by the municipality through community based committees of

women.

3. Gender division of access to and control over resources and decision making in

Carapongo householdsAccess to, control, and decision making about resources within the household between male andfemale members and inside the community/organization are normally determined by traditionalmen and women roles, and with responsibilities within the household and withincommunity/organization (FAO, 1997).

3.1 Access to and control over resources

The paper examines gender division of access to and control over resources under twoissues: a. Access to and control over productive resources, like land, water, inputs, credit,

technical and market information, training (capacity building) and organizations; and b.The control over the benefits of production, like cash income, food and other products(for home consumption, sales or exchange) (see Table 7).

Table 7. Access to and Control over resources in Carapongo, Lima-Peru

Access* Control*

Productive Resources Men Women Men WomenLand

Water Inputs

Social Capital (Credit,Participation)

Human Capital (Training,Information)

Benefits of ProductionIncome from sale of vegetable

production

Income from sale of animalproduction

Income from labour (From off-farm activities)

*Indicate complete access/control; Indicate partial access/control; Indicate limited or no access/ control

Source: Baseline survey and qualitative tools Project Agricultores en la Ciudad-Carapongo,Lima-

Peru-2004

Access to and control over productive resourcesIn Carapongo, the key natural resources of significance to the urban producers are land and water.Land tenancy in the area is complicated by the history of land occupation and the current fluidityof land access. The old system of hacienda ownership was largely transformed into cooperative


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ownership during the agrarian reform process starting in the early 1970s, though some householdsgained access to individual plots earlier than this. Subsequently the cooperatives were divided upas parcels among individual households. Now there are a wide range of mechanisms to accessland, based on ownership through direct purchase or inheritance, pre-inheritance (anticipo),guadianship (guadiana) and share-cropping (al partir). Some families also access land throughinformal squatting (posesionarios) (Table 8).

Among the present-day farming population of Carapongo, 37% occupy their own land withaverage area of 0.72 0.49 ha and 19% occupy rented land (0.61 0.39 ha) and 7% (0.87 0.93ha) are called pocesionarios, informal, untitled occupants of lands located on the border of theRimac River. Although used for agriculture, these lands are in fact protected by law and areinalienable. Combinations of land tenure also are established. The most frequent (17%) is acombination of ownership and rental with average area of 0.96 0.49 ha.

None of the modalities of accessing land mentioned above are gender-specific. Inheritedresources are, at least in theory, divided equally among children, both male and female. Womencan and do buy and rent land. The person accessing the land in one of these different ways isoften the person who also administers it. La herencia se respeta, sea hombre o mujer (Onerespects inheritance, whether it is to a man or a women), as one man commented in a workshopon this issue. On the other hand, there are cases in which one or other spouse is better capable oftaking care of farming in the household.

Table 8. Land tenure by gender

Tenancy Men Women

Area (ha) Percentage Area (ha) PercentageOwnership 0.72 0.42 38 0.72 0.67 36

Rental 0.68 0.39 16 0.52 0.40 28

Posecionarios

0.82 0.98 9 0.84 0.67 6

Ownership + Rental 1.0 0.46 17 0.34 0.22 5

Ownership +Posecionarios

1.52 0.80 4 1.54 1.37 11

Others

0.85 0.10 16 1.06 0.62 14

Total*

100 100

*Others: guardianship, share-cropping and combinations

Source: Baseline survey Project Agricultores en la Ciudad-Carapongo,Lima-Peru-2004,

n=125.

Nevertheless, men are more likely in practice to assume responsibility for crop production in

Carapongo. Of 125 randomly selected households surveyed, men were identified as the main person responsible for the farm in 70% of cases and were therefore the persons interviewed.Among these male farmers, 38% live in their own land, but less than a half of these have a formal


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title. Among the 30% of households where women are mainly responsible for farming, the patternis the same. Though 36% have their own land, only 49% of these have a formal title. For a littleunder half of male and female farmers from the two neighborhoods of Campo Sol and Huancayo,the Landowners Association holds the title to the land, with members having usufruct rights.About 23% of the memberships of these associations are women, but and the leadership is primarily male. This appears to put women who are mainly responsible for farming in theseneighborhoods at a double disadvantage.

Responsibility for the farm is strongly influenced by whether the household is maleor femaleheaded. Of the 30% of households in which women are mainly responsible for farming, 14% areheaded by women. Femaleheads hold absolute control over the household property. This isespecially so for widows who control land, house and livestock. They have a smaller average landarea (0.31 0.22 ha) and fewer small animals (mainly poultry and guinea pigs) for familyconsumption. These lands are of a poorer quality that consequently results in lower production.An important added challenge for households where women are mainly responsible for the farmis the constraint on their labour availability for farm activities due to heavy commitment todomestic chores.

Although access to both drinking and irrigation water is also of central concern in a desert climatesuch as Lima, only a quarter of male farmers and a fifth of female farmers identified a waterscarcity problem. The principal problem is contaminated water and also consumption of

contaminated food, particularly vegetables. But further research is required for both issues.Access to water is by household, and so tends to be a potential source of conflict betweenhouseholds rather than between a couple within the household. Management of the irrigationsystems, both at the watershed level and at the sub-sector level of Carapongo, is mostly handledby men. Only 8% women are members of the sub-sectoral irrigation commission of Carapongo.

Access to and control over the inputs for crop-livestock production depends on use type. Bothmen and women invest significant inputs for commercial production (cash crops, animals forregular sale) whereas mostly women incur minimal expenditure for subsistence production(small-scale plantings of root and tuber crops, beans, green maize and herbs and small animalssuch as poultry and guinea pigs). Pesticides, organic and inorganic fertilizer and hired labour arethe major expenditures used in cash crops and commercial feed is purchased for some animals.Control over these inputs is a consequence of technical specialization or specific responsibilities

assigned to men and women. The purchase and use of pesticides is largely under maleresponsibility, partly because of the physical exertion involved, but also because of the risk ofcontaminating children and food if the women handles pesticides. In some cases, hired labour isused to replace family labour in the use of pesticides and other inputs.

Access to social capital including social networks that provide access to credit and loans,participation in organizations and access to knowledge, is variable between men and women. Inthe study area, there are almost no formal sources of credit or loans and 65% and 73% ofhouseholds respectively claim not to have any access to either. Those that do access credit do soinformally through small kiosks (bodegas) or, for agricultural inputs, through the agriculturalsupply shops and the manure traders. Families are the main source of loans, which are almostexclusively obtained for farming activities. In the few cases where loans are obtained frommoneylenders they attract very high rates of interest, due to the fact that the farmers do not havecollateral to pledge. Male farmers have better access to agricultural credit because of more

frequent interactions with suppliers. In almost 90% of cases, men are responsible for cropprotection, both purchasing and applying chemicals. .


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Most community/organizational activities among the farming population in Carapongo are maledominated. Men predominate in the irrigation water committees (Junta de Usuarios del Rio

Rimac-JUR) which is the watershed-level body responsible for managing canals. Ninety percentof men participate in the irrigation commissions which exist at the level of irrigation sub-sectors.Participation of the women is only 10% in the commissions, but women manage water fordomestic use in Carapongo, where most households have access to a well. There are sevenassociations of landlords in which men participate more than women. Land ownership is the

criteria for membership. Community kitchens (CKs), are almost exclusively associations ofwomen who either independently prepare affordable meals for their local neighborhood or do soas part of a Government-supported social program, now coordinated by the municipality. InCarapongo there are 12 CKs with an average of 20 women members each, who rotate weekly toprepare main meals at a cost of US$0.30 per person per meal. Another type of womens grouplocally organizes a glass of milk program which is also coordinated by the municipality. Itprovides a daily supply of milk for children under 13 and pregnant/lactating women, and reachesa majority of the population. However, among the women mainly responsible for farmingoperations, only 30% participate in these two associations.

A common perception among both men and women is that the local population isorganizationally strong when seeking claims from official authorities, whether these are related towater management, land use or social programs, but there are weak levels of social capital fororganizing improvements in agricultural production or marketing systems.

Regarding the gender aspects of human capital formation, both men and women indicate a lack ofaccess to training or information regarding crops and livestock husbandry practices, thoughwomen are at a much greater disadvantage. Only 22% of the farming population has receivedagricultural training, but of these 86% are men and 14% are women. Women are particularlyinterested in learning more about basic treatments pertaining to animal health, whereas men aremore interested in information about sources of credit and government training programs.

The control over the benefits of productionWomen are more commonly involved in marketing of the vegetables and livestock than men,though men and women perceive the extent of womens control over this activity very differently.About a third of men interviewed thought that this is mainly a womens responsibility, 28% saidthat men do the marketing and 42% that it was a joint task. Two thirds of women responded that

they are the ones that do the marketing. The predominance of women in marketing wasconfirmed in a mixed sex workshop discussion, which also highlighted the variability in both thedecision to sell and the control of the proceeds of sales. Where a woman has control over landthrough whatever means, she most often has the right to decide on sale of produce. She wouldalso be likely to maintain control over the proceeds and in one case described by a man, his wifeused the proceeds of sales from her inherited land to rent more land. On the other hand, since menare more commonly in control of land, they have more frequent authority in the decision to sell.

Given womens greater responsibility over small livestock, they tend to have more say andinvolvement in these sales. Even where a man has taken the initiative to get involvedcommercially in animal production, as in one case where the husband independently purchasedducks to raise commercially, he may have a limited say. As his wife commented ironically: Eldecide, intelectualmente, a vender. Pero yo soy la que hago todo para la venta . (He decides, intheory, to sell. But Im the one that does everything to do with the selling).


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The commercial production of crops is most often sold to the wholesale market in central Lima,about 15 kilometers away. Animals are often sold to neighbours. In the workshop discussion,women commented that they have to account for money obtained from selling to theirhusbands. Women make decisions on spending money if the amount is a small sum. But, for alllarger expenses, both men and women make decision. Women producers who are not land owners(almost 60%) demand their share of revenue derived from production because they are the oneswho are responsible for the care of the family, principally children. However, when they are not

successful in convincing their husbands to share the earnings, women retain part of the moneyfrom their small animals and vegetable produce sales without the knowledge or consent of theirhusbands.

In terms of the proceeds from off-farm employment, men and women both have access toinformal sector activities. Among the male population in Carapongo involved in farming, 40%have off-farm work, especially as drivers, and 20% of women work off-farm, especially aspeddlers or petty traders. Insecure or non-existent property rights are the main reasons why themajority of informal sector activities operate in ramshackle sheds, which are sometimeshazardous for operators and create a run-down appearance.

How decisions are made within the family depends on how tasks are assigned within the farmingsystem. One of the most important dimensions in the organization of farming systems is thedivision of labor based on gender. The position of individuals within the household and the

division of labor affect an individuals knowledge of the crop-livestock system. Commercialfarmers make more decisions alone and few in consultation with family members while homeconsumption farmers or non-land owning households with only animals make less decisionsalone and more in consultation with family members. The decision making process depends inhow the farmers perceive the degree of the decision. A personal decision will follow a different process than a group decision. The female farmer keeps the revenues from poultry and pig production because she feels secure in her knowledge, physically competent and with securedmarket. A summary of decision-making is shown in the matrix in Table 9.

Table 9. Decision-making matrix in Carapongo householdsMale/female members jointlyDecisions

Men

Men

dominate

Equal

influenc

e

Women

dominate

Women

Comments

Inputs

Who decideshow the familylabour will beused?

When men work off-farm, women spend moretime in the field or hire labour for the farm

Who decideswhat inputs to

buy?

The crop, animals and type of use (food or cash)determine who buys and what to buy.


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Who decides tohire additionallabour?

Depending of the crop, animals and type of use(food or cash) determines household labouravailability and affordability for the family.

Production

Who decideswhich crop to

grow?

Depends on demand for the crop and capital. Awomen land owner/renter may decide on crops.

Who decideswhen toharvest?

When the crop is ready for harvest. There isalways some flexibility.

Who decides onwhether thefamily shouldsell for cash orconsume asfood production(crop-livestock)

Depending upon the land, water, capitalavailable, labour and knowledge of thecrop/animal production.

Who decides onthe number of

animals to buy

Depending upon the household labour andcapital available. Example, a case of a man

deciding to buy ducks.

Marketing

Who decideswhat part ofthe harvest issold and how?

Women decide on how much of the production(vegetables) is required for market and forhousehold consumption. Both men and womenchoose to harvest a few head of lettuce etc foreating (hay una satisfaccion consumir lo que seha cultivado siempre consumimos lo quecrece They do not chose to plant widely

planted crops based on household food needs.only the small plantings of root crops etc.

Who decideswhen animals

to be sold?

Women usually take this decision but men caninfluence this decision specifically for

commercial production like pigs..Who decideswhat animal

products to besold and how?

The only animal product is meat of pig. It is lefton the farm

Investments

Who decides tobuy equipmentand tools?

Depending on capital and requirements.

Who decides totake a loan?

Depending on the purpose of the loan.

Who decides to

buy or rentadditional land?

Men and women make decision but men

dominate this decision.


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Who decides tobuy moreanimals?

Depending on capital available and space tokeep animals. Women dominate this decision.

Reproduction

Who decideswhether a childgoes to school

or not?

Both make decision

Who decides ongoing to adoctor?

Women dominate the decision.

4. Gender related issues in Urban AgricultureUrban producers face local constraints related to agricultural land, labour, health andenvironmental conditions and the policy environment, many of which are gender-specific.

Land: one of the major constraints faced by men and women who inherit, buy, rent, borrow, orillegally use land for urban cultivation is the growing city. With the city expanding rapidly, someagricultural lands are being converted into small residential plots, whilst in other places individualfarm plots are being used wholly or partially for extraction of earth for brick-making or asconstruction material. So far there is no evidence that men are more or less willing to convert landin this way than women. The productivity of land varies so that a surplus of produce is notguaranteed; this is especially the case in intensive continual work on urban plots, which oftenoccurs due to the need for subsistence produce or extra cash from marketing. Although womeninherit land and are free to purchase or rent, the evidence of the study indicates that they have lessaccess and control over land than men. Because control over the use of the land and its productsis closely linked to access (who has inherited, purchased or rented the land), from the womenspoint of view this is a vicious circle. Greater access involves greater control over the income fromthe land which can be used to rent (or less commonly to buy) more land.

Water: access to water is a key component for productivity and success in urban agriculture. InCarapongo, there is a decline of water availability during the dry season in the mountains Thisresults in low water level in the River Rimac, from which irrigation water is drawn. However,

farmers did not strongly highlight water scarcity as a constraint when interviewed. But they didemphasize water quality. Increasing urban pollution and environmental contamination results inirrigation channels filled with garbage and pollutants which can impede womens abilities tosafely feed their families. Food loaded with toxic contaminants sabotages the health of those itought to nourish. The principal problem is contaminated water and also consumption ofcontaminated food, particularly vegetables. For example, typhoid is due to drinking contaminatedwater and also consumption of contaminated food, particularly vegetables. Research on theseissues is on-going.

Labour: Men and women tend to depend on their own labour rather than on hired labour foragricultural production. In addition to fieldwork and the major responsibility for animal production, women also spend long hours doing housework and childcare. This is particularlydifficult for women heads-of-households who bear the sole responsibility for both reproductiveand productive tasks, as well as frequently having more responsibility for raising animals and

marketing produce. Men spend more time both working in their own plots and as paid day-labourers (jornaleros).


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On the other hand, agriculture offers employment opportunities to both men and women in thecontext of a serious underemployment and unemployment in Lima. Forty two percent of the menand 34% of the women indicate that farming is one of the few sources of regular employmentavailable to them in the city. Almost forty percent identify a major benefit of farming as theability to pay for education of their children, while 31% regard it as their main source of foodsecurity. The urban location of Carapongo has other labour benefits for men and women. Theability of women to combine their domestic tasks with their marketing role is possible because of

the easy access to wholesale markets and the short time needed for selling. Despite theemployment problems, Lima does offer diverse opportunities for casual labour, especially formen. Forty percent are engaged in mostly casual labour, especially in the informal and labour-intensive transport sector.

Health and environment: In the study area, 39% of the men indicate that the principalconstraints in their vegetable production are insect pests. Men are mainly responsible forobtaining and using pesticides and depend primarily on agricultural input shops and pesticidecompany agents for their knowledge of products and applications. Evidence from two MSc.studies in Carapongo and one other sub-sector indicates that there is wide use of toxic and highlytoxic pesticides in this agricultural area, leading to health risks and negative environmentalimpact. It appears that producers are constrained by a lack of knowledge of sustainable(integrated) pest management practices, due to limited access to training courses offered byinstitutions or non-governmental organizations, or exposure to sustainable commercial

agricultural practices.

Policy environment: The policy environment has differential impacts on men and womeninvolved in agricultural production. Strong male participation in the irrigation committees tendsto underline the negative policy issues coming out of the municipality. These primarily relate tothe local taxation system and the desire of the Council to convert low rural rates into muchhigher urban rates. The higher urban rates are justified on the basis of the upkeep of urbanamenities provided: parks, piped potable water, sewer systems, sanitation, refuse collection etc.The Rimac Irrigation Committee is a focus of resistance to conversion of agricultural land tourban for two reasons: the lack of such services in the agricultural areas and the cripplingfinancial burden the urban rates would impose on families with half a hectare.

The main points of contact between the Council and women are through the programs dealingwith Community Kitchens, the Glass of Milk and the Mothers Clubs. The Council also has aspecial program addressing violence against women. Although the detailed institutional analysisof these organizations and a policy analysis of their place within local urban governance is yet tobe completed, there does seem to be a more positive environment in relation to womens situationthan with men, where there is quite a strong antagonism to local authorities.

Urban agriculture as a strategy to alleviate urban poverty: With the growing city population,due to migration from rural areas and natural growth, the demand for employment is increasing;the demand for fresh products is also on the rise, especially for fresh vegetables and animalproducts. This provides a good opportunity for men and women farmers to increase their income.A positive effect of urban agriculture for women is that they recognize their important role inhelping with family food security and nutrition. In addition, it helps them to create moreindependence by generating some additional income from sales of surpluses (e.g. guinea pig,which is a novel opportunity market in Carapongo) and by saving cash on food expenditures

which can be used for other purposes. Related to urban agriculture expectation from farmers, 36%of the men mention that although urbanization will be (is) the principal threat constraint to


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agriculture, they will continue to work in agriculture. This is different from the women opinionwhere 30% mention that in 5 years, agriculture will no longer exist, because urbanization.

In summary, agriculture exists alongside a rapid process of urbanization. The enhancement ofurban agriculture in this area has the potential of reducing poverty through improving thefollowing:

Food production crops and animals (animal and plant) Employment for the urban poor Environmental quality: less pollution Strengthen social capital Complement rural agriculture Provide greater variety of foods for the city, which provides an nearby market. t

The development of urban agriculture in the study area requires targeting specific constraints andopportunities. These include:

Limited resources for technology investment Limited land area Probable future water scarcity Opportunities for nutrient recycling (manure, sewage) Opportunities for integrated pest management Enhance animal husbandry for improved nutrition and health

5. Strategies Suggested for local policies and development projects to enhance

gender equity in urban agriculture

A major function of municipal leaders is to recognize and address the needs of women and menin their District. It is rare that special needs of agricultural producers of either sex are addressed inurban municipalities Thus a first and fundamental strategy is to recognize the existence andimportance of the agricultural sector and develop policies that allocate and protect land foragricultural production and safeguard livestock production as well.

In relation to gender-specific strategies, at the national level there exists a Ministry for Women

and Social Development which supports the empowerment of women through different policiesand institutional actions, and one of its programs on poverty reduction (FONCODES) addressessome aspects of gender in agriculture and has recently initiated some preliminary work in urbanareas of Lima. The engagement with gender and agriculture needs to be replicated at the level ofthe urban Municipalities. The District of Lurigancho-Chosica where Carapongo is located doeshave a Municipal Ombudsman for Women, Children and Adolescents (Defensora Municipal dela Mujer, Nio y Adolescente), which addresses issues such as violence to women, child abuseand others. There are also programs within the different Divisions and Sub-Divisions of theCouncil, such as Education and Culture, where empowerment of women is targeted. Theseinitiatives should also be brought to bear on agricultural production in the District. Recognizingthe important role of urban agricultural production, local municipal policies need to be redesignsto help increase security of land tenure for both men and women. Policy makers could implementa gender program that promotes greater gender equity in urban agriculture. Active planningmeasures are needed for this such as lending programs that could help women gain greater access

to rented land and training opportunities to upgrade their skills, especially in animal production.


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In addition, policy makers themselves could benefit from training in aspects of urban agriculture,especially the economic, health and environmental benefits it can bring, as well as methods fordealing equitably and sustainably with potential risks. Clearly, these measures would require thatthe municipality allocate a budget for the sub-division of urban agriculture which has recentlybeen established.

Agricultural production in the Carapongo area is primarily for subsistence/food security, income

and employment generation among poor sectors of the population. The main purposes of urbanagriculture, in terms of general policy issues are:

Secure and sustainable access to agricultural land, through land use planning measures; Support for sustainable provision of irrigation water, through improved coordination and

dialogue with the Irrigation Committees and SEDAPAL, the parastatal companyresponsible for water management.

Enhanced security in land tenure, through adopting a brokerage role between The Housingand Agricultural Associations, individual landowners and cultivators of the plots

Human and social capacity building, through training and development of farmer networksand organizations, with emphasis on gender sensitive approaches.

More specific policies and interventions could be linked to the two different purposes ofproduction.

1. In relation to the improvement in the contribution of agricultural production to householdfood security and especially to improved nutrition of young children, some key policyissues would be:

a. Enhancement of maternal skills in infant and child nutritionb. Inclusion of weaning foods in municipal food programsc. Improvement of linkages between agricultural production and municipal food

programsd. Support and recognition of small-scale animal-raising by landed and landless

householdse. Targeted training, especially animal production for women

2. In relation to the improvement in the economic efficiency of commercially oriented urbanagriculture, some key policy issues are:

a. Access to markets and market informationb. Support for the productive use of recycled organic wastes and wastewaterc. Zoning and permits for commercial pig-raisingd. Participation of stakeholders in urban land use planning

The principal characteristics of urban farmers in Carapongo is an unequal division of labour, noequitable access to and control over productive resources, unequal access to knowledge by bothmen and women and inequality in power relations. In Carapongo, the, inequities between menand women identified in the study cannot be dealt with at the policy level alone. Specificinequities in the division of labour in household production and reproduction require moredetailed studies. We need to find out the cost and benefit differentials existing between men andwomen, the cost of womens reproductive and productive labour, in order to find out the extentand contribution of urban agriculture to household economies and to the economic power of men

and women.


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References

CELADE. 1993. Centro Latinoamericano de Demografa. Poblacin, equidad ytransformacin productiva. CELADE-CEPALFNUAP, LC/G.1758 (Conf.83/3),LC/DEM/G.131.

DESCO. 1993. Centro de Estudios y Promocin del Desarrollo."Canasta de la pobreza."

Coyuntura Laboral 77: 14 15. de Soto, H. (1987) The other path. I.B. Taurus.

FAO, 1997. Gender: Key to Sustainability and Food Security. Plan of Action for Womenin Development. Rome.

Haddad, L, M. Ruel and J. Garrett. 1999. Are Urban Poverty and UndernutritionGrowing? Some Newly Assembled Evidence. In: World Development Vol. 27, No. 11.

Lipman, M. 1977. Why poor people stay poor. Harvard University Press, Cambridge,Mass.

Raymundo, R., C. Bussink and G. Prain. 2003. La dinmica espacial de la agricultura

alrededor de Lima metropolitana, 1972-2002 una recopilacin y anlisis de estadsticasagrarias.CIP-Lima, Peru. In press.

Spiaggi, E.P, Biasatti, N.R. and Guillen, M. 2003. Urban Agriculture as a Tool for FoodSelf-Production, Local Community Development and Overcoming of Povertyin Rosario, Argentina. In: Jacky Foo, Dan Hu, Juergen Paulussen, Rusong Wang &Richard Register (2003) eds. Issues and the Future of Ecocity Development Proceedingsof the Internet Conference on Ecocity Development.

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