TITLE:
Challenges Faced by Congolese Women Farmers to Access Agricultural Productive Resources: A Review
AUTHORS:
Arsene Mushagalusa Balasha, Kitsali Katungo Jean-Hélène, Benjamin Murhula, Tshomba Kalumbu John, Nkulu Mwiné Fyama Jules
KEYWORDS:
Women Farmers, Small-Scale Agriculture, Food Security, Productive Resources, Challenges
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.7,
July
8,
2022
ABSTRACT: In developing countries, the long decades of the battle against
malnutrition, and poverty have placed women on the frontline because they
actively play significant roles in agricultural food production, processing,
and distribution to ensure food security in the communities. Using
peer-reviewed papers and reports from credible organizations, this work
examines women’s constraints in agricultural food production in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). The key findings show that socioeconomic,
environmental, and institutional constraints limit women’s control of, and
access to necessary resources (land, credit,
agricultural technologies, information). Additionally, exchanges and
connection between remote rural areas and cities are increasingly limited by
impassable roads. This has a negative impact on women’s ability to access
information on agricultural technologies, in a country where the extension
services are barely functioning. While in entities close to cities,
agricultural input dealers are the main source of information on agricultural
technologies for farmers, in remote areas, women value only their endogenous
experiences, shared among farmers. On top of these challenges, the depreciation
of the local currency (Congolese francs), the volatile security situation, and
the impact of COVID-19 on the international and regional trade have also led to
an increase in the price of agriculture inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides)
and food commodities, thus exacerbating women’s vulnerability. Here, we also
address questions about women’s limited decision-making power within households
(communities), and their low participation in the management of natural
resources in DRC where women are poorly represented in decision-making bodies
and still have less political influence.