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6/01 cJCIRC/DatoDuost-sz

The Status of Rural Women Farm-household Systems. A Case Study in
Ngie Clan in the Northwest Province of Cameroon

By

Zipporah Engow Agheneza

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
In partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
For the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Education 8. Communication
Systems

2003

ABSTRACT
THE STATUS OF RURAL WOMEN FARM-HOUSEHOLD SYSTEMS. A CASE

STUDY IN NGIE CLAN IN THE NORTHWEST PROVINCE OF CAMEROON

BY

Zipporah Engow Agheneza

Ngie is characterized by environmental degradation. This translates into
low agricultural production and low-income generation, which has failed to keep
pace with the increasing trend of the population growth. In fact, the inhabitants
work hard all the time and they still live below the limit where basic human needs
are satisﬁed. The Cameroon government and non-govemmental organizations
have realized their problems and have organized some development projects to
boost productivity. Unfortunately, most of the projects have failed.

This research focuses speciﬁcally on farm-household systems of women
in the Ngie Clan of Cameroon. Farm-household systems are made up of the
household, farm, and off farm activities. Research was conducted that examined
the three environments that surround the farm household. These are the
physical, socio-cultural and policy/institutional environments that determine to a
large extent the constraints, needs and opportunities for developing farm-
household systems. The role of the rural women farmers was an important factor

that was described.

It was a descriptive case study. A total of 40 rural women farmers’
households in two villages, Andek and Etwii, in the Ngie clan were interviewed.
Since the region is a polygamous society, a total number of 44 women from 40
households were interviewed. The research was undertaken to discover the
character of the existing system in Ngie women farm household systems. This
was accomplished by asking questions to the respondents. Group meetings,
farm visits, and discussions were conducted. Observations were made through
participation in village activities. During the research process, the researcher
asked the women to identify their problems, needs, and their coping strategy.

These women suffer from many constraints. These include natural
acceleration of population growth; marginal hilly land susceptible to erosion, land
slides, earth movement, and soil infertility; crop destruction by vagrant animals;
deeply ingrained gender bias and cultural practices that hinder the role of rural
women; lack of household technology which impaired women’s efficiency. In
addition, they have uncertain access to land and to common property resources.
The women also have lower levels of education. With these environmental
constraints therefore, the rural women must depend successfully upon the
evolution of a productive system in which environmental management, social
institutions, good administration, good income generating activities and good

agricultural practices are closely linked

Copyright by

Zipporah Engow Agheneza
2003

Dedicated to cherish the loving memory of my dear mother
Elizabeth lyungdong to whom I stand to honor her for her
loving care and encouragement that led me to the path
ofeducaﬂon.

May her Soul Rest in Perfect Peace.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank the Lord Almighty who has been with me all through my work. He
guided my dissertation activities to a successful ending. May His name be
glorified and praised forever.

I would like to express my appreciation to the members of my committee,
Drs. Frank Brewer, Eddie Moore, George Axinn and Fred Whims. A special
expression of gratitude to Dr. Fred Whims who was my dissertation chair. He
remained steadfast in his commitment to my dissertation success. I do
appreciate his patience, time and encouragement. I also thank Dr. Kirk Heinze
(Department Chair) who provided some funding for my dissertation writing.

Special thanks to some men and women in Ngie who paved the way for
me and accompanied me to some distant destinations during my interviews and
meetings, climbing and descending steep hills and crossing some unbridged
streams. These include the following: - Mr. Lucas Ekwain, Wycliff Umeikia, Mrs.
Virginia Itenjoh, Mrs. Christina Umenjoh; Agheneza Tumacha; and Rogers from
Angai who even let me use one of his horses for some of my journeys. I also
express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Johnny Agogho President General of the
Ngie Development Association for his support, inspiration and information during

my research. My appreciation goes to the President of Ngie Union of Farmers

vi

Association, Mrs. Anyet Deborah Ungitoh, who gave me information about the
union and women’s activities. Special thanks goes to Mrs. Grace lkawa for her
support. I also thank Mr. and Mrs. Atosoh for their moral support. A special
thanks is given to my friend Mrs. Siona Forba for her inspirations and moral
support.

I wish also to express my sincere gratitude to the Ngie women who
participated in the research. Their identity remains anonymous. Without their
participation and cooperation, this research would not have been possible.
Special thanks are sent to the Ngie elite women who came from Bamenda during
my brieﬁng to give me some moral support. Ngie women “oyeah” I would like to
express my appreciation to Ajei chief and the entire village for the
encouragement and traditional blessing given me during my research. A special '
recognition is accorded to my sisters Christina Anjeh and Constance Ufoka for
the ﬁnancial assistance and moral support given me during my research process.

Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to my husband David
Agheneza and my ﬁve children, Ziravine lyung, Zilian Amboh, Zinta Bita
Tumacha, and Ambekia for their love patience and moral support during the

years of my schooling.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List OF TABLES ............................................................................. xiii
List OF FIGURES ........................................................................... xiv
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
Back ground Information ......................................................... 4
Type of Farming System ......................................................... 6
Agriculture in Cameroon ......................................................... 6
Problem Statement ................................................................ 7
The Purpose of Study ............................................................. 9
Importance of Study ............................................................... 9
Objective of the Study ............ , ................................................. 10
Deﬁnition of Terms ................................................................. 10
Limitation of Study ................................................................. 15
CHAPTER 11
REVIEW OF LITERATURE .............................................................. 16
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. l 6
Farming System Development ....................................................... l6
Scio-Cultural & Economic Condition And Needs Assessment
Of Women .............................................................................. 19
Women and the Extension System .................................................. 28
Women and Forest Resources ....................................................... 30
Health and Development ............................................................. 31
Policy and Environment .............................................................. 33
Development Project .................................................................. 34
Women and Development ............................................................ 37
Summary ............................................................................... 43
CHAPTER III
METHOLOLOGY ............................................................................ 45
RESEARCH METHODS .................................................................... 45
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 45
Introductory Phase .................................................................... 46
Population Sampling .................................................................. 47
Instrument Development .............................................................. 48

viii

Reliability ................................................................................ 48

Validity ................................................................................... 48
Data Collection Phase ................................................................... 49
Interview Procedure ..................................................................... 5 3
Supervision ............................................................................... 5 5
The Phase of Data Analysis ............................................................ 55
Data Preparation & Processing/Validation ........................................... 5 5
Data Analysis ............................................................................ 56
Summary .................................................................................. 56
CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 58
FINDINGS and RESULTS .................................................................... 58
SECTION 1
GENERAL INFORMATION OF THE WOMEN .......................................... 60
Nature of Compound .................................................................... 60
Description Village Houses ............................................................ 60
Women’s Condition ..................................................................... 61
Women and Communication ........................................................... 61
Women and Health ...................................................................... 62
Breast Feeding Practices ................................................................ 69
Medical Treatment ...................................................................... 71
Traditional Doctor- An Experience ................................................... 74
AIDS- Presence .......................................................................... 76
Age and Reproduction .................................................................. 77
Women and Level of Education ....................................................... 79
SECTION 2
THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE WOMEN ............................... 80
Agro- Forestry ............................................................................ 80
Land Acreage per Woman .............................................................. 32
Physical Condition of the Land ........................................................ 83
Grazing Problem or Animal Crop Destruction ...................................... 84
Women Farm Traditional Practices ................................................... 90
Farm Fallow ............................................................................. 90
Food Preservation ....................................................................... 92
The Beans Season ....................................................................... 93
Akara Practice ............................................................................ 93
Coping Strategy against Hunger ....................................................... 94

ix

SECTION 3

CULTURAL & SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE WOMEN ............ 95
Gender Problem ....................................................................... 95
Palm Oil Processing & Marketing .................................................. 97
The Husband & Women’s Money .................................................. 99
Women & Economic Condition ..................................................... 100
Control of Plantain .................................................................... 101
Control of Fowls ...................................................................... 101
Rural Women and Polygamy ........................................................ 103
Suggested Advice from the Women to their Husbands .......................... 105
Women and Land Tenure ............................................................ 107
Socio-Cultural Interaction Between Men & Women ............................. 107
Men’s Perspective about Women and Culture .................................... 111
Decision Making ...................................................................... 113
The Role of Women and Religion .................................................. 114
Pastors’ Perceptions of the Role of Women ....................................... 115
Income Generating Activities ........................................................ 1 16

SECTION 4.

ISTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT ....................................................... 117
Governmental & Institutional Relationships ...................................... 117
Projects ................................................................................. 117
Ngie Integrated Rural Development Project (SNV-NIRDP) .................... 1 18
Agricultural Component .............................................................. 1 18
Market Component .................................................................... 124
Road Construction .................................................................... 12 5
Introducing the Use of Donkeys ..................................................... 125
Women Information & Coordination Ofﬁce (WICO) ............................ 129
BERDSCO ............................................................................. 131
Heifer Project International (HPI) ................................................... 136
MIDINO ............................................................................... 1 39
Sustainable Live Stock (SLS) ........................................................ 140
Why Projects is a Failure in Ngie ................................................... 143
Extension Agents ...................................................................... 144
Women Farmers’ Perception of Extension Agents ................................ 144

Extension Agents’ Work and Perception of Women .............................. 147
Perceived Problems of the Extension Agents ..................................... 149
Why Extension Agents’ Work is a failure ......................................... 150
Government Policy on Agricultural Development ................................ 15 2

SECTION 5.

SUMMARIES ................................................................................. 155
Summary of Ngie women’s Farmers Problems ................................... 155
Summary of Women’s Perceived Needs ........................................... 156
Community’s Needs .................................................................. 156
Summary of Coping Strategists ..................................................... 157
Summary of Chapter 4 ................................................................ 158

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS. SUGGESTION

FOR FURTHER RESEACH & REFLECTIONS ........................................ 162

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1 62
Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................ 162
Other Findings and Recommendations ............................................. 175
Summary and Conclusions ........................................................... 194
Signiﬁcance and Implications ........................................................ 196
Recommendations for Further Research ............................................ 197

xi

APPENDICES

Appendix A ............................................................................ 199
Survey Instrument ..................................................................... 199
The Main Instrument .................................................................. 200
Appendix B ....................................................................................
Correspondence ....................................................................... 21 6
UCRIHS Approval .................................................................... 217
Consent Form for Literate and Ofﬁcials ........................................... 218
Consent Form for Illiterate Women ................................................. 219
Appendix C
Maps .................................................................................... 220
Topography Map of Cameroon ...................................................... 221
The Ten Provinces of Cameroon and their Capitals ............................... 222
Map of Ngie villages .................................................................. rvv)
Bibliography ........................................................................... 224
xii

 

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
1. Number of houses in each compound ................................ 60
2. Number of living children for each respondent ..................... 63
3. Number of women that have lost children ........................... 65
4. Desire for more children .................................................. 65
5. Those who heard of birth control ....................................... 66
6. Birth control method practiced .......................................... 66
7. Birth control method used ................................................ 67
8. Birth given at home ........................................................ 68

9. Number of years that Ngie women breast-feed their children .. 7O

10. Places where women go for medical treatment .................... 71
11.Ages of Respondents ..................................................... 78
12.The women’s farmers educational level .............................. 79
13.Acreage land owned by the rural women farmers in Ngie ....... 82
14. Husbands having more than one wife ................................. 104
15.Women’s relationship with husband ................................... 110
16.Women compelled by husband to do work for them .............. 110
17.Women beaten by husband .............................................. 110

18.The women’s farmers preference of sex of extension agents .. 145
19. Summary of women's problems ........................................ 155

20. Summary of perceived needs ........................................... 156

xiii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2 in this dissertation is presented in colors

Figure
Page

1. The three environments that surrounds the farm-household system 11

2. Palm oil process in “ishim” ..................................................... 98

3. Diagram explaining the experiences of SNV & the Ngie
rural farmers ....................................................................... 124

4. Diagram explaining the interaction of HPI with the rural farmers
in Ngie .............................................................................. 139

xiv

Chapter One

1 . 1 l ntroduction

The seriousness of food crises in Africa has created the need and urgency

to increase food production and to re-evaluate policies relating to agricultural
development, especially those policies concerning women who are the main food
crop producers. African women have been very active and have made important
contributions to rural economies in agriculture, fishing, and livestock production
(Pale, 1976). Their activities are spread over various sectors of the society,
PFOCI uctive as well as reproductive (Ostergaard, 1992). The Economic
Com mission for Africa estimated that women do between 60 and 70 percent of
WO rk in agriculture across Africa. Statistics provided by the World Bank portray
Afri Can women producing three quarters of all food grown on the continent
(W Orld Bank, 1996). They also perform most of the activities of the family. African
women have been active in trade, especially in the selling of agricultural produce
and cottage industry goods in rural marketing centers. As workers and managers
of h Uman welfare, they are central to the ability of households, communities, and
nations to tackle the current food crisis for survival ( Sen and Crown, 1987)

Even though African women have been vital partners in agricultural
production, goods for trade and income generation in sub-Saharan Africa, the
0L":Dut has not kept pace with the population growth since the mid-1970s (Due 8

'avianus, 1989). This may be in part because women face different constraints,

f
or example, lack of adequate research and extension services (World Bank,

1 984). As such, they have not been able to enhance their low productivity.
Women are also victims of development. Research workers have identiﬁed that
instead of beneﬁting from projects aimed at economic growth of a country,

women have often been forgotten (Waghmare and Chaudhari, 1989). In
addition, women's uncertain access to land, credit, and education limits their
access to and control of new technologies that would have increased production
(Tin ker, 1979).
Currently, it is estimated that the sub-Saharan population is receiving only
90 percent of the Food 8 Agricultural OrganizationNVorld Health Organization
esti mated calories needed to meet the minimum recommended requirement per
ca [3 ita (lbid. 278-9). Due & Flavianus (1989) suggested that,
"If minimum caloric input per capita falls below 90 percent
recommended level (2,400 calories per person per day),
energy and work level will decrease, and people will be
more vulnerable to disease, parasites, and malnutrition.
And they receive fewer beneﬁts from education and
training programs. If the caloric input fell to 80 percent
of recommended minimum requirements per capita,
then stunted growth, brain damage and severe health
risks result."(P 1)
An assessment of the perspectives as stated by various experts gives
8” pport for evaluating in greater detail the role of women in African agricultural
production.
"The prosperity and growth of a nation depend on the
status and development of its women as they not only
constitute nearly half of its population, but also

inﬂuence growth of the remaining half of the population"
(Varma, 1992). 13 -14.

Women in developing countries may face a variety of constraints due to
different cultural or socioeconomic and geographic factors. Though both men and
women are involved in agricultural production in Ngie (Northwest Province of
Cameroon), the proposed research focuses specifically on farm-household

systems of women in the Ngie Clan of Cameroon. The households of Ngie
women were chosen because they have low productivity and the household is a
basic structure of the society. So it must be maintained to ensure continued
production (Gallin, 1998). Secondly, household management is relevant to all
aSpects of development work because reaching and improving the life of the
individual household in Ngie is the ultimate goal of every development effort
(OStergaard, 1992). Thirdly, Swaminathan (1994) asserted that food has become
a 3y mbol of collective human endeavor that creates a better world for everybody.
W0 men farm household are chosen because they produce food.
For development to take place in Ngie, the role of the rural women in farm
“0'4 Sehold systems are selected as the focus of the study because they are the
ma 3 h food producers for their families. (For food is a base for any development.)
Furthermore, this region was chosen to explore those factors that assist
farm household members primarily the Ngie women, in assuming new roles in a
changing society. Ingrid (1975) said,
"The advancement of agriculture requires not only the
adaptation of farm structures to meet the demand for
increased agricultural production but also to assist

the farm household members to assume new roles in
a changing society and to provide supporting policies." (P 1)

Thus, one cannot assist the women or help them to adapt farm structures and
provide supporting policies without ﬁrst identifying and describing their needs,
opportunities, and constraints. Since the goal includes improved living standards,

and eradicating hunger and poverty, it is important to start with women since,
they are the backbone of the African society. Helping them ﬁnd solutions to their

problems, will contribute to solving the problems of the clan.

1 .2 The Ngie Clan Background information

The Ngie clan is located in the savanna grassland in the northwestern part
01' Cameroon. Some villages are found in the transitional zone consisting of forest
and grassland. In the savanna region, sporadic gallery forest is found in the river
valleys. In the transitional zone both savanna grassland and forestland exist.
Ngie is a seasonal rainfed agricultural-based region with two seasons, the rainy
and the dry. The rainy season starts in April and end in October. This is the
far""I‘Wing season. During this season, there are torrential downpours. The runoff
prod uces erosion that changes the rivers to a red color. As a result swift red
rive rs bleed down the river valleys like big freshly cut wounds carrying the topsoil
and debris from the hill slopes. The dry season starts in November and continues
until March. During the dry season, it is cold in eany morning and at night. The
ha"Thattan wind brings cold air from southern Italy through the Sahara to the
Not‘thern, Western and Northwest provinces of Cameroon. This cold, dry air is so

De"Ietrating that the lips of the people crack.

H .4
.A\

i‘vw

5"
Spill

St

W’

it

t.

Ngie is a hoe culture region whose farming practices are labor intensive.
Most of the region is hilly with terraced hills. The hills are very beautiful during
spring. During this time, streams or small rivers run down the hill valleys,
characterized by cataracts and waterfalls. The hills are adorned with wild ﬂowers
of all colors; green, red, purple, orange, yellow, pink etc. In between the ﬂowery
hills, streams ﬂow like sparkling snow falling from hillcrests. The sunrays make
the water look sparkling white. These streams could be called white streams. The
blending of water ﬂow and ﬂowers makes for beautiful scenery. Additionally, the
streams sing an endless song of “wa wa wa” as they tumble down to the main
streams in the valleys. This endless noise comes as a result of the rapids and
Waterfall. The villagers are used to this water music.
During the dry season, the scenery is rather dull. The grass dries up.
Smoke intermittently covers most of the hills as hunters or farmers burn the
grasS_ The atmosphere looks black and dull, full of particles of ash blown by the

Wind . The hills look naked and lifeless. The white streams continue to sing but

w'th a weaker voice.

Today, due to suspected global warming, some streams that were ﬂowing
cc3"1‘tinuously year round have become intermittent streams. During the dry
Seaston, some river valleys are without water. In these streams, water ﬂows only
during the wet season. A few rivers or streams also are considered to be unﬁt
streams whose velocities have greatly reduced to base ﬂow and in some places.

the streams are almost not ﬂowing or look dry in certain places.

1 .3. Types of Farming Systems
There are two types of farming systems in the region. One is a small-
scale commercial mono-cropping system done mostly by men. In this type of
system, energy ﬂow is high and recycling ratio is low. In other words, there is
high input and the crops are mostly for export. Some of the crops are coffee,
cocoa, and palm. The second is a small-scale mix cropping system done by
women. Farming is at subsistence level or inward-oriented production with high
recycling ratio and low energy ﬂow (Axinn and Axinn, 1979). Some of the crops
Ola nted by the women are maize, cocoyam, and "collocoshia," (commonly known
in the clan as Anan-ukara, and Anan-ngie), cassava, beans, yams, groundnut
(Peanuts), Barbara groundnuts, sweet potatoes, and vegetables. Cocoyam
con stitutes the staple food. One of their favorite cocoyam dishes is "anan-namai."
COCoyams are peeled. They are washed and are cut into slices. The sliced
coCoyams are boiled. Bitter leaves (type of vegetable), water, palm oil, meat or
ﬁsh or crayfish and other spices are added to it. It is cooked until is ready.
1 ‘4- Agriculture in Cameroon
In Cameroon, agriculture is one of the main contributions to gross domestic
prod uct, foreign exchange and employment. Facing declining output per capita,
the government has invested heavily in agricultural research throughout the
c()‘~-|I“Itry in order to increase productivity and to meet the expanding demand for
food (Dimithe, 1994). Unfortunately, Ngie people have not beneﬁted yet from
research investment. Ngie women like many African women, are mixed crop

f .
arrhers and little or no research has been done on their mixed cropping system.

Ngie in pre-colonial days was self-sufﬁcient in food production. As the population
increased, this brought about food insecurity. The government and NGOs
recognized this problem. They wanted to boost domestic production and increase
income by instituting some development projects in the region. Unfortunately,
most of these development projects have failed, partly because indigenous
knowledge and empowerment of the women was ignored, and partly because of
lack of compatibility between the technology and the social environmental setting

in which it is used. (Kujeke1993).

1.5 Problem Statement

Africa south of the Sahara is facing food insecurity. This has created the
need to increase food production, improve farm-household systems and to re-
evaluate policies relating to agricultural development. Policies concerning the
role of women and agricultural development are a vital concern. Rural women
foi-Il'rr'iers in Africa work hard to increase food production but their production
seems to be always low. Many governments and non governmental
orQamizations (NGOs) are now carrying out some policies and projects to boost
agricultural development in order to increase agricultural production. Cameroon
is not an exception.

There is a lack of research pertinent to the role of Ngie women, their
productive systems, their relationship to governmental and non governmental
poliCies and projects. Nor has any study been carried out in Ngie to know and

understand how constraints are perceived and addressed by the women.

Ngie can be classiﬁed as a problem region for its odds are many and
diversiﬁed. The researcher has visited the region several times, and observed
that physically, there is soil infertility, gullies erosion, landslides, earth
movements that characterize the whole region. The basic problem that prompted
this research is that the inhabitants live below the limit where basic human needs
are satisﬁed “ without access to sufficient nutrition, basic education, and primary

health care" (Ostergaard 1992).

They are suffering as compared to other regions in the country. For example,
Cameroon is self-sufﬁcient in food production. It produces about 96 percent of its
food, but Ngie women cannot produce even enough for themselves, and they do
not have money to buy food from other optimal regions. In short, they lack food
Security. There is no published research on their socio-cultural, physical and
POIicy/institutional environments and little about the women's farm household
needs. However, this research has identiﬁed these issues in order to help
develop farm-household systems in the Ngie Clan on a sustainable basis. In
addition to the above problems, Ngie is hilly, and it is characterized by
environmental degradation. This translates into low agricultural production; and
l(NV-income generation, which has failed to keep pace with the increasing trend of
the population growth. Indeed, a study in Cameroon indicated that population
Was growing between two and three percent or more per annum, while the
Conesponding increase in food production was running between one and two

perCent or less (Riddell, 1986). Given the rapidly growing population in Ngie and

continued degradation of the natural resources, the opportunity to increase
production through area expansion would be cutting down the forestland at the
expense of the natural habitats. Irrigation schemes that could help the inhabitants
to grow more food during the dry season are non-existent. In fact, the inhabitants
work hard all the time and they still live below the limit where basic human needs

are satisﬁed.

1.6 The purpose of the study

1.To study Ngie women's farm-household systems as a whole to learn and
understand connections and interactions between individual components,
made up of household farm and non-farm activities.

. 2. The study will provide a database of information, which will help further

research in the region.

3- The research will provide information, which will help Ngie women and others
rural women in a similar situation to increase and sustain their production and
income generating activities.

4-The study will provide understanding of how women in Ngie overcome socio-

economic constraints

1 .7. Importance of the study.

1This study will enable government ofﬁcials and non-govemmental
organizations to understand Ngie women’s constraints, needs and
Opportunities and develop programs that will suit their needs in order to

improve their farm-household systems. In short, the research will provide

information that can help decision makers design and implement policies
aimed at meeting women’s needs to improve their standard of living,
reduce hunger, poverty and boost economic growth in the clan as a whole.
2. Information obtained from this study could contribute to the development of
rural women’s farm households in general.
3. The research result will orient other research, extension, support services
and policy maker’s ideas such as policy formation, program adjustment,

project analysis etc.

1.8 Objective of the study

.1. Identify the role of Ngie rural women in their farm-household systems.

2. Describe the demographic characteristics of women in terms of age, marital
status, health, birth and death, size of household and level of education.

3. Investigate the perceived needs of the Ngie women.

4. Identify constraints in the women’s farm-household systems.

5. Examine support services like projects, extension system and policy
formations, that support the Ngie women in agricultural production and
income generating activities.

6. Describe their coping strategies.

1.9 Deﬁnition of terms

1. The farm household systems comprise the farm, family members,

10

and off-farm activities. Farm-household systems do not operate in isolation. They
interact with exterior forces. This includes the physical, socio—economic, socio-
cultural and policy/institutional environments. These factors, to a large extent,
determine both constraints and opportunities for developing farm-household
systems. Figure one below shows farm household systems and its surrounding
environments.

Figure 1

The Three Environments that Surround the Farm-Household Systems

The Physical Environment

0 climate 0 water
- vegetation o topography
O soils 0 infrastructure

1

  
 

Farm-household
systems

The Socio Cultural H h Id Policy / Institutional
& Socio- Economic ouse o Envrronment . .
Environment 0 policy decrsrons
- society 0 research.
0 culture 0 h extensron 1
o ' ' ‘ ‘ 0 support servrces
economic activmes

   

Source: Adapted from FAO 1989 and modernized

2. Household: a compound with one or more houses, where a person or group

of people live together, sharing some economic and cultural ties that bind them

together. This might include, husband, wife or wives, children and other relatives
or friends that live in that same compound.

3. Perceived Needs: deﬁned as things that people want that are necessary in

their life or their well-being. This includes physiological and psychosocial

necessities

4. Household needs: refers to basic needs such as money, medicine, and

health care, time, food, clothing, storage containers, farm tools etc.

5. Ngie woman: any rural female farmer in Ngie Clan who is not a student and
is between the ages of twenty-one and sixty-ﬁve and any female below
twenty-one who is or has been married.

6. Productivity: refers to the results of many production processes, which
include any combination of inputs a farmer uses to produce an output.
Productivity processes include labor, storage, preservation, transportation,
farming, selling or trading, fertilizing, extension training etc.

7. Institutional environment: These are institutions that attempt to help the
farmers to increase their production. These include extension agents, adult
education, training programs, home economics, demonstration farms, support
services etc.

8. Sustainability: the ability of that farm to produce products that will continue
to satisfy the farmer's basic needs over a speciﬁed period of time or as long

as the land is in use.

12

9. Cocoyam: is a tuber crop commonly eaten in the region.

10. Hoe culture: refers to farming culture in which the hoe constitutes the major
tool farmers use for cultivation.

11. Culture: refers to beliefs, values, attitudes and practices of a cultural group
and which are handed down from generation to generation. How people
perceive the world around them reﬂects their culture. Culture differs from tribe
to tribe and from ethnic group to ethnic group.

12. Policy Environment: These are government or non-governmental
organization’s policies that have brought positive or negative change in the

region. Examples include policy formation, subsidies, fanner’s credit banks,
policy of making the target population the center of every development,
Policy of adult education programs to help the rural people’s productive
systems, tariffs, loans to farmers, etc

13. Marketing Systems: buying and selling basic household needs like clothing,

medication, meat etc. Input, like farm tools, fertilizer, labor, and seeds.
Outputs like sales of crops, and cottage industrial goods.

14. Marriage Mate: refers to women married to one man.

15. Akara: method of putting manure in the soil in Ngie and some parts of the
Northwest Province of Cameroon. By this method, the farm is cleared. The
grass is put on the furrows to form beds. The grass is covered with the
soil. During covering the grass, a small area is left uncovered. Fire is then

lit on the uncover portion of the bed. The grass is burned and the topsoil

13

baked. The baked soil is left to cool for some days, after which crops are
planted.

16.Unﬁt Streams: These are streams whose velocities have been greatly
reduced to a base ﬂow and in some places the streams are almost not
ﬂowing or look dry in certain areas.

17.Connect: These are things which ﬁt the norm. On the other hand,
disconnect are things that do not fit the norm. If there is no connection,
then there is no communication. And if there is no communication then
things are unconnected.

18.Traditional doctor: Is a man or a woman who treat patients using herbs
found in their localities. The herbs may be medicinal grass, tree leaves,
tree barks or roots.

19.Elite women: These are women who have been to college, women who
have had some special training, or women who had good experience or
good knowledge of the environment and some development aspects.

20. Disease of cultural origin: This is a belief that a particular disease or
illness is not natural. It comes as a result of either witchcraft, black magic,
or from the ancestors. People suffering from these illnesses or diseases
go for treatment to the traditional doctors. The Ngie people believe in
superstition. A

21.Convocation: It is a written invitation inviting a person to appear at a

speciﬁc time, date, day and place by the writer. The reason for the

14

invitation is included. The convocation may come from the ofﬁce of the

gendarmes, police, chief etc.

1.10. Limitation of the study

1. The study is limited to two villages in Ngie subdivision in the Northwest
Province of Cameroon. The two villages are Andek and Etwii.

2. The research duration was 11 months starting from June 2000 to April 2001.

3.This study is concerned only to Ngie women farm-household systems. Taking
into account the structure of Cameroon rural production systems, which is
diversiﬁed in various regions of the country due to cultural, and geographic
factors, an authentic generalization of the result of this study to the rest of the
country would be difficult.

4. Only women were being surveyed, husbands were not included in the study

except those whose husbands were pastors and elders.

15

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 . Introduction

No research that was identified that is speciﬁcally related to the needs,
constraints and opportunities of Ngie women and their role in managing farm
household systems. However, chapter two contains a synthesis of selected
literature and research that is applicable to the study. These are research
ﬁndings and other relevant documents on women in their environment in some
selected developing countries, including some parts of Cameroon. The
information was obtained by reviewing books, agricultural development articles,
dissertations and journals. Literature related to the study is presented under the
following headings: - farming systems and development, women and socio-
economic conditions and needs assessment, women and extension systems,
women and forestry resources, health and development, women and
policy/institutional environment, women and development projects, women and
rural agricultural development.

2.2 Farming Systems Development (F80)

The evolution of agricultural systems comes as a result of the deterioration
of the natural resource base. This has induced innovations in approaches to
agricultural and rural development. Farming System and Development’s (FSD)
main objective as suggested by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
(1989) is

" the improvement of farm-household systems and rural
communities on a sustainable basis". (P4)

16

Ngie rural women’s natural resource base had deteriorated, causing their
production to be low. Since one of the purposes of the research was the
improvement of farm-household systems of Ngie women, research efforts were
based on farming systems and potential developments.
Farming systems or agro ecosystems is defined by Conway (1994) as
"An ecological and socioeconomic system, comprising
domesticated plants and /or animals and the people
who husband them, intended for the purpose of
producing food, ﬁber or other agricultural products". (P 3)
This research effort was based on these criteria.
A farming system is deﬁned by Shaner, Philipp, 8 Schmehl (1982) and Bawden
(1995)as,
" A unique and reasonably stable arrangement of farming
enterprises that the household manages according
to well-deﬁned practices in response to physical,
biological and socio—economic environments and in
accordance with the household's goals, preferences and
resources". (P2)

FAO added that the approach emphasizes the understanding of farm-household
and communities in their physical, socio-cultural and institutional/political
environment. These factors when combined inﬂuence both output and production
methods. Many authors have also similarly deﬁned farming systems. Among
those are Axinn 8 Axinn (1979). Bawden R (1995), Caldwell J (1983), Dillon J.L.
(1976). Caldwell J. and Archer CH. (1996) suggested that farming system

research should use the systems approach. That is, a holistic approach of the

17

system. This research effort is focused on the Ngie women's farm household
systems using the holistic approach.

Hildebrand (1982) deﬁned an agro-ecological zone as

" an association between a set of natural conditions (climatic,

topographic, soil) and agricultural activity (farming, herding)
utilized to exploit that environment. The usefulness of zone

resides in the possibility for extrapolation, since conditions

within zones are more similar than between zones, and

farmers living in the same zone would have similar

problems and technological needs." (P 91)

The deﬁnition of farming systems was used to develop speciﬁc questions for
interviewing the rural Ngie women farmers.

Nancy Axinn (1982) said,

”It is important to learn what the system is before suggesting changes.

The best way to learn what the system is is to diagnose, by asking

questions, observation and participating in village activities with the

people involved. We need to learn from the people, what their

concerns, their problems, their needs, and their resources are”. (P 5)

The researcher used the above method during the research.

Storck H, Emana, Berhanu, Andizej, 8 Shimelis (1991 ) conducted
research in the highland of Hararghe, Ethiopia. They concluded that, to do good
research on small farm holders, one must not separate the production and
marketing systems from the household and consumption system as both are
closely linked to each other. An incomplete picture would exist if one were to try
and understand the production system on its own. And added that the farm-

household system has a multitude of interactions with exterior forces, which

include physical, social/institutional and market environments. These forces

18

constrain or support the farm household system. They explained how the market
environment has inﬂuences on the farm household system through prices of
input and output, through input shortages and quotas and through output quotas
such as selling obligations. Factors like provision and credit may also be crucial

for the alleviation of cash shortages.

2.3 Socio-cultural 8 Economic Conditions and Needs Assessment of
Women

Needs are the things which human beings require for their continued
existence. Husen 8 Postlethwaite (1985) and Monette (1977) have the same
deﬁnition of needs as defined by Browne (1989) as

"a discrepancy between an existing situation and some changes

or desired set of circumstances. One aspect of need is tied to

the concept of necessity, which implies an image of what is

necessary for some one to be fully human. This includes

physiological and psycho-social necessities" (P 9)

In order to help the women eradicate hunger and poverty, one must know their
needs.

Benbella Ndive (1991) suggested that many government and
international projects in Cameroon face many types of problems. Some of these
problems are, lack of current empirical research on farmers, particularly on
women problems and their needs. Among these are inappropriate technology,

like equipment to ﬁll the soil, plant the crops, weed the parasites, harvest the

crops, transport the crops, store the produce, process food, and preserve the

19

food. The investigator used these factors to see if they are applicable in Ngie
also. The researcher went further and asked the women how they want to be
helped for them to be more productive.

Quisumbing et al (1995) in the food policy report of the lntemational Food
Policy Research Institute summed up the constraints which women face in
developing countries. These were, weak land rights, limited access to common
property resources, lack of equipment and appropriate technology, gender bias
and property rights, limited contact with agricultural extension agents, lack of
access to credit, and lower levels of education. The researcher used the above
issues and constructed questions that looked for these factors because these are
constraints, which the researcher wanted to know if they were also applicable in
the region.

Hansan and Von (1977) in a World Bank report afﬁnned that,

”approximately 85% of all absolute poverty is in the rural

areas. Rural poor are often ill-nourished and forgotten

since they are powerless, have less contact with outside

world and very often they do not have land or enough

capital for a decent life." (P 2)
The women constitute the majority of the rural poor. They are unable to help
themselves. The researcher during her research looked into these factors to see
if they are applicable to the Andek sub-region. Most of the factors are evident in
Ngie rural women. The women are not forgotten in Ngie but they are ill-

nourished. Ngie women have adequate land as compared to other areas in

developing countries, but their land is infertile.

20

Huston (1979) undertook some studies in six developing countries. One of
his ﬁndings was that women expressed greater need for women's organizations
that could help them to develop. Another ﬁnding was that women indicated that
they were interested in training or education. According to the author, the
reasons behind these choices are two fold. First, the women want to improve
their families' health; second, they thought that training and gaining new skills
would help them to earn the money necessary to improve their families' health
and living standard. The researcher used this idea in her research to see if they
are applicable in the region of her research. Agricultural training was one of their
needs. The women have group meetings and farming is also group work. 80,
group work is very crucial for them.

Hoskins (1980), as well as Piepmeir (1980), Berger, Ettang 8 Gatara
(1975), conducted similar studies, which focused mainly on educational
institutions. Piepmeir reported that, Women’s organizations are sort of resources
for development.

Browne (1989), and Piepmeir (1980) added that

"Women have begun to demand a greater voice in the

decision-making processes within their own societies

and to ask for assistance in solving their own problems.”

(Browne p 33) (Piepmer, P 6)

Piepmeir (1980) stated that,

" needs assessment is an important ﬁrst step in planning
development programs. However, if philosophies and
perceptions of development specialists and funders are
based on a stereotyped concept of women's role and
functions, then, not only is the real need of women missed,

but there can be no understanding of the dynamic of the
particular society." (P 9)

21

He concluded that listening to women will help to discover the areas where they
have the greatest needs. He ended up by saying that development programs
can be successful if they are based on the people's needs. Since needs
assessment is an important first step in planning development programs, the
researcher during her research asked the women their needs. She examined
some development projects in the region to see if they were implemented
according to their needs and if the project executors listen to the women.

In the research, which Risseew et al (1980) conducted in Sri Lanka the
focus was related to women development. Their purpose of the study was to
identify their needs. The researchers proceeded to identify the women's needs by
looking at topics, like health information, education, income, property and political
power. The researchers also looked at the cultural aspect of the people in the
given region. In this respect, they looked at the perceptions and beliefs which
have created inequalities in the society and which have contributed to limit
women's options in life. One of their ﬁndings was that women lacked independent
income to be able to provide life needs. The study also identiﬁed other women’s
needs like medicine; food; money for fees, books and uniforms for the children;
housing and increased mobility between villages. Risseew’s ideas were used in
this research to see if the Ngie women have similar needs.

Blumberg (1992) talked about gender and African agriculture. She commented
that their societies are gender biased. She said,

"In recent decades, the women who produced food typically have
faced deteriorating conditions in land quality and quantity and

22

labor availability. They have been excluded from programs

of extension, agricultural education and training, credit, and

subsidies for fertilizer, seeds and other inputs; and they have

seen their resource base erode and their workload increase.

Gender-blinded development projects sometimes have

inadvertently undercut the viability of women farmers.

When these projects have diverted women’s returns while

counting on their labor, women have rebelled actively or

passively — and the projects’ goals have suffered."(P 3)
The researcher during her research asked questions on gender, agricultural
education credit, fertilizer and extension agents to learn more about the rural
women farmers. This gave the researcher an insight about support services in
the research region.

Tshatsinde Mmakgomo, (1990), conducted research in the rural areas of
Lebowa to determine factors that lead to low productivity. Some of the ﬁndings
from low productivity include shortage of land and irrigation water; women's
limited decision-making power over productive resources and the unavailability of
credit. The researcher also used these factors to see if the factors lead to low
productivities in the research area. The researcher went further than Tshatsinde
Mmakgomo to ask ways the women think they could be helped to make their
production more sustainable.

Tshatsinde Mmakgomo, 1993 wrote of some constraints that affect mral
women’s economic productivity. Some of these constraints are: - shortage of
land, the unavailability of labor-serving devices to reduce the burden of house
chores, and lack of adequate health-care facilities in rural areas.

According to some studies carried out in Namibia by lipinge (1997), as

well as, Sen (1984), and Beneria (1982), come to the same conclusion regarding

23

subordination of women in the third world. Margarete Leahy, (1986), did a similar
study in Mexico. The ﬁndings were that men dominate in their homes and are
independent in their out of home relationships. Leahy (1986) said that

“The female, in contrast, is expected to restrict her

outside contacts and submit to male judgement in all disputed

matters. “Women believe that man’s ideal woman would be

traditionally submissive and place home and family above

achieving outside the home”. Because women are socially

conditioned to expect and desire marriage. They attempt

to present a demeanor that will attract a husband. The media

is especially adept at portraying this message and in deﬁning

those traits that will allow a woman to gain a good

husband-passivity, dependence, domesticity". (P 61)

The researcher during her research framed some questions on subordination of
women like the above authors suggested. She went forward to ask ways in which
the women could be helped or treated to bridge the gap between men and
women.

Lack of suitable farm and household technology impairs women's
efﬁciency, restricts their time and saps their energy for participating in extension
and other development programs (Schultz, 1982). Von Braun and Webb
conducted an example of this type of research in parts of Gambia in 1987.
Women's labor productivity in individual farming has been estimated to be
consistently 70% less than men's. This is said to be due in part to the fact that
women tend to grow crops with technologies that result in lower net returns to
their labor time. But women also exhibit lower average labor productivity levels

than men do for the same crops and broad technology groupings. These

differences are partially explained by women's limited access to laborsaving

24

implements and their constraints, which usually result in women cultivating
smaller land parcels, causing diseconomies of scale (Von Braun and Webb,
1987) This research compared women and men who farmed the same crops.
The researcher discovered that men do not do the same things like the women,
in Ngie so, the researcher did not do any comparison but she looked at other
aspects of why women have lower returns and if any of the factors listed above is
one of them.

Lack of education was a constraint that was identiﬁed as facing African
women. The World Bank study in Gambia has demonstrated the critical link
between farmers’ efﬁciency and education supported this idea. Jamison and Lau
in 1982 examined 18 studies conducted in developing countries involving 37 sets
of farm data. Controlling for other variables, they estimated the effects of
education on farmers' production efﬁciency. They concluded that farm
productivity increased on average 8.7 percent if a farmer had completed four
years of elementary school. They said that the effects of education were much
more likely to be positive in "modernizing agricultural environment" than in
traditional ones, thus supporting Schultz's earlier ﬁndings. One of the few studies
to compare the efﬁciency of male and female farmers concluded that both men
and women farmers in the Vihiga Division of Western Kenya achieved higher
maize yields when they had four or more years of education (Moock 1973). The
ﬁndings of this study are based on illiteracy and farming. The researcher used
these ideas but did not compare with the males. The study was not based on

whether or not these illiterate women can still learn and adopt new technology.

25

llliteracy and low educational levels are not necessarily barriers to learning
technical skills. NGOs in South Asia, for example have demonstrated that
illiteracy and low education do not hinder learning how to improve agricultural
production. They added that illiterate rural women have learned to give poultry
vaccinations, run power tillers, and maintain pumps and sell water to cultivators.
In Andhra Pradesh cooperatives, illiterate poor women are competently carrying
out artiﬁcial insemination, fat testing and record keeping (Axinn 1990). Most of
the Ngie women farmers are illiterate. Since Moock, Jamison and Lau identiﬁed
illiteracy as one of the constraints faced by women, the researcher went further
and constmcted some of her research questions directed toward ﬁnding what the
women can do at their standard to meet their agricultural household needs.

Koopman (1992) in her paper said that in all Africa farming systems, men
and their wives manage some on-fan'n or off-farm enterprises separately. This
statement was conﬁrmed by some authors who had conducted research in
Africa, e.g. (Abu, 1983, Guyer 1988, Fapohunda 1988, Saul 1989, Clark 1989,
Quisumbing et al 1995. Some studies were carried out in Africa by different
researchers on women and agricultural households. The ﬁnding was that most
women have less access to credit and information technology. (Schultz, 1988).
The researcher use this factor in her research but went further to ﬁnd out why the
women have limited assess to credit.

Guy Hunter (1982) who conducted some research in Lesotho concluded
that

“small and marginal farmers need special attention
because they are less able to face ﬁnancial or social

26

risk. They ﬁnd it difﬁcult, some times unpleasant, to

deal with ofﬁcials. They are often dependent upon richer,

more inﬂuential ﬁgures in the village and are often treated

as interiors. They are sometimes ignorant, not of their existing

land and circumstances, but of new technical or earning potential.

They are very frequently neglected by extension staff. They are often

suspicious not only of strangers, but of each other". (P 11)
He also talked of decentralization of the ministry of agriculture as a prerequisite
for agricultural development. The researcher looked at the type of loan given to
rural women in the two villages and whether the women are considered for loan
and if they are independent.

Wooten, S (1997) conducted research in rural Bamana in Mali. One of his
ﬁndings is that in Bamana village, there are no full-time traders, merchants, craft
people or herders and that the most of the food consumed is obtained through
direct cultivation of the soil and women are the main producers. The researcher
looked into this idea of ﬁnding out if there are some rural women who do trading
only.

In another study in the Caribbean by Janet Momson, (1991), indicated
that one third of household heads are women. She continued to say that the
proportion ranges from 50 percent in St Kitts and 44 percent in Montserrat to less
than 20 percent in Guyana. (P 25 — 26). Momson, also said that,

"Third world parents actively seek education for their

children as the best means of improving their
income-earning options, but over-burdened mothers
may be forced to take daughters out of school to
assist with childcare and household chores". (P 35)

The researcher during her research in Ngie asked if some women had withdrawn

their children from school to assist with childcare and household activities.

27

2.4 Women and Extension System

Agricultural Extension has historically been perceived as a

function of low status performed by poorly qualiﬁed and poorly

equipped persons who deal with poor and frequently illiterate

farmers in remote areas. This perception has been supported

by facts: low salaries, unclear job descriptions, poor

supervision of performance, and poor quality of work by

extension personnel. (World Bank 1985, P 61)

The Investigator looked into the above characteristics of extension agents to see
if those applied to the extension agents in Ngie,

Following some research, which Tchouamo (1986) carried out in
Cameroon, he asserted that,

“Agricultural extension organizations because of their
successful achievements in the United States of America,
and elsewhere, have been seen as having the potential to
address the priority. Unfortunately in Cameroon as in
many other nations, dreams of the decision makers

have not yet come through and nobody knows when they
will. Failure to achieve rural development through
agricultural and extension education is related to key
problems, recognized world wide” (P 2)

This means that women also have not gained much from agricultural
extension systems. He also found that the effectiveness of extension agents in
Cameroon was hindered by the centralization of the ministry of agriculture. The
researcher used this idea to learn if women are beneﬁting from extension agents.
The researcher also studied the extension agents’ knowledge of women’s work.
She looked in the research area for what hinders the work of extension agents.

In Malawi, agro economic survey data show that women farmers do 50-

70% of the agricultural operations in the smallholder sector According to the

ﬁndings of the national sample survey of agricultural data, men receive most of

28

the extension visits and training as well as such services as credit, and technical
information (The Ministry of Agriculture, Government of Malawi, 1983). (Saito 8
Weidemann 1990 P 5). This study did not indicate the reasons why women did
not receive extension visits, training and credit. The researcher conducted
research using the same method in Ngie, to identify why the women are left out
from such beneﬁts.

Saito K. and Weidemann J. (1990) said that women farmers work under
more constraints than the men do. They added that women have less access to
information technology, land input, market and credit. Their advice is that

”To ensure more effective delivery of the extension
message to women, there should be concerted efforts
to increase the number of female extension agents.” (P 1)
The researcher did not compare but she went further and asked the women the
sex of the agricultural agent, which they would prefer.

Schultz (1988) carried out a similar study in some parts of Cameroon in
the early stages of the MIDENO project. Under this project, extension agents
were encouraged to meet with farmers' groups but individuals could also ask the
extension agents to visit their farms. Farmers who bought inputs were always
visited and the males were the only ones who bought inputs. According to
Schultz, analysis indicated that farmers who experienced farm visits and group
meetings understood the recommendations better and were more likely to adopt
them than those who only attended group meetings. He added that while
assistance was supposed to be the same for men and women, the survey

revealed that men received eight times more individual farm visits than did the

29

women. This was because the male farmers had always asked extension agents
to visit their farms. Since only farmers who purchased inputs were visited and
women never purchased these inputs, they were never visited. Women on the
other hand believed that their farms were “too small," "too poor" or "too far away"
to merit a visit. For that reason many women did not think they could or should
ask for a visit. Others indicated that visits were reserved for farmers who
purchased inputs. The extension agents concluded that women did not ask for
visits because they were not interested. It was evident that the strategy of asking
farmers to step forward to request visits was not as appropriate for women as for
men (Walker 1989). The researcher, in her study, asked the women why they
did not ask for extension visits.

2.5 Women and forest resources.

Women in developing countries are substantial users of forestry
resources. Forestation makes fuel wood available all the time, and it also
reduces soil erosion. In addition, the leaves can be used as manure. Some
authors see this as an important aspect in the women household systems. They
therefore have taken some initiative to look at women and forestry in different
regions in the third world. They concluded that women have important roles in
relation to natural resources, including forests in rural community. Hopkins (1980)
conducted research on women in Upper Volta, Senegal, Cap Verde, El Salvador,
and the Honduras whose livelihood also depends on forest resources. She cited
Cap Verde, and El Salvador, which participated in forestry conservation

programs through the planting of trees in their respective countries. Based on her

30

observations, she recommended that women should participate in forestry
programs if meaningful gains from these programs are to be realized. (Lungu,
Gatian and Sinyangwe 1988). This implies that if they take part in forest
regeneration, they will have a continued supply of wood. Skutsch (1986), in her
paper “Participation of Women in Social Forestry Programs”, supported the idea
of women taking part in forestation. She cited from her research in Gujarat,
Tanzania and Burkina Faso where forestry programs involving tree planting had
been successful. She added that these forestry programs have saved women's
time, as they may engage in other productive work instead of going to distant
places to look for ﬁrewood. The researcher asked the women in the research
area if they have forest regenerating programs because they all depend on wood
2.6 Health and Development
In the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Adebayo Adedeju puts it that the
health of the population has a major bearing on development possibilities and
prospects (P63). The health of women who are food producers is very important.
Some research in Africa was conducted and the ECA was alarmed by the results
of maternal mortality rate. The estimated finding was that
“This is 200—600 per 100,000 live births while that of

Denmark, for instance is 10 per 100,000 live births. It

is our view that Socio— economic factors have a direct

bearing on this situation and poverty constitutes a high

risk factor in the survival of women. What is tragic is

the fact that if only basic and elementary health care

could be provided, over 80 percent of these maternal

death would be avoided. Furthermore, the poorer women

are the more vulnerable to harmful traditional practices

with which this meeting is concerned. Thus, it seems to
me that health and economics are inextricably linked together”. (P 63)

31

The researcher did not calculate live birth per thousand but she asked each
woman in the focus group the number of live children each has and the number
dead. The researcher also found out where the women and family go for their
treatment.

Health is very important in any development. For this reason, the World
Bank (1981) proposed some programs that could be instituted to meet the basic
needs of women and children. Some of these are: - nutrition and supplemental
feeding, day-care centers, education in health and nutrition, family planning,
village water supply, health care for women and children, sanitation, increasing
farm production to sell the surplus or increasing cash crops to have more money
to buy food. DAWN (1985) also supported these basic need strategies. The
researcher used most of these factors suggested by World Bank during her
research.

Pinstrup (1985) suggested that an appropriate approach should be taken
towards nutritional matters in the context of general economic development. He
suggested four major factors that inﬂuence nutritional status of an individual.
These are: -

. Food availability
0 Ability of the household to obtain available food
0 Desire to obtain available food
a Utilization of available food to meet nutritional needs.
The four factors above provide useful tools in addressing the questions of how

best to increase food consumption and improve nutritional status. Pinstrup added

32

that the economic availability of food is the constraining element and thus, an
effective solution is developing means of getting food for the needy poor
household. He gave some examples and these are: a reduction in prices or
increase in incomes, and giving nutritional education.
Quisumbing et al (1995) talked of three pillars of food security. These are: -

0 Food availability or adequate food production

0 Economic access to available food

. Nutritional security, which often depends on the availability of nonfood

resources such as childcare, health care, clean water and sanitation.
Brent McCusker (1997) conducted research in Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa on
the coping mechanisms of rural households during food shortages. He said that
food insecurity is caused by environmental, social and political conditions. His
ﬁnding of how the people coped during food shortages was that during drought,
for example, the COpIng mechanisms used by the people were basket making or
handicrafts, buying food in shops, use of stored food and trading. He added that
during food shortages, there is increased mobility. The researcher in one of her
question asked the women their coping strategy during hunger times.
2.7 Policy Environment
A study was undertaken in Kenya by the Ofﬁce of Women in

Development (1987), on government policies on agricultural development,
because growth in production and rural income can rise quickly when the
government establishes supporting policies that promote and encourage

production. One of the ﬁndings of this research is that although government

33

supports agriculture in the form of research, extension programs, and state
investment in agriculture, the government has not been able to raise the farmers'
selling prices. Secondly, instead of the government encouraging production
through good policies, it levies heavy taxes on rural and urban producers. This
slows the expansion in the marketed surplus.

The United Nations, and the Economic Commission for Africa, 1994, have
conducted research on women in different parts of African countries, from their
summaries, they indicated that in Zimbabwe after independence, the government
adopted policies to arrest poverty and uplift the standard of living of the majority
of the poor. This was a good intention but the report continued to say that there
was an absence of policies for promoting sustainable agricultural practices and
that has resulted in a vicious circle of poverty. In her research, the researcher
examined some government policies especially those geared towards Ngie to
see if there are policies speciﬁcally geared towards sustainable agriculture in the
region. She also found out if the policies were implemented in Ngie and if the

people have gained as a result the policies.

2.8 Development Projects

El-Bakri 8 Basha (1989) conducted some research in Eastern Africa on
women's economic projects in the region. They found out that income-generating
projects have helped women to some extent to gain some income. Misrak Elias,

(1981), during his research identiﬁed some important issues from the so- called

34

income generation projects in Eastern Africa. He pointed out that those projects
are usually small and mostly have not proven to be economically viable, and the
level of technology used in these projects is generally low. He went ahead to say
that the level of income gained from such projects has generally also been low.
There has been a manifestation of continued dependency on outside persons.
He remarked that there has also been a marked lack of management skill and
marketing skills on the part of those women who are participating in income
generating projects, as well as those who are in the agencies, which provide
assistance. He added that there has been lack of sufﬁcient technical skills, which
are necessary to run the projects effectively, and lastly that assistance provided
from outside agencies, be it government or NGOs, has tended to be small and
for short periods of time. Rogers (1978) and Dhamija (1981) have a similar view
of craft projects. The results of these projects and the issues identiﬁed are very
important. For a project to run successfully, these issues identiﬁed by Misrak
must be prevented.

In Libya, the Kufra Resettlement project was started to improve the
standard of living of the rural people. In the new project area, household duties
became easier: there was water, electricity, and in this region, men do the
farming. So, this reduced women's activities to housekeeping only. In this project,
women were taught for nine months in home economics and in skills like sewing
and knitting. Frarida Allaghi (1984) conducted research in Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya. The aim was to see if the project has improved women. One of her

ﬁndings was that there were no opportunities for the women to market the

35

products they made as a result of training. She continued that the women knit
and sew at the Kufra oasis where the weather is hot throughout the year. These
women did not have the facility to transport and market the goods to cities that
need their products. She added that the sewing machines given to the women
during graduation do not last long. The end result is that the women did not gain
from the project. She concluded that, this is probably because the government
that instituted the project did not ﬁnd out what the needs of the people are.

Jennie Dey (1981) carried out research in Gambia, in which she examined
three agricultural development projects. One of her findings was that those who
institute the agricultural development projects channeled input to male household
heads on the assumption that they control the land, labor, crops and ﬁnances.
Meanwhile, in these regions, women cultivate rainfed rice, and they have the
ownership of rice land, while the men control the upland and produce peanuts
and millet. Both cultivate household and personal crops. In these three
development projects, irrigated rice was introduced to men only. She said that as
the women were not included in these development projects, this has not only
increased their economic dependence on men but is also a major reason for
deﬁciencies in these projects, resulting in low national rice production.

The researcher used the idea of projects and examined most of the
projects in the Ngie that women were involved in. She found who is the
beneﬁciary of the project, and if the women were empowered. She also found out

the type of project the women would need to make them more sustainable.

36

2.9 Women and Development
Development is growth and change towards a positive direction. Sharon
A. Browne (1989) deﬁned development as
"a process by which human communities strive to

achieve basic levels of material goods, social services

and human dignity for each individual in an attempt to

improve economic, social, and political condition of the

society. This implies that there are stages of development

and development is continuous”.(P 35)
The concept of women in development started in 1970 during the United Nations
decade for women. WID was concerned with how to involve women in
development strategies at both the local and national level, and how to bring
equality between women and men. (Schuster, 1982). Some of the issues that the
practitioners talked about are women's access to income and the feminization of
poverty; social cultural and structural deterrents, etc. Women, Environment and
Development (WED) suggested that development should include both human
and non -human resources (Harcourt, 1997). Axinn (1979) said that development
should come from within, not from an outsider and that the farmers should be at
the center of any agricultural development. Speth (1994), Dixon,‘ (1996),
Mhlanga, Seidman, 8 Semboja (1988), Axinn 1997) had the same idea that
Development could bring food security only if it is people—centered,

environmentally sound, participatory approach, and if it builds local and national

capacity for self-reliance.

37

During her research, the researcher will examine on going projects to see if the
people were placed at the center of the projects, and if participatory approach
was followed.

Bawden R. (1995) suggested that development of relevant and viable
technology for small farmers must be grounded in a full knowledge of the existing
farm system. The researcher looked into the projects that were carried out in
Ngie to see if the people were placed at the center of these development
projects.

Biggelaar (1991) said that little has been done to develop indigenous
technology generating and diffusing capacities already present in the rural areas.
He suggested cooperation and collaboration between the exogenous and
indigenous knowledge systems leading to a synthesis of the two. He went on to
say that the

"ultimate solution for rural development is not the dumping

of more scientists upon rural people (of whatever discipline)

to make exogenously-generated technologies more adaptable

and in line with people's problems, but to strengthen, empower,

and legitimize indigenous capacities for identifying problems

and developing solutions for these problems". (P 25)

Empowerment here means letting the women spearhead their development
themselves as he explained. For example, in Gambia, the government is
focusing on participatory development with women at the center, under its
poverty alleviation strategy (UN Economic Commission for Africa, 1994). He

explained that an extension agent is just supposed to guide them in a way so that

if the extension agent leaves, the women will be able to carry on their own project

38

with no difﬁculties. The researcher looked into some projects that have been
instituted in the region to see if the women were empowered and if the
indigenous knowledge was ignored.

. Khasiani Shanyisa A (1992) said that every development program has an
initiator, beneﬁciary and objectives. They concluded that the achievement of the
goal calls for the participation of the target population. In conducting a research
in Ngie, the researcher examined some of the projects that have been instituted
in the region by government and non governmental organizations to see who
initiated the development projects, who are the beneﬁciaries and whether the
target population is involved in planning, implementation and evaluation. This is a
participatory approach, which is one of the best approaches to development.

Due, Mudenda, Miller (1978) conducted research in Zambia. The purpose
of the study was to assess how rural women in Zambia homemaker -oriented
programs perceived development. One of their ﬁndings was that women needed
more than just the homemaking role.

Joyce Moock (1986) carried out some research in some parts of Africa.
One of her observations was that small farmers in developing countries did not
adopt many of the technologies developed from station research programs. She
cited one reason for the lack of adoption was that the technologies being
produced were not consistent with the circumstances of many small farmers. She
went ahead and suggested reasons why the technologies were inappropriate.
She said that

" the natural circumstances (soil, topography, and climate)
facing small farmers in speciﬁc situations vary from location

39

to location and are generally different from those in the research

station. The institutional support services supplied inputs which

were either nonexistent or unreliable. The costs and risks of using

the new technologies were too high for small farmers relative

to beneﬁts." (P 73)
The researcher found out if the women are using any new technology in their
production systems and if they would like to adopt any new technology.

Koopman (1992) conducted some agro-economic and historical research
on farming systems in Southern Cameroon. One of her ﬁndings was that an
agricultural household does not operate as a single unit of production. That is,
each member of the household conducts separate activities, earns individual
incomes and manages separate budgets. Ruthenberg, (1980), Koopman (1992)
again afﬁrrn that men help clear women's farms, and women help weed and
harvest men's cocoa. She also commented that men use the mono cropping
system mostly the cash crop production of cocoa, while the women practice
mixed cropping systems at subsistence level. She added that commodity
markets for basic food items are vastly underdeveloped. The researcher instead
asked the women ways in which the men support them and ways they think their
husbands could help them to make their work easier and more sustainable.
Delbert Myren (1970), with the collaboration of the international maize and

wheat improvement center, carried out research in some parts of North Africa,
Asia and Central America. They suggested that small farm holders could
increase their production by use of fertilizers, an improved package of cultural

practices, including better land management and a favorable relationship

between the cost of fertilizers and other inputs and the price the farmer received

40

for his product. They also found out from their research that the green revolution
has moved ahead with new varieties and technology, but those who gain from it
are those engaged in commercial agriculture, well-established farmers, and
areas where production risks are lowest. They added that not all the farmers
beneﬁted from it. The small farm holders are excluded. They cited some
examples in Central America. For instance, in Guatemala, modern corn
production techniques tend to be used more in the Paciﬁc low land coaster
areas, yet most of the rural Guatemalan corn-eating people live in the highlands
where they struggle to produce their own food out of meager subsistence. In
Columbia, the rich valleys like Cauca and lowland plains of the northwest have
tremendous potential for food production using the new science-based
technologies. Most of the rural people live in the highlands. Their argument is
that, in most Latin America countries, they concentrate the new technologies
production package and investment in the favorable areas with the better
farmers. The poor rural farmers who really need the development are never
reached. They suggested that development should be taken to those that really
need it. The researcher used this idea. She asked if the women use fertilizers in
their farms and if not whether they would want to use them. She also found out
from the women if the government had given them some subsidies and if they
had borrowed money from the Farmer's Bank to buy fertilizer.

James F. Eder, (1999) undertook some research in the upland region of
rural Philippines. One of his ﬁndings is that the household used some strategies

that brought about economic change in the region. Some of these household

41

strategies are agricultural intensiﬁcation, under conditions of growing market
opportunity, and technological change; reduction in birth rate and immigration;
government production subsidies and increased use of various subsidies to the
production process; use of fertilizers and pesticides; labor intensity; crop
specialization; fallow intervals; marketing and market demand; growing of trees;
off-farm activities; a change in cultural notion, and in family planning and decision
making. The researcher used the above factors to construct some of her
questionnaires and she asked the rural women if any of them has used any
strategy that had brought her any change in her farm or market.

The Cameroon government is realizing the fundamental role of women in
agricultural production, and has advocated that development in agricultural
production should be extended to women. For this reason, the University Center
of Dshang (UDC), Cameroon's agricultural training institution, wanted a
curriculum that will prepare graduates to work with rural women. They needed
help to accomplish this task. As a result, in 1986, UDC invited the University of
Florida to conduct a needs analysis with them, and some government
representatives were included in establishing a program and priority areas of
training that would prepare graduates to work with rural women (Gladwin, 1991).
The students, with the help of the teachers from the University of Florida, sat in
class and came up with some speciﬁc needs of Cameroon rural women in
general. The needs that they identiﬁed are health and welfare; income generating
resources; land and credit; agricultural technologies; household technologies like

labor saving; marketing skills; adult education; and inﬂuence on household

42

decision. The UDC and the University of Florida staff sat in class and came up
with a list of women's needs, but the researcher went to the field to collect the
women’s needs from the women themselves. The researcher also found out if
the UDC list of women’s needs are also applicable in the researcher’s research

area.

2.10 Summary

Some review of literature has indicated that for good research in small
farm holders, one must not separate the production and marketing systems from
the household and consumption system as both are closely linked to each other.
It might be difficult to understand the production system in isolation. In addition,
the farm-household system has a multitude of interactions with exterior forces.
These forces include physical, social/institutional and market environments.
These forces constrain or support the farm household system. This is one of the
reasons that the researcher is using a holistic approach to investigate the Ngie
women’s farm household system.

The literature review on women covers the following areas:- farming
systems, needs assessment, socio economic conditions, forestry, policy/
institutional environment, environment and projects. The review of literature has
provided the theoretical background and the rationale for inclusion of some
selected concepts in this research study. Though literature review has given
information on other research, no information has been given about Ngie

women's needs. Since regions and activities are not homogeneous, needs and

43

opportunities may differ from place to place. These may be motivated by different

drives, stages in life cycle and physical conditions.

44

Chapter3
3.1 Research method
3.1. 1 Introduction

In this chapter, the method of implementing research strategies is
outlined. The research process is deﬁned as an ethnographic case study. Using
this method, the researcher is the primary research tool (Jonathon Landeck,
1991). In addition, the researcher attempts to understand a situation from the
point of view of the participants. The ethnographic method relies on many
approaches. In this particular research effort, the researcher used a number of
ways to collect data not restricted to the main instrument only.

The research was descriptive and qualitative in nature. Exploratory
diagnosis was used. Exploratory diagnosis is based on dialogue and farm visits
with the primary subjects and also with some key informants (FAO 1989). It is
important to know the existing system before suggesting any changes. The
researcher endeavored to discover the character of the existing system. This was
accomplished by asking questions to the respondents. Group meetings and
discussions were conducted. Observations were made through participation in
village activities. During the research process, the investigator asked the women
what their problems, needs, and their coping strategy are.

Selected data was processed using the computer. The sequence of
operations chosen for data processing was as follows: -

. Completing the ﬁeld survey

. Checking the questions for errors

45

. Transferring of data to computer
0 Coding the responses
. Validation of data
. Analyzing data
Some selected data was processed without using the computer.
The research was organized in to three phases; introductory, data

collection, and data analysis and reporting.

3.1. 2 Introductory phase

During this phase, efforts were taken to become familiar to Ngie people
and their culture. The researcher resided in Ngie Clan beginning June 2000.
Government agricultural services, agro-service centers, the district ofﬁce, the
rural council ofﬁce, the traditional rulers of the region, and congregations or
churches were contacted. The main objective during this phase was to establish
rapport and to explain the purpose of the research. The researcher also asked
the people for their cooperation and to give assistance when necessary.
Government agricultural authorities were asked for insights that would help in the
research process. This approach was recommended by Casley 8 Lury, (1986).
Some government ofﬁcers wanted self serving questions to be asked that would
beneﬁt them personally. Their request was respectfully declined as the content

was not relevant of the purpose for the research.

46

. 3.1.3 Population and Sampling

The study population was composed of forty farm-households selected
from two villages in Ngie Clan, twenty from each village. There are nineteen
villages in Ngie Clan. The sampling unit was households and the sampling
frames were the lists of households in the two villages. The population sample in
the villages was a random sample that was chosen entirely by chance in such a
way that every element of the population had a known chance of being selected
(Poate 8 Daplyn, 1993). The list of households was not available in the local
council ofﬁce and the district ofﬁce. The list was generated from an interview with
the Chiefs in the sample villages. The systemic or skip interval method was used
to select the population sample by household until the sample size was obtained.
Ngie clan falls in two main vegetation belts; savanna grassland and the
transitional zone (forestland and grassland).

The two villages chosen were Andek and Etwii. The reason for choosing
these two villages is that Andek falls in the transitional zone, which is located in
lower Ngie. Etvvii is in the grassland region in upper Ngie. The two villages
represent a purposive clan sample in the sense that they are purposively chosen
based on a stratiﬁcation variable, which is vegetation. The sample is known to be
representative of the whole population in the clan and information obtained from
these two villages, can be generalized to apply to all nineteen villages in the clan.
Another reason for choosing two villages out of nineteen villages of the clan is to

limit the research to a manageable level.

47

The population sample was rural women farmers from farm-households.
They were between the ages of 21 to 65 including females age less than 21 who
were married or who had been married. Women who were students were not
included.

3.1.4 Instrument Development - Reliability and validity

The instrument used in this study was a list of questions developed
following an extensive review of literature on farm-household systems. Other
researchers with similar interests provided some questions that were modified
and adopted to the purpose of this study.

Questions were both unstructured and structured. In all cases they were
carefully phrased to ensure consistency of inquiry. Open-ended, close-ended, or
multiple-choice questions were used. Questions were written down to guide the
researcher. At times the nature of the interview prompted ad-hoc questions. The
questions were we tested with six experts, and again pilot tested with four
representatives from the region for reliability. That is, did the questions have the
same meaning when repeated with many individuals? During pilot testing, notes
were taken when respondents hesitated to answer, laugh at, or asked for
clariﬁcation etc. When the testing was completed, a group discussion ensured to
identify problem questions. During the group discussion, the following questions
were asked as suggested by Foddy, (1993)

1. Did any of the questions seem to make you uncomfortable?
2. Did you have to read any question over and over to understand it?

3. Did you misinterpret any questions?

48

4. Which questions were the most difﬁcult or awkward for you to read?

5. Have you come to dislike any speciﬁc questions? Why?

6. Were there any sections in which you felt that the respondents would have
liked the opportunity to say more?

Validity was also tested to see if the instrument measured what it was
supposed to measure. Several open-ended questions were changed to multiple
choices questions following the pilot testing. Some questions were also
rephrased. In addition, questions were asked to clarify any point raised by a
respondent. The questions were also tested before starting interviews with the
target population. Respondents were asked to rephrase questions in their own
words if clariﬁcation would be improved. Respondents were also asked to give
the meaning of the questions as precisely as they understood. This is to ensure

that the subjects to be interviewed understood the questions.

3.2. The Phase of Data Collection

Since this was a case study research and no primary data existed for the
area under study, six major ways were implemented for data collection.
There was a survey of forty household women from the Ngie clan (Andek and
Etvvii villages). The women in these two villages were the primary focus group.
Questionnaires were given to those women who were literate to ﬁll and circle the
right answers and they were encouraged to ask questions where they did not
understand. The researcher read the questions to each woman in her dialect who

was unable to read. The answers were checked when given by respondents.

49

Responses to open-ended questions were written with the intention of accurately
representing the respondents intended meaning. The women were asked
questions pertinent to gender integration, decision-making, family, nutrition,
socio-economic, socio- cultural constraints, needs, and to discover their coping
mechanisms.

The second focus was to collect data from speciﬁc informants
knowledgeable of the role of the women or conversant with the activities of the
women in the clan. For example, two extension development workers were
asked about local structures, strategies, general farming situations, and
knowledge of women activities. Questions included:-

a) What do you know about the role of women in agricultural activities?

b) What problem do they encounter?

c) What type of services do you render to them?

d) Why are most of the women not exposed to extension agents in Ngie?
Four village elders, two from each focus village were interviewed. Questions
focus on historic development, traditions customs, and perception of the
women’s role and conditions. Some questions that were asked are: -,

a) How have changes in tradition affected the role of women?

b) What factors have inﬂuenced crop production? Is it better now than in

the past?

o) Is there any extinction of any animals, trees, or crops due to man

interaction in the environment?

(I) What complaints do women have regarding existing cultural problems?

50

Two local businesswomen were interviewed about marketing mechanisms,
banking, loan conditions, and prices. Two progressive farmers were interviewed.
Development opportunities, preconditions for adaptation were explained. Two
religious leaders were asked about women's religious obligations, women’s
Christian groups, beliefs, and perception of the women’s social conditions. Two
meetings were held with women’s groups to ascertain the beneﬁt gained from
group meetings. Permission was granted to attend their meeting and group work
activities. This allowed for several questions to be asked: -

a) How does your group help each other? Or what do you gain from group

work or meetings?

b) What activities are performed in your group?

o) Is this group very helpful to you? If yes, how?

Third, the researcher was a participant observer by joining the women's
farming group project called "Abang women's group". Group members
individually work their own farms. The investigator visited individuals in their
farming activities. Observation involved direct and extensive participation in
various activities. The merit of this approach is that the observer can make a
judgment of the situation as experienced by the people involved. (Wond Bank,
1988) During participation and observation, questions were asked for
clariﬁcation.

The fourth activity involved data collection from archives. Included were
documents on government policies, development projects and related topics.

Ofﬁcials of the local council, district ofﬁce, delegation of agriculture, project

51

operators and ofﬁce of women’s work provided documents on projects and
policies related to socio-cultural and agricultural development. Libraries and
agricultural institutions were visited to look for documents on projects and
policies related to the role of women.

For the ﬁfth activity, a meeting, involving selected rural women and elite
women was held on issues related to forestry, gender integration, decision-
making, family nutrition, socio-economic and socio-cultural constraints, which
affected them as producers were discussed. Invitations were sent explaining the
objective of the meeting, date, place and time. Questions asked were: - Are there
forestry programs in the region that involve women? If yes, where? How does it
beneﬁt the women? Are there other forms of fuel than ﬁrewood in the region? Are
there traditions that prevent you from being more successful and how would you
like it changed? Are there community groups in the region that are advocates for
women's rights? What other factors, other than traditions, hinder your efforts in
agricultural production? What can help to reduce these constraints? What are the
critical problems of the region? For those of you who have married mates, how
do your mates support or constrain your activities? Why do some men marry
more than one wife?

Finally, data was collected on farm visits and at the markets. There were
multiple visits to farms and markets. Some of the questions that were asked
during farm visits were:

a) How does "good land" differ from poor land?

b) What does “taking care of the land,” mean to you?

52

c) What does “ruining the land,” mean to you?

(I) What does “improving the land” mean to you?

e) What does “soil infertility” mean to you?

f) What makes taking care of farmland difﬁcult for you?

Q) What would make farming easier for you?

h) Do your farming techniques and that of your parents differ?

I) Why did you learn to farm?

j) Why do you plant your crops? Why this way?

k) Suppose an NGO offers you a gift 120.000 CFA Francs ($200)

and tells you to use the money exclusively for the improvement of

your farm. What would be your improvement priorities?
Questions that were asked during visits to the markets:

a) What does “gain” mean for you?

b) Do you make a speciﬁc amount from selling every week?

c) About how much is your total sale per week?

(I) About how much gain do you make per week?

e) Do you meet your basic needs through the sale of your crops?

f) If no, why not?

9) When do you get the highest prices for your crop?
3.2.1 Interview Procedure

Government agricultural services, agro-service centers, the district ofﬁce,
rural council ofﬁce, some traditional rulers of Ngie, and congregation or churches

were visited. The main objective of these visits was to establish rapport and to

53

explain the purpose of the research. They were also asked to encourage the
study population to participate in the research process. The chiefs were asked to
inﬂuence the village men to allow their wives to freely answer questions without
interception. The husbands were informed that their wives would be interviewed
in their absence. Household interviews were conducted at the respondent's home
in the absence of her husband or other women. Some interviews took place
where there were village meetings. Interviews also took place on farms during
farm visits.

Before interviewing the women, the purpose of the study was explained.
The researcher also ensured conﬁdentiality of the information provided by the
respondent. Each respondent was informed that her participation was strictly
voluntary. Interviews began with a conversation to build rapport, before
proceeding to ask speciﬁc questions. This method instilled ease and comfort in
the respondents. In the course of interview, several husbands insisted on being
present at the interview, when this occurred the interview was terminated
immediately. The researcher selected other women in the same region whose
husbands accepted that their wives be interviewed in their absence. Only women
whose husbands allowed their wives to be interviewed freely were interviewed.
The women were assured that the results of the interview would be kept
conﬁdential and that only the investigator would have access to it. Respondent’s

names were not placed on answer sheet.

54

3.3 Supervision

Overall supervision of the study was performed entirely by the researcher.
These included: planning, implementation, evaluating, data analysis, editing the
completed questionnaires for misunderstandings and recording errors, document

control and record-keeping, and revisiting respondents to clarify unclear answers.

3.4 The phase of Data analysis

3.4.1 Data preparation and processing or data validation

Data preparation and processing was planned from the beginning of the
research. Questionnaires were pre-tested; interviews conducted and completed
questionnaires edited. Summary data was checked each day to correct any
irregularities. This action reduced the volume of data to be coded at a later time.
For example, each question was read to identify answers that were not related to
the intended questions. Errors were compiled for each question. Recall
interviews were held to clarify the irrelevant data. This is to assure the relevant
application of the information collected. At every stage in the information
gathering processing, information was transferred to a suitable form for analysis.
The information was examined for completeness and consistency. As suggested
by Poate et al, (1993), information gathered was evaluated to satisfy the criteria
of magnitude and logic and to scrutinize for purposes of identifying fabricated
data. During this stage, coding and recording was done. A numeric codebook
was created. During data entry, records were edited to clean the data totally

avoiding errors.

55

3.5 Data Analysis:

Some data collected were jotted down in a book. Responses from the
subjects were analyzed and written and arranged according to the different
topics. Some responses from the main instrument that needed to be analyzed
using computers were entered into the computer. When the data were entered,
the researcher did the following things before analyzing the data: provided clean,
secure storage of master copies of the data. Following this, the data was
analyzed. The researcher's basic objective in analysis is to describe and
summarize the result of the research to bring out facts through judgment and
then draw conclusions. SPSS data soft ware ﬁles are used to some extent.
Descriptive statistics were mostly used. Some percentages and numbers were
used to describe what percentage or number of women that favor female
extension agents; most output was in the form of frequency distributions.
Frequency distribution was used in the following way: - the different ages of the
sample population, needs, problems, fallow period, number of women who have
heard of birth control and number or percentage of those who have practiced
birth control method. Some estimates means totaled such as average live birth,
average houses in a compound, average land owned, average fallow land, and
average breast-fed in the region.

3.6 Summary

The problems were identiﬁed, objectives stated and a survey of the

literature completed in preparation for continuing the research activities. A survey

instrument was prepared for gathering data. Compilation of data and tabulation of

56

results followed. The research results provide a foundation for assessing the
continuation of extension, support services and policy-makers' ideas such as
policy formulation, program adjustment, and project analysis to the success of

the African women farmers

57

Chapter Four
Data Analysis
Findings and Results

The ﬁndings presented below represent a synthesis of interview data
gathered from rural women farmers from two focus villages by means of
individual contact, group meetings, farm visits, participant observation,
government ofﬁcials, chiefs, extension argents, pastors, elders and some staff of
non-governmental organizations. Care has been taken to ensure that the integrity
of perceptions of the rural women farmers has been maintained. The opinions of
the focus groups, and meetings from the Andek and Etwii villages have been
chosen as general perceptions of the clan. In this research, factors were
examined that inﬂuence the women’s activities either positively or negatively.
Women’s needs, constraints, factors that support their systems and coping
strategies have been identiﬁed. The results portray a signiﬁcant disconnect of the
women from extension, non-govemmental and governmental resources. Results
obtained by other researchers on rural women’s farm household systems in
Africa and other developing countries were also seen in Ngie ( Andek and Etwii
vmages)

Data collecting procedures, took place from June 2000 to May 1, 2001. A
total of 40 rural women farmers households in two villages in the Ngie clan were
interviewed. Since the region is a polygamous society, a total number of 44
women from 40 households were interviewed. More women would have been

interviewed in the household but some women told the researcher that their

58

married mates are living in the urban region with their husbands. They added that
they are at home to take care of their house and land. Some others said their
married mates are dead. Some told the researcher that they are poor, and their
married mates have many children, so they had gone to the Southwest Province
with the children where farming is more productive. In this way they can sell their
farm produce and educate the children. Farming in Ngie is mostly for
consumption. It is difﬁcult to farm and educate the children. Migration from the
villages to other more fertile regions is one of their coping strategies to alleviate
hunger and poverty.

Group meetings were held with women in the villages. The women were
very interested in the research discussions. This made group meetings last long.
When gender issues were discussed, they wanted the meeting to continue. They
perceived the meeting as an opportunity to express their feelings towards the
way that their rural society treats them. Gender issues were left to the end of the
agenda. Other people who were interviewed fr focused were agricultural
extension agents, pastors, and elderly men in the villages who were also
husbands, two village chiefs, and some elite women.

The ﬁndings are reported in ﬁve sections. (1) the general condition of
women, which includes the description of the demographic characteristic in terms
of age, marital status, health, birth and death rate, size of household and level of
education; (2) physical condition of the region; (3) cultural and socio-economic
condition of the women, which include their role in the society, how they are

treated, income and income generating activities; (4) policy institutional

59

environment, which include policies geared towards women, extension agents,
training programs, subsidies and support services; (5) Summary of the women’s
problems, perceived needs and coping with the problems and ways they desire
to be helped.

Section One, General information of the women

Nature of Compound

The villages in Ngie are made up of compounds. The number of houses in

a compound ranges from one to five. See table 1.

Table 1. Number of houses In each compound

 

 

Number of houses Number of women Percent Mean
1 10 22.7
2 21 47.7
3 12 27.3
5 1 2.3
Total 44 100.0 2.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1 above indicates, that the average number of houses in the compound is
2. 10 women indicated that they have only one house in their compound. 21
women said they have two houses in their compound. One woman indicated that
they have ﬁve houses in their compound. Polygamous homes tend to have more
than two houses in the compound.
Description of Houses

Many of the houses in the compounds have mud ﬂoors. Few houses have
cement ﬂoors. The entire households interviewed had pit toilets and most do not
have tap water. The roofs of houses are either thatched with rafﬁa palm leaves,

grass, or roofed with zinc. Hailstones have perforated some of those houses

60

roofed with zinc. As a result, during the rain these roofs leak, causing household
members to be uncomfortable. They continually place containers from one spot
to the other to trap the water. The cheaper zinc is soft and it is easily perforated
by hailstone. Poorer people buy the cheaper zinc. When grass or thatched roofs
get old, they leak like the cheap zincs roofs.
Women’s Conditions

The Ngie women constitute the majority of the rural poor, as other
research in Africa and other developing countries had discovered. The women
do not possess enough farm tools for farming and they have limited household
needs. They all use fuel wood in a three stone ﬁreplace. As a result of
uncontrolled smoke, every thing in the kitchen is blackened, ceilings, pots, walls,
etc. Kerosene stove or gas cookers are not common. Some houses are not
separated from the kitchen, so the smoke penetrates into the sleeping rooms.
This also gives a poor appearance to their clothing. They wash their clothing on
stones in nearby running streams. Some use home made soap and the poorer
ones use some type of leaf that produces foam. A few use solid laundry soap
made in industries. It is commonly called “savon”.
Women and Communication

The churches are the main agent for communication in the clan. Most
households do not own radios or televisions. A few household own radios and a
few elites in the region own television, which require a parabolic receiver.
Communication of innovative ideas by radio or TV never reaches the women.

The few that own radios never receive the Cameroon news except those who live

61

at higher altitude. The news that most of them receive is from neighboring
countries with Cameroon, like Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Central
African Republic. The news and information from Cameroon seldom reaches
them because the NW province radio station is weak and uses old transmission
equipment. Even if the transmission equipment is strong enough for people to get
the news, the news and innovative ideas are often reported in French and
English, which the rural farmers do not understand.
Women and health

The health of the women has an important bearing on the development of
their household, as also suggested by Adebayo (1989). The women have to be
healthy in order to be productive. Women complained of sickness that weakens
their power and reduces production. Malaria fever is very common among the
women. This might be due to mosquito bites. Many indicated that they suffer
from high blood pressure. Some women indicated that they sometimes
accidentally cut their legs, feet and hands with thorns, sticks, cutlasses and hoes.
Some cuts can keep a woman home for weeks without going to the farm to do
some farm work. Most of the women do farm work bare footed. One woman out
her feet and lost a lot of blood. The woman fell on the ﬂoor in front of the
investigator and was crying. The investigator advised her to go to the clinic,
which was just near for treatment. The woman replied that she has no money to
go to the clinic. The women do not have even free basic ﬁrst aid treatment of any

kind.

62

There is no hospital or resident doctor in the Ngie clan. There are no
programs instituted to meet the basic health needs of women and their children.
The few women that go to the clinic receive some limited education on child
welfare from the nurses. Day care centers, nutrition education, children sanitation
and proper family planning does not exist. Women tend to give birth to many
children. This increases their burdens.

Labor from the children are not consistent because most of them go to
school. Baby-sitting is not readily available. Women tend to take their babies to
the farm. The majority indicated that they had never withdrawn the older children
from schools to take care of the young. This factor of carrying their babies when
farming is inconvenient and reduces the amount of time to work in the farm.

A question was asked about the number of children they have. Table 2
provides their responses. The table also shows the number of living birth of the

women who responded to that question.

Table 2. Number of living children for each respondent

 

Number of children Number of women Percent Ave # of children born
1 2.3

11.4
15.9
13.6
13.6
15.9
18.2
9.1
100.0 5.0

 

(”NOON-#0010

 

 

 

 

 

thQVO’O’DVU’l—b

Total

 

63

 

The average number of living children born to women in Ngie is ﬁve. Six women
indicated having four children each and six other women indicated that they each
have ﬁve children. Four women shared that they each have eight children.
The birth rate is high. The women indicated that they like children but have
problem bringing up the children because they are not able to provide all their
needs. The women during the interview also told the researcher that there are
lot of deaths in the clan and that when it occurs, they do not go to the farm but
they go to the relative who has lost a family relative. The many deaths reduce
farming days adding to Sunday and traditional Sundays in which they are not
allowed to work. They are then left with just a few days in a week to farm. For
these reasons, the women work too hard to cover up. This helps to sap their
energy. Death attendance therefore is one of the reasons for decreased
productivity.

Looking at table 3 below, out of 44 women interviewed, 18 of them had not
lost a child. One of the women lost ﬁve children. 7 women lost 2 children and 7
women lost 3 children each. The diagram suggests that though there is
signiﬁcant loss of children, death rate is declining. The signiﬁcant deaths may

occur because of lack of hospitals, medications and poor sanitation practices.

Table 3 showing number of women that have lost children

 

 

hOW many children Frequeng Percent
0 18 40.9
1 1 1 25.0
2 7 15.9
3 7 15.9
5 1 2.3
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

The women were asked if they would like to give birth to more children. Some
said they would like to have more children. Some others refused to have more

children. Table 4 shows their responses.

Table 4. Desire for more children

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers Number of women Percent
Undecided 1 2.3
No 24 54.5
Yes 19 43.2
Total 44 100.0

 

Out of forty-four women, only one woman was undecided. Twenty-four of
them did not like to have more children and nineteen desired more children. The
researcher asked those that said no why they did not want another child. Three
of them said they would like to have more but are past the childbearing age. Ten
women said that they do not want more children because they have lost their
husbands. Eleven women said that they already have many children whom they
cannot educate and so they do not want more. Those who wanted more children
responded that they need the children to help with the farm work. This would
indicate that they lack labor to manage their farm. A woman commented “a child

is a walking stick that supports the mother when she is old”. Having many

65

children means more support. Another said, “My mother gave birth to 11 children.
I am the only living one. I want many children to increase my family”. Some
women said their husbands want them to have children until they cannot produce

any more.

The next question asked about their knowledge of birth control. Table 5

below indicates their responses

Table 5. Those who heard of birth control

 

 

 

Statistics
'Responses Number of women Percent
. No 22 50.0
Yes 22 50.0
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

Fifty percent heard of birth control and ﬁfty percent of the women had not
heard of birth control. The women were asked if they know of birth controlled and
had practiced any method of birth control. Ten of the women said they had
practiced birth control method (table 6). Though twenty-two women (22) said they
had heard of birth control, only 10 women used contraceptives. Thirty-four did not
use contraceptives. Twenty-two women had no idea of birth control and the
twelve women had heard of birth control but were not using contraceptive. See

table 6 below.

Table 6. Birth control method practiced

 

 

Responses Number of women Percent
No 34 77.3
Yes 10 22.7
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

66

Nine women expressed that they did not go to clinic to learn about birth
control. Neither did they have someone come to their home or village to educate
them. Twelve women, who know of the concept of birth control share that “their
husbands did not want to hear them speak of or discuss the word contraceptive”.
This might be construed to mean that their husbands did not want their wives to
use contraceptives. One woman said, ” l have seven kids and my husband is not
supporting me. He does not like me to use contraceptives. He wants me to have
children until I can no longer have a baby. There is nothing I can do but to obey
him. If I do not obey him, I will get into trouble with him. Having many children is
a problem for me, to work hard and to feed them all by myself”.

Another woman said, “My husband does not want me to use
contraceptives. He told me that if I use contraceptive, that would make me to be
cheating on him or that would be my “passport” for cheating on him”.

Those women who were or had been involved in birth control method
were asked what methods they had used or are using. Table 7 indicates their

various birth control methods used.

Table 7. Birth control methods used

 

 

 

 

 

 

method used for birth control Number of women Percent
Did not practice birth control 34 77.3
have an injection 4 9.1
use condoms 1 2.3
abstinance 1 2.3
the doctor turned my wumb 2 4.5
coil 2 4.5
Total 44 100.0

 

67

Thirty-four women did not use birth control methods. Only ten women use birth
control methods. Since most of them do not use any birth control method, this
may account for the, high birthrates.

The women were asked if they had given birth to any of their babies at
home without going to the hospital. Thirty—ﬁve of the women said they had given
birth at home. Table 8 below shows their responses. Only nine of the women had

given birth to all of their babies in hospitals or clinics.

Table 8. Births given at home

 

 

 

 

Statistics
Responses Number of women Percent
No 9 20.5
Yes 35 79.5
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

The women who have their babies at home were asked why they took the
risk, since many African women might have lost their lives during childbirth.
Twenty-one of them said the clinic or hospital was too far from their compound.
They were not able to cover the long distance on foot during labor. Seven said
that there were no means other than walking to the hospital. Five of them said
that they had no money to pay the hospital or clinic bills. One woman said that
the baby came too fast. She did not have time to go to the clinic, even though it
was close to her compound. Another woman shared that she decided to have her
baby at home because she had no good baby dresses and wraps for the baby

and she added that the nurses would have mocked her if she went with very old

68

baby dresses. So for fear of shame she had her baby at home. The investigator
saw a woman in labor being pushed in a wheelbarrow to the Andek clinic.
However, she did not make it to the clinic. She was removed from the
wheelbarrow and had her baby on the roadside. Mother and child were then
taken to the clinic where they were still charged clinic fees.

Since hospital and clinics are located at far distances from most women, the
tendency is for the women to have their babies at home. This practice is very

risky both to their health and that of the babies.

Breast Feeding Practices

Breast-feeding practice is a very important in Ngie. It is the best way an
infant can get the nutrients they need for physical and mental development.
Children who are not properly fed frequently have kwashiorkor, a proton
deﬁciency disease, which makes children to have big swollen stomach and small
butts. There are instances of children with kwashiorkor in the two villages, Andek
and Etwii. Women with children suffering from kwashiorkor were asked why the
children were looking sick. They replied that they were sick and the doctor told
them not to breast-feed the child any more. These mothers did not have money
to give their children alternative food. Many women do not know how to provide a
balanced diet to the baby if breast-feeding is not an option. Such children
become weak and are easily prone to diseases. Because of fear of baby
diseases and the desire to have strong and healthy children, all the women who

were interviewed breast fed their children. Women tend to breast-feed for

69

average age of two years. Table 9 shows the numbers of years that they breast-

feed their children.

Table 9. Number of years that Ngie women breastfeed their

 

 

 

children
Statistics

number of years of Number of Ave. # of years
breastfeeding women Percent of breastfeeding_

1.11 1 2.3

1.50 4 9.1

1.70 1 2.3

2.00 22 50.0

2.20 1 2.3

2.50 11 25.0

2.75 1 2.3

3.00 3 6.8

Total 44 100.0 2.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty-two women breast-fed their children for two years. One woman
indicated that she breast fed her baby for one year. Three women indicated that
they breast fed their children for 3years.Those who indicated that they breast
feed for three years were older women. According to women who were
interviewed, they indicated that earlier generation of mothers used to breast feed
children for three to six years. They did this because there were many diseases
and if a child was not well breast-fed, the chances for an early death were highly
likely. Most women indicated that they abstained from sex during the breast-
feeding years. The reason given for this decision was the belief that woman’s
breast milk during pregnancy is no longer good for the feeding baby. The women
believe that if the baby drinks milk from the pregnant woman’s breast, the baby

will have a “running stomach” and other illness from which the baby could easily

7O

die. A visit was made to a compound to interview a woman. The woman to be
interviewed had gone to the farm leaving the young child with an elder sibling to
baby sit. The mother had prepared a bottle to feed the child, which was found on
the ground covered with dust. When the baby started crying, the elder sibling
picked the feeding bottle from the dust without proper sterilization and gave it to
the baby. This type of behavior is unhealthy and it might be one of the causes of
infant mortality.
Medical Treatment

The women were asked where they go to get treatment when they are
sick? One woman told the researcher that “ some times we go to the clinic,
some times to the hospital and some times to a traditional doctor depending on
the type of sickness”. Another said, “ if I find out that the sickness is of a cultural
origin, either that some one used witchcraft or when my ancestors are angry with
me, or when some one poisons me, then I go to the traditional doctors”. Another
other said “I go to the traditional doctor only because the hospital and clinic is far

from my house”. Table 10 below produces their responses.

Table 10. Places where women go for medlcal treatment

 

 

Number of
Different places of treatments women Percent

traditional doctor 4 9.1
go to clinic 14 31.8
go to hospital 6 13.6
traditional doctor 8

hospital or clinic 18 40'9
private phamarcy 2 4.5
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

71

The women use both Western and traditional medicine for treatment. Four of the
women said they go to traditional doctor for treatment. Fourteen women indicated
that they get their treatment from clinic only. Eighteen women said they go to
both traditional doctor and hospital or clinics. This means that they use both
traditional and western medicine for treatment. There is no hospital located in the
Ngie clan, which is made up of nineteen villages with an estimated population of
about thirty-ﬁve thousand. A few clinics are located un-evenly in the region.
These clinics are concentrated almost near the center of the clan. The villages
that are far away do not have ready access to these clinics. The clinics are
generally ill equipped, lacking sufﬁcient beds, cupboards or even diagnostic
equipment with no beds sheets, blankets etc. Most clinics have inadequate or no
lights. Medication to sell to the population is insufﬁcient and some times
unavailable. The clinics are under staffed. The concentration of the clinics in one
area is due to politics and some villages” effort. The nearest hospital is a
Presbyterian hospital, which is about ten to ﬁfteen miles away from the nearest
village in Ngie. To some other villages the distance ranges from twenty to thirty-
ﬁve (56km) or more Km to the nearest hospital. This idea poses a big problem in
the region.

The investigator observed patients being carried on other’s backs to
clinics or the hospital. Some people spend hours traveling to the hospitals or
clinics. Roads are in bad condition during the rainy season. Some areas have
steep hills and deep valleys that make it difﬁcult for relatives to carry the sick

ones on their backs to the hospital. Some villages dug their road with no money

72

to build bridges. Lack of roads, hospitals and convenient means of transportation
contribute to a higher death rate. Those with money hire horses to take their sick
ones to the hospital or clinic. It is a signiﬁcant challenge as some sick ones are
too weak to control themselves on the horse. The Bororos (Fulani) who live on
the hillcrest take their sick ones to the clinic on horses. It is difficult to descend
and ascend steep hills with the sick ones.

Many women do not go to the hospital in the early stages of sickness.
They wait until the illness worsens before they think of going to the hospital. A
sick woman was asked why she had not gone to the clinic or hospital. She said,
“I would only go to the hospital when the sickness becomes serious. If admitted
now, I will have to pay for those days. On the other hand, I might get well without
spending any money”. Another woman was asked why she is very sick and had
not gone to the hospital? She replied, “I was admitted to the Presbyterian
hospital six months ago. I had no money to pay the hospital’s bill. When I was
feeling better, I sneaked out of the hospital to avoid payment. If I go back now,
they would want me to pay for the ﬁrst bill. I do not have any money to go to the
hospital. I would rather die in the house”. Poverty is a prevention for going to the
distant hospitals.

A woman was interviewed who lived on the hill slope. On arriving, the
woman was seated on a little stool outside her house. She was asked why she
had tied a rope around her neck? She said, “she had neck pain and the rope will
help to heal her”. She expressed that she had no money to go to the clinic. She

added that the terrain also is too steep for her to descend to the clinic. She then

73

showed a big wound on her leg caused by falling on her way back from the farm.
She was using traditional herbs for treatment because the hospital was far or
because treatment was costly. Increased death rate tends to be the result of this
type of behavior.
Traditional Doctor - An Experience

There are traditional doctors who have had success curing patients. There
are others, who are limited in their abilities to diagnose and cure but would claim
the expertise of curing every sickness because of their quest for money. Some of
the women really believe in the traditional doctor’s treatment and would prefer to
go to them. One woman Martha (a name used to protect her identity) told the
investigator that she took her sister to a traditional doctor and that she would be
going there next week to see if the sister was improving. Arrangements were
made to go with “Martha” to see precisely how the traditional doctors practiced
medicine. The trip took more than two hour walking. On arrival, the sister was
lying helplessly on a mat. The traditional doctor said the sister has refused to eat.
That is why she is so weak. The traditional doctor added that the sister had
quarreled with another woman. The other woman had cut part of her hair and
performed black magic for her to die. He continued that he was waiting for
“Martha” to come so that he would make some traditional magic to bring back her
hair that was magically thrown in to the bush. The investigator asked the
traditional doctor if he would be able to cure the girl. He replied in the afﬁrmative.
He said that if “Martha” gives him a cock, he would send the cock to go and look

for the hair that was thrown in the bush near where the sick girl was living. The

74

place was about three hundred miles away. He added, “if the hair is found, the
girl will get well”. The sick girl said, “ sister Martha, take me out of here”. The
Martha yelled at her. The traditional doctor said, the girl does not know what she
is talking about. Martha was advised by the researcher to listen to the sister and
that she is saying some thing reasonable, so she should take the girl to the
hospital. Martha responded that the sister was in the hospital for two weeks and
her sickness was getting worse. “That is why I brought her to the traditional
doctor who had told me that it was not a natural illness”. “Martha” gave money for
the cook. The traditional doctor asked some one to bring in a cock. When the
cock was brought, he gave it to “Martha" to follow him outside. He had pre dug a
hole under a tree and the hole was muddy, “Martha” was asked to put the cock in
the hole. So she did and the cock was covered with a basket. Everybody
returned to the house. The traditional doctor said, “The cock has gone to look for
the hair". He continued, while waiting for the cock to do the work that it had been
assigned, “Martha” should buy them some beer". “Martha” gave them money for
the beer. The beer was brought and it was shared among the members of his
household. After so many sips, the traditional doctor said, “some thing has
stroked me that the cock is back from the journey”. Everybody went out to where
the cock was placed. The traditional doctor lifted the basket up and secured the
cock, and then gave it to another man. He gathered some wet soil from the hole.
Since it was dark, he directed every one to get back into the house. He said, “I
will have to ﬁnd out if the cock saw her hair". He threw the mud on the ﬂoor and

used his ﬁnger to look for the hair in the mud. Everybody was quiet and all

75

attention was on the doctor. Everyone was eagerly watching to see what will
come out of the mud. After searching for about a minute, he smiled and said, “it
has found the bundle and that the girl will be well". He then washed the bundle.
The investigator looked at it. It was wrapped with black thread. The doctor took a
sip of his drink and untied the bundle. It was actually hair. The investigator asked
the doctor if the girl would be treated now. He said “oyeah. Since the hair that
was thrown is found, if you come here tomorrow morning, she will get up and be
doing things for her self”. “Martha" felt happy and relived. She was again
encouraged by the investigator to take the sister to the hospital that very night; all
of this activity is faulty. “Martha” said, “Let’s see what her condition will be
tomorrow” “Martha” went with the investigator to her relative’s house seven miles
away for the night. Towards the break of the day, “Martha” heard some one
knocking at the door. The investigator went and opened the door’ It was the
traditional doctor standing sorrowfully at the door. He came in and said,” the girl
is dead. She died around four am".

Some rural people and children loose their lives this careless way by
going to some fake traditional doctors. Maybe “Martha’s” sister would have been
saved if she had left her sister in the hospital.

AIDS - Presence

AIDS patients are increasing in Ngie Clan. This has an effect on the
health of women in Ngie. Fortunately none of the women interviewed admitted to
having AIDS. Some did however have children or relatives in their care who were

AIDS patients. All of these AIDS patients were living in urban regions. That is,

76

those who have AIDS in the region are mostly migratory groups who are either
students who attend school in urban areas or some urbanites who have returned
home to wait for their last days. These AIDS patients are in the denial stage.
They do not want to accept that they have the sickness. For this reason, they tell
lies. For example one said, “When my father died, the family accused me of
changing his will. They want to share everything that belonged to my father. They
do not care about us, his real children. They followed me in witchcraft and have
made me to be sick”. Another said, “I was a progressive business man in the
urban area, but some one was jealous of me and had poisoned me. That is why I
came to the village to receive traditional medicine”. One other said, “I fell in love
with one woman’s husband. The woman discovered it. She became angry and
poisoned me”. Caring for these sick ones reduced the productive time for
women farmers. The investigator saw a woman who spent her productive time
for couple of months taking her daughter that had AIDS from one traditional
doctor to the other. At last, the daughter died.
Age and reproduction

In the Ngie clan, the people do not regard age as an important factor.
Most people do not know their year of birth, especially the illiterate ones. When
asked when they were born, most would say, “I don’t know”. Those who have an
idea will connect it to an event that had taken place around when they were born.
For an example, one would say, she was born when the ﬁrst airplane ﬂew over

Ngie. Or, she was born around the time the late chief died. One woman said that

77

she was born the year when locust destroyed crops. Another woman said, “I was
born the year of the landslide in Atona ”.

During the research, the women were asked how old they were? Most of
them did not know their age. Table 11 provides responses of the women to the

question of age.

Table 11. Ages of respondents

 

 

 

Regmndents' age range Number of women Percent
15-20 2 4.5
20-25 5 1 1.4
26-30 3 6.8
31-35 2 4.5
36-40 2 4.5
41-45 1 2.3
Total 15 34.1
I don't know 29 65.9

Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

29 out of 44 women did not know their age or even the year they were born. Most
of those that did not know their ages were older women and some illiterate ones.
Those who knew their ages are those who have been to school or those who
have elder relatives who had been to school and had told them when they were
born. Those that were baptized when young have their ages from their baptismal
cards.

Since most women do not know their ages, they do not connect it to birth
or reproduction. Therefore even if they are told about “risky pregnancy" which is
after forty years, it would not have any meaning since they cannot allocate the

period in their ages.

78

Women and Level of Education

Lack of education as suggested by Quisumbing et al (1995) and
supported by World Bank is a constraint that is also facing Ngie rural women.
Most of the rural women are illiterate or dropouts from primary school or

elementary schools. Table 12 below indicates their level of education.

Table 12. The Women Farmers Educational level

 

 

 

 

 

Statistics

Women educational level Number of women Percent
did not go to school at all 19 43.2
did not complete primary
school 15 34'1
completed primary school 8 18.2
drop out of secondary
school 1 2'3
completed secondary 1 2 3
school '
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

Nineteen of the women interviewed had never been to school. Fifteen are
primary school dropouts. Eight of the women completed primary school. Only
one woman had graduated from secondary school. The women were asked why
they dropped out of school. Four women said that they got pregnant in school
and so they dropped out of school. Four said they had to baby-sit for their
mothers. One woman said that her father wanted her to marry so that he could
get the dowry to pay the fee for her elder brother in a secondary school. Three of
the women expressed that their parents were not able to pay their school fees,
tuition and buy the books and uniforms. The women who never went to school
were asked why they never went to school? The older women said school in their

days was only for men. Other women said their fathers never saw the need of

79

sending gins to school. They were considered as belonging to another family.
That is, when a woman is married, she becomes a member of the husband’s
family and the fathers then did not see the need to educate their daughters for
some one else. Furthermore, all the schools in the region were mission schools
requiring school fees. Parents preferred to send only the boys to schools and not
to waste money educating the girls who would be other people’s property.
Another reason that daughters were not educated was the fact that women’s
work is farming and daughters were to go to the farms to help their mothers.
Today, more parents send their girls to school. In addition, most schools now are
government schools where education is free. The parents still have to buy books
and provide clothing. Some parents still cannot cope even with free education.
Section 2. The Physical Environment and the Women
Agra-Forestry

Forestation provides ﬁrewood. It also reduces soil erosion and acts as a
windbreak. In addition, the leaves are used as manure. The women were asked if
they were participating in an agro-forest program by planting of trees on their
farms or growing trees as fuel as a group. There is no program of growing trees
for fuel wood in the two villages. They had to go long distances to fetch for fuel
wood. Comcobs, comstalks, dry kennel, bamboo, and rafﬁa palm tree branches
were also used for fuel.

In the two villages Andek and Etwii, there was some form of agro-forestry.
During farm visits, an unfamiliar plant on some few rural women's farms was

observed. Inquiry was made as to what plants they were. The women explained

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that the plants were of two varieties -: Acacia and Luciana. A Peace-Corpse
representative from the United State of America introduced them. The women
explained that the seeds were planted on the Andek Presbyterian secondary
school farm. The women obtained seedlings from this source. They added that
the plants helped to enrich the soil, acts as windbreaks, and check erosion. The
branches or the stems of the plants were used for staking beans. Women did not
need to go far to look for stakes. They afﬁrmed that crops do well as they have
planted the trees on their farms. The women were asked how the plants were
used to enrich the soil. They said that they planted the plant in every six row of
beds. When the plants reach certain maturity, the leaves are cut, and placed on
the uncultivated beds. The decay of the leaves formed manure. The leaves were
covered with soil and the crops planted. Inquiry was made to ﬁnd out if the plant
helped to increase crop yield. They were also asked why they had not planted
them in the infertile location and those areas prone to erosion? The most
frequent answer was “they do not have time to plant them on all the farms”.
Another reason given was that women do not have time to attend group
meetings where they can gain knowledge and apply new technology. Most
women who did not plant this plant were reluctant to accept any new technology.

Another Peace Corps representative trained the Executive of the Ngie
Union of Farming Groups (NUFAG) to help educate women farmers on the
beneﬁt of agro-forestry. She told farmers to go and learn from the NUFAG how to
plant these trees on their farms. The NUFAG executive took the initiative to visit

farmers and encouraged them to plant the trees. The NUFAG executive made a

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schedule for visits. When the Executive arrived at most group meetings, the
women farmers were never there. Farmers did not trust the Executive.
Furthermore, farmers complained that the Executive was not skilled teaching
them methods. The women farmers preferred to have an outsider teach them.
They never asked the Executive for advice. Contributing to the problem was the
fact that the experts who introduced the new technology did not remain in the
area to educate the women and assist in the adopting of the new technology.
Land Acreage per woman

The average acreage of land owned in the region is 3.37 hectares. The

table 13 below indicates this.

Table 13. Acreage land owned by rural women farmers In Ngie

 

 

 

 

 

Number of
Acreage owned women Percent Ave. acreage of Land own
2.00 4 9.1
2.50 11 25.0
3.00 4 9.1
3.10 3 6.8
3.50 9 20.5
4.00 4 9.1
4.50 2 4.5
5.00 6 13.6
6.00 1 2.3
Total 44 100.0 3.4

 

 

 

The average acreage of land owned in the region is high when compared to

other third world countries whose average acreage is two. Availability of farming

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land is not a problem for the majority of the population. Their major problems
here are soil infertility, the dry spells during the rainy season and lack of labor.

The villages also have communal farmland, on hill slopes and hillcrests.
Cocoyam disease (Panama) has reduced cocoyam production. The women
farmers have looked for another farming area for better soil fertility. They now
farm cocoyams in the virgin and gallery forestland located far a way along
boundaries with other clans. Most who farm in these distant farms travel fifteen
miles or more on foot to reach the forestlands. The women afﬁrmed that Panama
disease is minimal in these virgin lands. The long distant poses a problem for
those younger women with children and older women who cannot make the
journey easily to the forest. As a result, labor is reduced. More importantly,
traveling these distances saps energy and wastes useful production time.
Physical Condition of the Land

Physically, the region is hilly and it is prone to soil erosion, landslides and
earth movement. Many women indicated that their crops do not do well due to
soil infertility. Most of them complained that landslides destroyed their crops.
Many also indicated that during dry spells, the sun dries up their crops and the
corn borer destroys their corn. Visits to the farms revealed that most of the corn
was affected by corn borer. When there is a dry spell, corn borer contributes to
the reduction in the amount of corn grown in the region. This poses a big problem
for the women. Some women were putting wood-ash on the corn as treatment for
corn borer. This was one of the ways they tried to solve the corn borer problem.

When the ash is applied, the young corn leaves look dry. After a week or two, the

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crop growth improves. Some corn plants take a longer time to recover after the
wood ash is applied. Agricultural agents were selling chemicals for treating corn
borer. Only a very few women purchased it. Many complained of not having
money to buy the chemical. The women also complained of insects that
destroyed beans, plantains, cocoyams, sweet potatoes and yams

During the rainy season, farm to market roads are generally in poor
condition with some being impassable. There is mud, landslides, and instances
of broken bridges to navigate. Floodwater sometimes carries bridges away. In
some cases erosion destroys parts of the road. Vehicles and bicycles get stuck in
mud creating loss of time and frustration. Accident rates are higher during this
time. Rivers cannot be used for navigation as an alternative means of transport.
It is difﬁcult to go to distant markets because transportation costs are high.
Aridity, infertile soil and landslides are a hindrance to food crop production and
income generating activities and marketing is negatively affected. Bad roads

make it difﬁcult to sell crops and also buy some of their needs in urban centers.

Grazing Problem or Animal Crop Destruction

Uncontrolled animal grazing is a big problem. This is one of the greatest
problems the women are facing. For this reason many women farmers farm
several parcels of land. Every woman complained that straying domestic animals
like pigs, cows and goats destroyed their crops. Women in Etwii and Andek were
asked if they have experienced animal crop destruction. All the 44 women who

were interviewed afﬁrmed. One of the reasons that the women farm several

84

pieces of land is to have some food. If the animals destroy some farms, they
could have some productions from the other farms. Some women really wept
when they narrated their experiences. At one quarter of Andek’s village meeting,
a woman came and threw herself down rolling and crying. She was asked why
she is crying. She said some goats had eaten all her beans. She added that she
needed help to get some compensation from the owner. She was advised to see
the village council. She replied that the village council would not do anything. The
investigator asked what action the village council takes when crops are
destroyed by animals? Other present said that, they reported to the District
Ofﬁcer. He asked the agricultural extension agent to go and evaluate the
destruction. They continued that most agricultural extension agents asked the
rural women farmers to pay for their transportation to the farm and the extension
agent also asked them to cook food and buy drinks, in addition to transportation
the money. Consequently, most of them gave up the idea of compensation since
they had no money to meet the extension agents’ demand and those of the
government ofﬁcers. Others complained that when they did give food and spend
the money, nothing was done. Others said before the administration would take
any action, money for transport was requested even when there were no roads to
their farms. One woman commented that, “ the district ofﬁce took action, the
cattle man had paid the money, but the district worker who took the money has
not given it to me”. Other women took action by catching the animals and taking
them to the rural council to be locked up. The animals would not be released until

the owner paid for the damage. The Andek Rural Council also charged for each

85

day the animals were contained within the council’s fence. The women further
said that even though the owners paid the council’s fee and the council gave
their animals back to them, the women were still not compensated. Instead, the
Andek Rural council made money from the animals that were brought to them by
the women. The women said that the village council, where the grazing problem
should have been solved, consisted of men who did not want to address this
problem. This was because most of them had domestic animals that had also
strayed on others’ farms. One village counselor advised the investigator that she
should not mention the idea of animal crop destruction in her dissertation writing
and that they the counselors would try to solve the problem in the near future.
Another village council had taken action regarding the grazing problem.
They said that if domestic animals had destroyed crops, the animals should be
brought to the village council. The action of bringing the animals to the village
council however became a serious problem because the owners still never
controlled their animals. The village council then told the women to kill any
domestic animal that destroyed their crops. The village council thought that this
new rule would encourage people to restrain their animals. The women started
killing straying animals. A straying goat was killed and the owner went to the
gendarrne's ofﬁce and reported the matter. The gendarmes gave convocation to
the woman who killed the animal. The village women and their chief went to the
gendarrne's ofﬁce on the day of her convocation. The gendarme asked the
woman to pay for killing the goat. The women said that the woman acted on their

behalf and that she will not pay any thing. The village chief told the gendarmes

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that his village council had ordered women to kill any domestic animals that
destroyed their crops because animal crop destruction has become too rampant.
The gendarmes told the chief that he has no right to ask women to kill straying
domestic animals because animals are important, for the owners pay taxes to the
government. Gendarmes threatened to put the chief in jail. The action of these
ofﬁcers weakens the law of animal crop destruction in that village, yet this
practice continues.

Some village councils could not do anything about grazing issues because
they have many other problems. There is mismanagement of village council
funds and inadequate records of spending decisions. There is gossip and
jealousy among the council members. Some of the members are motivated by
selﬁsh reasons. Consequently, the village councils do not work as one body.
Even when decisions are to levy ﬁnes, they would let their favorites or family
members go free. In this way, many village laws are not enforced. Most villages
had ﬁnes for straying animals, but they do not enforce the laws because they
might become victims. The weakness of the village council has placed the
women farmers in the disadvantaged position. As a result, men let their animals
feed freely on the women’s farm. Off many occasions cows, goats, and pigs were
seen feeding on cropped land.

The issue of the grazing problem is far too politicized in the Ngie Clan.
The District Ofﬁce, the rural council, and the traditional councils have failed to put
an end to this destructive practice of domestic animal by owners. A few

experiences have been shared to demonstrate what many rural women farmers

87

go through in the clan. While narrating their experiences, some wept. They were
serious in their behavior. A group of women narrated that a cattle man had let his
cows feed on the women’s crops one Saturday night because he thought that the
women would not come to farm on Sunday. By the time they would come on
Monday, he would have removed his cattle off their farms. The road to the village
passed through the farms. A man who happed to be passing at night observed
the cows feeding on the women’s farms. He alerted some women. The women
alerted other women. These women went up the hill very early Sunday morning
and found the cows still feeding on their farms. The women herded the cattle to
the village chief’s compound. The chief chastised the women for bringing the
cattle to him. He ordered the women to take the cattle to the owner. The women
took the cattle to the owner and asked him to compensate them for lost crops.
The man and his sons came out with canes and start beating the women and
telling them to leave his compound. The weaker and older women ran away. A
few young and strong remained to ﬁght back but were overpowered by the men.
They went home with injuries. They lost their crops and received a beating.
Nothing was done about it.

In another instance, goats destroyed crops on one of the farms. The
owner of the goats refused to compensate the rural woman farmer and not even
saying he was sorry. She went to another farm the next day and found cows
eating her crops. This time she got angry and decided to wound the cows. She
wounded a few of the cattle. The man reported the matter to the gendarmes

(police). The gendarmes told the woman to pay a ﬁne for wounding the cows or

88

she will be put in jail. The woman asked for compensation. She was told to shut
her mouth. She ended up paying the fine.

One old woman narrated that she caught some cows of a government
worker on her farm. She brought them to the District Ofﬁcer (00.) to settle the
problem. The 00. told the woman to release the cows since the owner was
known. He also asked her to make a report for him for a follow up. This woman
traveled about ten miles on foot to ask the daughter to write the report. The
daughter wrote it and followed the mother to the District Ofﬁce. The report was
given to the District Ofﬁcer. He refused it and asked them to go and type it
because it would be put on ﬁle. The 0.0. knows that there were no typewriters
available. He just decided to trouble this old rural woman because he did not
want to go investigate the matter. He ordered them to leave his ofﬁce. The
daughter told the 0.0. that it is his place to solve the problem. He then asked the
daughter “if you want me to solve the problem, then where are the cows?” The
daughter said, “you had asked the mother to return the cows since the owner is
known”. The 00. ordered them to stand outside the ofﬁce. The women went out
and were out for two hours. The 0.0. came outside and saw them still standing
there. He asked them to leave the ofﬁce premises. The women went home
frustrated.

There is no person in authority interested in solving the grazing problem.
Further more no mention was made of any husband taking up the cause for his
wife. Men don’t care. They are not in a hurry to give up the bad practice of

uncontrolled grazing. Farming is the woman’s job.

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Women Farm Traditional Practices
Farm Fallow

Women cultivate from six to ﬁfteen parcels of land a year. Those who farm
one to three pieces a year are working class. The several parcels of land
cultivated by the women reduce the fallow period.

The average fallow land in the region is 3.57 years. Land is left fallow from
zero to six years according to the responses from interviews. This ﬁgure would
indicate that the women do not fallow their land long enough to regain the soil’s
fertility. The short fallow period comes as a result of cultivating too many pieces
of land in one year. Some farmland has no fallow periods, especially those
located around village centers, valleys and plains. For example in the Andek
Village valley or plain at Ibah, it is cultivated every year. Crops do well here
because erosion washes the fertile topsoils from hills into the valley. In addition,
cow dung are washed from the hills to these valleys. These center village lands
are small in size. These village center farms could be more productive if the
women would fallow them. Reduced fallowing brings about soil infertility and land
degradation. The government has reduced the amount of this fertile plain by
building schools, and ofﬁces. If the government had not taken the level fertile
land, Andek villagers would have had sufﬁcient fertile land for food production to
feed the family and reduce hunger. More so, these village center lands are now

used as a resettlement area. Landlords are now selling plots for building houses.

90

The women were asked why they farm many pieces of Land a year? They
gave the researcher two main reasons for cultivating several parcels of land. The
ﬁrst reason they gave was animal destruction, as discussed previously. The
second reason is soil infertility. They explained that since the land is not fertile,
they must cultivate several parcels of land in order to gather adequate food for
the family. A visit to some of the farms gave evidence that cultivating several
pieces of land a year is disadvantageous to the women farmers and, a waste of
time and labor. First, most of the farms are not well cared for because the women
rush to ﬁnish one and so start another. They have no time to fertilize. Weeding is
sacriﬁced. Crops are left in the bush for animals to destroy. Sometimes weeds
over take the crop before the women get there. Secondly, crops have seasons
and prescribed time to be planted. The women cannot coordinate all their parcels
of land at the right time. Some farms are cultivated at the right time while others
are cultivated late. Crops that are cultivated late do not do well. Those that are
farmed too early, sun and corn borer destroy them. The women were asked if
they knew that they were farming some crops late? Did they also know that the
crops would not do well? If so,” why then do you still farm at this late time”? One
woman said “ l have to keep myself busy. Because if you are not busy, your
husband or other women will say you are lazy". Another said, "I do not like to just

sit home doing nothing. I feel sick if I stay at home”.

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Food Preservation

During the dry season, when little or no agriculture is done, the people
live on dry reserved food. Most of the food spoils because there are no storage
facilities. When cocoyams are harvested, most women bury them in the ground
as a means of storage. What they do ﬁrst is to dig a big hole in the ground. They
lay leaves in and around the hole. The cocoyams are placed in the hole. The
cocoyams are covered with leaves and then soil to resemble a constructed bed
or ridge. This prevents rain or too much heat from making contact with the
tubers. Some will still decay due to extreme heat. In most cases, half of what
they bury spoils. Others put their harvest in barns or in their houses. Regardless
of which alternative is used, some of the tubers still decay.

Inadequate storage is one of the causes of hunger in the region. If the
food did not rot, the people would likely have enough to eat during the dry
season. The women were in agreement that they needed adequate storage
facilities. Complicating the food shortage is the need for tubers and grain to be
used as seeds for planting new crops. This practice also contributes to food
shortage. Food prices arehigh during planting season. Since the region depends
solely on agriculture for livelihood, many people do not eat satisfactorily during
the food shortage. This results in malnutrition. Infections are prevalent. There is a
higher mortality rate. Body weight declines. This becomes both the “hungry and

sick season”. (Chambers 1983).

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The Beans Season

The women plant dry season beans in September, which is harvested in
December. When the women plant the dry season beans, corn is also planted in
the same beds. This procedure is called “mixed crop farming”. The corn often
does not do well. Frequently it withers or is affected by the corn borer. The
women farmers have realized that the corn does better if planted near rivers or
streams. But year in and year out they continue to plant the dry season corn on
sloping terrain. During farm visits, observation was made that the corn does not
do as well as the beans. The women farmers were asked why do they continue
to plant corn if it does not do well? Some said they hoped to harvest some corn
so that it could be cooked with the beans. Other women said, “ it will be wasteful
if we only plant beans”.
Akara Practice
Some women cope with soil infertility by making “Akara”. This is the burning of
the topsoil prior to planting crops. The grass is cleared, put on the furrows then
covered with the soil to form the beds. A small portion of the bed is left open or
uncovered. Then, a ﬁre is lighted on the open portion. The grass inside the bed is
burned and the topsoil is baked. The topsoil that is baked is called akara. This
baked soil is left to cool for several days, after which the crops are planted. The
optimum growing regions are the places of the akara. Crops that are planted in
the akara do well but only for that year. In order to increase yields during the next
farming period, the process of creating the akara is done at another location. This

process allows women to increase the food supply, but the creation of the akara

93

kills the soil nutrients and other organic matter in the soil. The end result is soil
infertility. While run-off causes soil infertility, the women’s akara practices also
causes soil infertility.

Coping strategies against hunger

In the past, the village people fed the pigs with green bananas. Only a few
ate ripe bananas. As the population increased and the soil became infertile, the
people introduced boiled green bananas as food. Green bananas are widely
eaten as substitute for plantains. Another coping strategy is eating more rice. In
the past when people had enough cocoyams to eat, rice was only eaten onece a
year, on Christmas day. As the traditional staple foods became less available,
the Ngie people had to purchase rice. Rice that was eaten once a year has
almost become a daily meal. The reason for eating more rice is because it is less
expensive and is available. A few cups of rice can feed a whole family as rice
expands when it is cooked.

Another coping strategy is that the rural women depend on relatives that
live outside the Ngie clan. Money, soap, clothing, bread, food, etc are sent to the
rural villages. Most of the relatives live in the urban region. Some work with the
government or private agencies. Others are traders. Some relatives live in other
rural areas where agriculture is more productive and are able to support their
relatives back home with the sales of their farm produce.

Some women cope with hunger by engaging in petty trading to augment
their needs. Unfortunately, most of the women are involved in low income

generating activities.

94

Some others rural farmers cope with hunger by reducing their rations and
eating unsatisfactorily, thereby creating conditions of malnutrition.

Some rural families add eating of nuts as snacks. In school, during break
time, some children have nothing to eat, but they go under palm trees to look for
palm nuts and palm kennels. They crack the kennels with stones. Some harvest
nuts from the forest like bush mangoes, (wild forest mangoes) monkey cola, cola
nuts, cashews nuts and many others types of nuts.

In summary, food shortage is occurs due to -: soil infertility, long dry
spells, pythium root rot commonly known as panama, corn borer, animal grazing
problem or animal crop destruction, short fallow periods shortage of labor, poor

storage facilities and bad farm practices.
Section 3. Cultural and Socio Economic Conditions of

Rural Women Farmers
Gender Problems

Culturally, there is societal inequality in the clan. Margaret Leahy (1986)
made this observation during research in Mexico. This comes as a result of
perceptions and beliefs of the people. In Ngie, the belief is that women should
traditionally be submissive and respectful of husbands and men are in position of
authority. They believe that women who are not submissive and respectful of the
males would create problems for her family. No man want to be married to a
disrespectful wife for fear that the woman’s behavior would transfer to others in

the family. Mothers, mother— in- laws, and other women also are affected by this

95

inequality of treatment. This results in women being placed in an inferior position
both socially and economically.

Women do not have a say in family planning. The man dictates to the wife
what she has to do and he may decide to punish her, if she disobeys. Most men
take family decisions without consulting their wives. A woman becomes a victim
of abuses and suppression. As a result, she becomes submissive and dependent
on her husband. She does what the husband wants her to do, for she is not
allowed to make any decision of her own.

Culturally, the female children are expected to be good in order to have
men marry them. Mothers whose daughters were married were asked if they, as
mothers, gave them advice before going to marry? They said they did. One
woman said, “ I told my daughter to work hard on the farm and in the home. Men
do not like lazy women and she must obey her husband and do what ever he
tells her to do”. Another woman said, “I advised my daughter not to go get into
any argument with the husband. She must respect the husband and his family
members”. In addition “she must provide food for the children and the husband
every day, and to do this, it requires hard work”. While the men initiate this
inequality, mothers also contribute. Mothers try to make their married daughters
practice behavior that is not in conﬂict with the male culture, especially when they
are going to get married. In order words, both males and females cause gender
subordination in the culture. When females get married they are expected to
follow the advice of their mothers so they are in submission to their husbands.

Many women call their husband “Masa” (Master).

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Palm Oil Processing and Marketing

When processing the palm nuts, the male cuts or pays someone to cut the
nuts. The woman cooks the nuts for making the palm oil. Making palm oil is hard
and time consuming. Crude, local ways are used in processing the palm oil. See
ﬁgure 2 below. The nuts are cooked. The cooking takes much ﬁrewood. The
woman takes them to the place where the nuts are processed. This place is
usually near a stream locally called “ishim”. The ishim is constructed with stones
on which the nuts are placed and mashed. Below the stones is a hole or pond
ﬁlled with water for the raw palm oil to settle. The raw oil is yellow in color. This
hole has an outlet for the water. This outlet during processing is covered with
palm nut chaff. The woman uses her bare feet to mash the cooked palm nuts.
Then she uses the water in the hole to water the nuts so that the raw oil drains
into the hole below. She separates the nuts from the chaff. She then gathers the
raw palm oil ﬂoating on the water. Two women may jointly do the processing.
One might be mashing the nuts with her feet, while the other woman waters the
nuts, separates the chaffs from the nuts and remove the raw palm oil. Figure 2

shows how palm nut is extracted.

97

Figure 2. Palm oil processing in “Ishim”

    

Supporting
Stick :>

  

 

Stream
When ﬁnished she lets the water out for the next woman. She carries the raw

palm oil to the house and cooks it till the oil turns red. This process requires a
large quantity of ﬁrewood and time also. Kernels the inner part of the nuts are
cracked and eaten as nuts. Oil is made from it too. Palm nuts kernel is also used
as fuel. The chaff of palm nut is used as fuel and also for lighting ﬁre.

The palm oil is carried to the market. Money earned is given to the
husband. The wife is not allowed to use part of the palm oil money to buy beef or

food that the household needs. She might be bullied or beaten if she uses part of

98

the money. The women intimated that they suffer physically during the palm oil
processing. They indicated that they needed an oil mill that will help them to
process their palm nuts. This would provide additional time to go to the farm
instead of wasting time processing the palm nut for the men.
The Husband and Women’s Money
A husband expects his wife to give him money whenever she has it.
Women said they have meeting groups where they deposit money for others in
need. Money may be borrowed from these deposits. At the end of the year, each
woman’s share of money is given back to her including the interest. When she
arrives home, she gives the money to her husband. Some husbands, to be sure
that the wife gave them the right amount of money, go to other meeting group
women to verify the amount of money their wives got from the meeting. If the
amount is less, the wife will be in big trouble.
One woman was depressed because she did not contribute anything

to the family. She said, “My husband always abuses me verbally and tells me
that I do not contribute anything to the family. I am so sad and poor that I am
unable not contribute anything” For her and the husband contributing to the
family well-being is only giving money to the husband. Most of the women
indicated giving money to their husbands whenever they have money. The
general concern was that women must give money to their husbands. They give
the money to their husbands to pay the children’s school fees. One woman said,
“her husband buys palm wine for himself with the money she gives him. Nothing

is purchased for the household". The practice of women giving the little money

99

they have to their husbands leaves them poor and dependent on the men. This
aspect of the culture treats the women as slaves.
Women and Economic Condition

The women are involved primarily in low income generating activities. The
low-income activities are-: buying and selling palm wine, groundnuts (peanuts),
and rice. These goods are purchased in small quantities because they do not
have enough money to buy in large bulk. For this reason, the women indicated
that they needed increased capital to do better business and to improve their
living standard.

The women were asked if any of them had borrowed money this year.
Many afﬁrmed they had done so. Next they were asked from what source did
they borrow the money? Most of them said from their village group meetings
commonly known as cell, and from women’s group meetings. A few of the
women said they had borrowed money from loan schemes. They were also
asked if they had ever borrowed money from the govemment’s farmer's bank?
Not one had borrowed money from this source. When asked what they do with
the money that they borrow from their meetings, some said they gave it to their
husband to pay the children’s school fees; other borrowed the money for health
reasons. A few women borrowed money for trading. Group meetings in this
culture are good because they support the women. Apart from borrowingmoney,
group-meeting members help each other socially and/or are supportive in times

of happiness or sorrow. Most women’s groups have farming groups where each

100

day they farm and plant each other's farm. This gives the rural women the spirit
of teamwork, socialization, stress reduction and reduction of burden.
Control of Plantains.

Culturally, the men control plantains. Plantains are planted at the
immediate surrounding of the house. Women weed grass and put manure under
the plantains. The men pin down sticks to support the plantain from falling. Most
women complained that they are not allowed to cut plantains or bananas even
when there is no food in the house. Furthermore they have no right to cut and
sell in the market to buy household needs without permission from their
husbands. One woman volunteered, “if the husband gives her the plantain to
sell, she must bring back all the money or she gets into trouble with him”.
Widows whose sons live in urban areas, and, their mothers are at home, sell and
keep the money.

Control of Fowls

In the villages, the people rear local fowls for personal consumption and to
sell. The men have total control over the fowls. Fowls are not killed for family
meals. A man kills a fowl when receiving important guests, marriage and
traditional celebrations. When there is no important purpose for killing any fowl,
the fowls keep accumulating until fowl disease kills most of them. Even when the
fowl disease is present, the men will still not kill the fowls even for home
consumption. They would rather leave the fowls to die than to consume them.

The men hope that one or two will survive to generate more. During the disease

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period, some men only try to treat the disease with local herbs. As a result, most
of the fowls die.

During group meetings, the women told the investigator that, in the past,
women were not allowed to eat fowl. Women can now eat fowl, but the man is
the one who processes the chicken and gives it to the woman to cook. When fowl
is cooked, only the man shares it. During a group meeting with the women, one
woman shared that her husband asked her to cook a fowl, which he had cut into
parts. The woman informed the husband that the food was ready. The husband
asked if she had put enough salt in it. The wife afﬁrmed. Her response infuriated
the husband. The husband said, "So you tested the food. You weren’t supposed
to do that". Another woman commented that she went to the market one day and
purchased a small young hen. She brought it home and reared it. The hen
became mature, laid eggs and hatched both hen and cooks. She decided to kill
one of her cocks. She started chasing the cock. A neighbor asked her why she
was running after the cock? She told them that she wanted to cook it. The
neighbor told her that “women do not cook fowl for their own use and that it
should be the husband who does that”. The woman told the neighbor that the
husband is not home and the children were hungry. The neighbor asked her to
look for another man in her family who would kill the cock, out it in parts and
share it when cooked. The woman who narrated the story said that she grew up
in an urban area where women kill, cook and share fowls. She said to the
neighbor, “ I suffered, went to the market and bought a young hen, then reared it

alone. When it comes to eating, you will tell me to ask a man to share my fowl?”

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The woman caught the cock, killed it and cooked it for the children. She ended by
saying that the village composed a song about her and they made her miserable
and unhappy. She ended that “many husbands in the village are not comfortable
when she is friendly with their wives, for they think that she would teach their
wives to do the killing of fowls”. Usually in the clan, when anybody does an
unusual thing, his or her name is put in a song. This aspect of the culture puts

stress on the individual and the women feel ashamed.

Rural Women and Polygamy

Most women expressed that men do not help them to do any house or
farm work. The village man spends his time drinking palm wine from morning till
night. When he returns home he bothers his wife or wives and in some cases
beat them up. The women complained that their husbands spent their money
drinking and did not contribute food money. The action of some husbands makes
the woman stressed, unhappy and over loaded with work. The cultural aspect of
men’s behavior is not supportive of the women’s production systems. The
women bear the majority of the burden.

Women were asked if their husbands have other wives. Table 14 indicates
their responses. Though polygamy is an accepted practice in the clan, thirty of
the women interviewed their husbands had just one wife. Fourteen women were
married to husbands who had other wives. A man is inﬂuenced to marry multiple

wives depending on his wealth and the amount of land he possesses.

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Table 14. Husbands having more than one w lfe

 

 

Has your husband Number of

another wife? women Percent
no 30 68.2
yes 14 31.8
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

The women interviewed are more in support of monogamous marriages. They
reasoned that many problems could be avoided that were generated in
polygamous marriages. One woman commented, “One husband can not love two
wives the same. My husband loves the other wife more than me and he shows
her more favors. I am always angry when I know of it. This keeps me unhappy
most of the time”. Another woman said, “Some problems faced in a polygamous
home are caused by other women. I am the first wife. I have seven children with
my husband. My husband decided to marry a second wife. When this woman
came in, she told our husband not to have any sexual dealings with me because
I am old. She told our husband that if he continues to have dealings with me, she
would leave. Since our husband loves the younger wife more and was afraid that
he might loose her, he stopped all dealing with me. I have to do everything alone
as a single woman"

The idea of many wives adds more burdens and stress on the women.
Most men show favoritism. They do not have enough money to care for their
children. This causes great suffering to raise the children. This makes the woman
work too hard and her energy is reduced. Too much work makes them look older

than their age. They are weighed down with much work, thereby making them

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less productive. In some cases, the wives do not live in peace. They quarrel most
of the time and do not have peace of mind.

On the other hand, polygamous marriage can be advantageous as some
women explained. They said when one is sick or just had a baby, the other wife
cares for her. Others commented that when they are too busy, the other wife
cooks for all the children. If one of the wives does not have children, the wife with
children would let the children help the barren one. In some cases they share
each other’s farm work. Some women, when they are out of needed items like
salt which they cannot buy at that time, would ask to borrow from the other wife.
Some married mates develop mutual understand among themselves.

The women were asked what advice would they give their husbands that
would help to ease their work?

Suggested Advice from the Women to their Husbands

The husbands should -:
1. Not drink too much rafﬁa wine or beer because it causes

problems.

2. Help in the farm work, clearing, weeding, ﬁlling, and
staking of beans.

3. Provide food money especially during times of
hungen

4. Always provide meat.

5. Baby-sit while the wife is on the farm.

6. Cook for and feed the children when the wife is

on the farm.

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7. Give the wife some cooked food to eat.
8. Allow the women to control their own money.
9. Equally consider them for bride price when their daughters
are getting married.
10.Share drinks and food equally and join women during
wake service.
11. Stop marrying many wives. They can never love all
their wives equally.
12. Plan with the wife ways to meet family needs.
13. Be educated and encouraged to learn more about
family planning. Many do not want to practice birth control.
14. Help as much as possible to prevent their domestic animals
from destroying the women’s’ crops.
15. Help make fences on their wives’ farm to prevent animals
from destroying their crops.
16. Love their wives as they love themselves.
17. Treat their wives with respect.
18. Allow women to eat meat, chicken as the men do.
19. Give women their rights of freedom-freedom of expression
and speech.
20. Allow women to have equal opportunity and roles in

community, for there are more men in village councils.

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Women and Land Tenure

The women have no heritage rights over property. They do not have
property rights when they are in their parent’s household or when they are
married. Land heritage is patrilineal in Ngie not matrilineal. During group
meetings the women indicated that they want the culture to start considering
women in heritage issues. Some women expressed the opinion that they can
take care of the family land as well as men do. The women cultivate their
husband’s farmland but when there is a divorce, the ex-husbands will not allow
them to cultivate on the land, even if the women take care of the children. On the
other hand, when they return to their fathers compound, they have to beg their
fathers or brothers for some land to farm. Usually, land is loaned to them on a
temporary basis. In some cases their brothers will complain that there is no land
to farm.
Socio-Cultural Interaction Between Men and Women

When a rural Ngie man and his wife attend a tribal celebration for
example, death the man walks ahead of the wife. He is well dressed, carrying
nothing but his walking stick or cane. The woman follows behind him carrying the
baby on her back. On her head is the husband’s jug of palm wine for the
celebration. On her arm is a basket of food for the celebration. When there is a
tribal ceremony, men bring palm wine while women bring food. Even during

leisure time activities the women still carry the “load”. One woman shared that

107

she watches to see if man will carry a baby when both husband and wife are
going to a celebration or friendly visit.

Several death, birth and marriage ceremonies were attended to observe
the interaction between men and women. In a death ceremony, a man stood up
to give a response to the host who just ﬁnished speaking. In his response, he
gave a contrary perspective to what the host had said. What he was saying was
not appropriate. A woman then asked him to sit down. The man became furious
and said “who are you to tell me to sit down, a woman talking to a man! Women
are only to be seen, not heard. A woman has the nerve to ask me to sit down,
this culture is changing for worse. If you talk to your husband the way you talked
to me, then do not take that bad behavior out of your house. Do not open your
fangs any more. You must learn to respect a man”.

In that death ceremony, meat and fowl were cooked. The meat was
shared among women. And the men ate the chicken. In another instance, also a
death ceremony, people were conversing. A woman who was sitting nearby
disagreed with a speaker and tried to give her opinion. The speaker that she
addressed became angry and asked her to be quiet. “Who are you to intervene
when a man is speaking"? He concluded, “a woman has no voice to speak to a
man and that she should learn to respect a man". The attitude of men still
suggests that women are being suppressed in the clan. This attitude frustrates
the women. They are never given opportunity to express their views. Most
women, for fear of being bullied by a man, prefer to keep quiet to avoid unhappy

confrontations.

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During group meetings women complained that when someone is dead, it
is only the women who are the mourners and will spend several days at the place
where the death occurred. When it comes to food and drinks however, the men
take the largest share. Another death celebration was witnessed where there
was palm wine, beer and sweet drinks (pops or sodas). The men were given their
choices. The women were given a bottle of soda or sweet drink to be shared by
two or three women. The women were never asked their preference.

Women complained that they are not pleased with the way they are
treated when their daughters get married. One of them said,“ I alone carried the
baby in my stomach for nine months. When the baby was born, it was I who
looked for food to feed the baby, when the baby was sick; it was me who went to
the traditional doctor or hospital. When our daughter was getting married, my
husband and family members arranged for dowry. Money was given to family
members and my husband got the largest share. The only promise given me was
more land to cultivate”. The women argued that they should be considered
equally as men. The women who raised the children are never considered as
equals even during the paying of bride price. This is one more act of suppression
found in the culture.

Women did not want to say anything bad about their husbands. When the
women were asked how was the relationship with their husbands, most of them

indicated that their relationship was good. Table 15 indicates their responses.

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Table 15. Women's relationship with husbands

 

 

 

 

Women rating Statistics

husbands attitude Number of women Percent
V90! 900d 1 2.3
good 37 84.1
bad 5 11.4
very bad 1 2.3
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

Thirty-seven women said that their relationship with the husband is good.
Only ﬁve women interviewed said the relationship with the husband is bad. When
asked about other things that portray good relationship with the husbands, the
responses did not match up with “the good husband relationship”. Forty-one of
the women responded that their husbands had compelled them to do work for

them. Table 16 shows their responses.

Table 16. Women compelled by husbands to do work for them

 

 

Responses to question Number of women Percent
No 3 6.8
Yes 41 93.2
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

In response to the question “Has your husband bullied you?” there was
a hundred percent yes to the answer. When asked if your husband has beaten
you? Nearly seventy percent (30) women said yes. Fourteen women said their

husbands had never beaten them. Table 17 below indicates their responses.

Table 17. Women beaten by husband

 

 

Responses to question Number of women Percent
No 14 31 .8
Yes 30 68.2
Total 44 100.0

 

 

 

 

 

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In general, the Ngie clan experiences gender-based subordination. This
behavior is deeply entrenched in the consciousness of both men and women.
The women talk of good relationships with husband when in fact most of them
are bullied, forced against their wills and perhaps beaten. For the women, it is
normal for a man to do these things. One woman said, “If some one does
something wrong, that person deserves to be beaten”. She did not “blame her
husband” for beating her. Another said, " my husband always told me, he bought
me with his money. Therefore I must always obey him. He is the one who
decides for everything. I was beaten sometimes for opposing him”. Most men
never treat their wives the way they want the wives to treat them. This cultural
behavior has striped power from the woman. The culture treats the woman as a
slave and makes her dependent on the man. Women have been weakened and
made powerless. The women have no conﬁdence and sense of creativity. This
might be one of the reasons why many of them continue to farm the very same
way that their great-grand mothers did. Farming is done without thinking of ways
of changing their methods of farming in a changing society. When one is
depressed, one cannot think to be more creative.

Men’s Perspective about Women and Culture

An elderly man, whose wife was interviewed earlier, believes that some
aspects of the role of women in the culture have changed. He believes that the
change is in a negative direction. “Today women are eating fowls whereas in the
past women did not. This practice is going against the tradition”. He further

replied that the men are responsible for giving the women fowl. He said,

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“women who come from urban areas grumble when you do not give them their
share of fowl. The rural women now insist on eating fowl too. Women are trying
to gain the right to talk to men rudely. They do not have respect for men as in the
past. My wife sometimes does not control the way she speaks to me. They are
supposed to be seen only. Today, there are more marriage problems than in the
past. This is because women want more rights. Left to me alone, the original
good tradition should be maintained and women should be put in their right
places. The traditional society is now turning to the White man’s culture. There is
no more respect for men and there is no good order in the society as it was in the
past, even children no longer obey their parents. Oh! The old good days are
gone”

Another man said, “ When men are drinking sometimes they talk about
women. Men don’t like women who are lazy and men do not like women who talk
to them disrespectfully. The culture expects women to respect men, obey, and do
what is required of them. Some women instead of giving money to their
husbands give the money to their brothers or relatives. This is wrong” Another
commented, some women argue with their husbands forgetting that they were
bought with the money. Anything that a woman has belongs to the husband. The
man is the head of the family and he makes decision for the family. The present
generations of women don’t seem to understand this and they try to create

problems ”

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Decision Making

Women have no power to make decisions in their family. Only the man
decides for the family. This has made the women lose the sense of taking
decisions even for things that concern them. For example, the Cameroon
President’s wife gave some farm tools to women of different tribes in Cameroon
through CEERAC, a non-govemmental organization created by the President’s
wife based in Yaounde, Cameroon. Those for Ngie women were given to some
Ngie women representatives. The women representatives called women leaders
from different villages to come and decide how the things could be shared. The
investigator attended the meeting to see the decisions that the women would
make. During the meeting, some women suggested that since the gift was too
small to be divided, the Ngie union of farmers ofﬁce could keep the things for
needy women to borrow. After using the farm tools, she could return them to
NUFAC. Other women insisted on taking the tools to the Administrator to let him
to decide how to share them. The tools they had were hoes, cutlasses, and
wheelbarrows. Some other women said the women on their own couldn’t decide
on what to do with the farm tools. After some discussion, the tools were left for
the District Ofﬁcer to make the decision. The tools were at the end shared at the
direction of the District Ofﬁcer. Before the tools were shared, the District Ofﬁcer,
the Mayor of Andek rural council, the member of the economic council and the
Ngie CPDM representative, each of them took a hoe and a cutlass. These men
were richer than the women but they got the biggest share of the little gifts. If the

women had taken decision to share the gift, those men would not have taken

113

anything. The women took the tools to the District Ofﬁcer to direct the sharing
because the women lost their decision making power.
The Role of Women and Religion

In the Ngie clan, there are three main religions, the pagans, Muslims, and
the Christians. Andek and Etwii women are mostly Christian. The Borolo (Fulani)
women in these two villages are Muslims. The women regard the church more
for social reasons rather than spiritual. Some women see the church as a place
where God would heal their wounds. They see the church as a coping
mechanism for addressing the socio cultural and socio economic problems that
they face. Women make more than three quarters of the members of each
congregation. When interviewed, some women said, “The words from the Bible
help them to forget a lot of the things they go through”. One woman commented,
” the Bible teaches us not to put our heads on earthly things. I do not care much
for what I am going through on earth, for the world is just a passing place”. Most
women join church groups like: Christian women fellowship (CWF), Catholic
women association (CWA), Baptist women union (BWU), choir groups and
Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF). They saw these groups as a sort of comfort.
When they or their immediate family dies these groups would come to give the
bereaved family members comfort. They would sing and dance the whole night.
One woman commented, “ I belong to the Hallelujah Choir. When my husband
died, the choir sang and contributed food and money to my family. This is a way
we help other group members”. Another woman said, “I attend BWU group

meetings because we learn how to solve some of our problems that we face in

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our society. Whenever I am in the group meetings we talk, discuss and sing. I
forget my problems. The group activity keeps me happy. Some of the things we
discuss gives me comfort”. One woman said, “I have learned a lot from CWF. For
example, today, I am able to make soap which gives me a small income”.
Another woman said, “When my husband died, the group came to sing and
contributed food and money to my family. At least this helped me for sometime”.
Another woman shared, “When I die, the CWF will come and stimulate the
environment with Christian song". Only one woman said that, “Since the world is
against her, the only person she looks up to for everything is God. The church
can be seen as one of the ways women try to solve their problems.
Pastors Perceptions of the Role of Women

Two pastors from the research focus region were interviewed. As religious
leaders, both afﬁrmed that the culture is suppressing the women. One said “The
church preaches love to people and tells them to love others, including the wives
as they would love themselves”. The other said, “In our churches, we have
formed Christian Men Fellowship (CMF). The men are taught many of things
including their behavior towards their wives. The pastorsdo their best to reach
everybody”. The Christian religion has been preaching for many years. “Why is it
that the men have not abandoned this bad aspect of the culture”? One pastor
said, “A few people cannot change a culture. It will take the whole clan to change
it. It seems people are not yet ready to give up this aspect of the culture. Men are
beneﬁting more from the old culture than the women". The other said, “we do

preach on bad aspect of the tradition, but we cannot put an end to such

115

practices”. While the pastors see the church as spreading the word of God and
teaching people good habits, the women see the church as a social entity that
helps them to solve their problems or heal their wounds. The church is helping
the women socially and economically. It taught women craft, needlework, knitting
and cooking to generate income. It also helps them to “behave" when in difﬁcult
sﬁuaﬁons.
Income Generating Activities

Some activities of the rural women may contribute to low income while
others may reduce their power of production. The rural women tend to be
involved only in low-income generating activities. Some women leave their home
early in the morning for the rafﬁa bush to carry rafﬁa wine. They cover a distance
of ﬁve to ten miles or maybe even more, on foot. They carry about twenty liters of
palm wine home to those who buy and sell in bars before going to their farms on
that same day. Canying the heavy jug of wine for long distances saps their
energy. Going to farm to work that same day reduces their power of work and
reduces valuable time that could have been spent on the farm. Some women
leave Etwii or Andek for Mengum market. They buy palm oil from twenty to thirty
liters, and carry them on their head or back, climbing and descending steep-hills.
They trek for three to four hours to the market to buy the oil. When they bring the
oil home, they go to the Tad market located outside of the clan, carrying this
heavy load on their heads and trekking for three to ﬁve hours to the market.
Others walk long distances to the Ngwaw market to buy cocoyams or groundnuts

(peanuts). One woman bought rafﬁa wine for 1300 francs (about $1.50) and sold

116

it for 1500 francs ($2.00) Her gain was about 50 cents. The women were asked if
they subtracted the cost of the food they ate, time and energy? One woman
replied that she did not buy the food but she harvested it from her farm. She
could not subtract it from her gain. Another woman said, “we think about the cash
gain only. The little money gain helps me to buy some magi to put in my food”.
She thinks that she has gained something. The time spent on the business, the
energy wasted, and food that she ate on the way is not calculated in the gain. In
fact she did not gain anything. This type of business does not generate income.
The women were asked why they could not do business that would give
them more money and less suffering? Most of the women replied that they do not
have the money to do bigger business. Capital is what they need. There was no
woman in the rural area functioning as a full time trader. The women are “jack of
all trade but master of none”. They would like to do everything and not specialize
in anything. This idea is also seen in their mixed crop farming system. They want
to plant all the crops she needs whether the soil is good or is not good for that
crop. There is no specialization in crop farming.
Institutional Environment

Governmental and Institutional Relationships
Projects

In Ngie, there are several projects instituted with the aim of helping the rural
people alleviate hunger and poverty. These projects were designed to aid in the
development of the rural people. The projects have faced a variety of problems.
Observation and comments from those interviewed supported the notion that

there is a level of disconnectedness among governmental and non-govemmental

117

Organizations’ interactions with the Ngie rural women farmers. Income
generating projects have not helped the women. These projects made the
women poorer and more dependent. Some projects are too small and have not
proven economically viable. Women have not gained from most of the projects.
If there was any gain, it was inadequate. One of the failures of the projects is
mismanagement and lack of technical skills, especially by those who executed
the projects. Each project is described and related problems are identiﬁed.

1. Ngie Integrated Rural Development Project (SNV-NIRDP)

The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) sponsors this project. The

project was started in Ngie in July 1997 and covers the entire Ngie Sub-

division.
The main objective of the project is to improve the social and economic situation
of the rural population in Ngie with special emphasis on improving the economic
conditions of the rural women. The project has four components; agriculture,
marketing, institutional development and gender.
a) Agricultural Component

SNV has very good intentions. Interviewing women who took part in this

project, revealed many disconnected factors. During one meeting, the project
staff told the women that they were going to help them improve their living
standard. This would be done by working with them in their group farming
activities. Most women had formed farm groups. SNV-NIRPD conducted fact-
ﬁnding activities with the women to ascertain what types of crops did well in their

region. The women provided this information. Furthermore, production would be

118

improved if treatment for the disease that destroyed cocoyams and plantains was
utilized. The women were asked to plant the crops that do best in their localities.
The women compiled and planted one or two of the following cropsz- plantain,
cocoyams, plantain/cocoyams, cassavas and Irish potatoes. The project ofﬁcers,
when interviewed, said that when they were about to start the project, the
farmers told them that they instead needed fertilizers. The farmers, on the other
hand had a different story. Many shared that they needed medicine to treat
panama and fertilizer for their crops rather than growing the crops that SNV-
NIRDP suggested. The SNV-NIRDP authorities did not have conﬁdence in the
judgment of the farmers therefore they did not listen to the farmers’ complaints.
Failure to listen to the women again illustrates a disconnect factor. SNV-NIRDP
staff dictated to the women farmers rather than involving the women in the
decision-making processes, thereby compounding this “disconnect” factor.

In preparation, tillage, and planting, the SNV-NIRDP staffs dictated what
was to be done. The women farmers group that took cocoyams was told to plant
big edible cocoyams. The women informed that the SNV authorities that “In Ngie
we don’t plant the big edible cocoyams, we plant suckers and small cocoyams”.
The SNV-NIRDP ofﬁcers told them that they had to listen to SNV-NIRDP
representatives and do what they were told. When the cocoyams were
purchased, the farmers called SNV staff to come and inspect the cocoyams
before planting. The women brought the big cocoyams for inspection and the
project ofﬁcers approved them before planting. When the cocoyams were

planted, the crops did not do well.

119

Women who planted plantains were asked to plant very small suckers.
They were also told to take off all the roots of the plantain sucker before planting.
The farmers reluctantly planted small suckers. The farmers commented that it
was not the practice to cut off all the roots when planting plantain suckers in
Ngie. Again, they were told what to do even though it was against their long time
practice.

Cassava stems were brought from the SW province of Cameroon, which
has a hot climate, to Ngie in the Northwest province of the country, a cold
climate. These two regions have contrasting climates, ﬂora, soils and methods of
farming cassavas are also different. The SNV-NIRDP directed them to plant the
cassavas without ridging and when the cassava starts to grow, soil should be
added. This is what is done in the Southwest. The farmers told them that beds
are prepared before planting the cassavas. The farmers did as they were told.
The cassavas did not do well in most places. They did well in two places, Teze
and Angong, for these places had a coastal climate. Most of the plantain group
farms did not do well especially those of Etwii; but it did well in Azem, a region
that falls in the hot forest zone.

When the project staff saw that most of the crops were not doing well,
they asked the women from each different group to sign a paper. The women
signed the papers without knowing what they were signing, since most of the
women were illiterate. When the women’s groups had signed these papers, the
SNV project ofﬁcers then levied each group an amount to pay. The women

questioned why they should pay this money. They were then informed that the

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-‘

cassava, plantain suckers, cocoyams and Irish potatoes that they planted were a
loan, it had to be paid back. The women group farmers told them that they did
not know that it was a loan and have not money to pay back. The SNV project
ofﬁcers threaten to take them to court.

The women saw the author of the research as one who has come to solve
their problems and they contacted her. Many farming groups complained to the
investigator about the loan. They pleaded that they were never told from the
beginning that it was a loan. They wanted the investigator to intervene. The
investigator told them that she had come to study their farming practices and not
as an advocate. The women were unhappy with the researcher’s response.
Eventually, a meeting was held with all the groups involved in the SNV projects.
The project coordinator brought in two gendarmes (police) to the meeting. During
this meeting, the farmers were asked to pay their loan. The farmers replied that
they were not informed at the beginning that it was a loan. Furthermore, the
crops did not do well enough for them to sell. The farmers refused to pay the
loan. One woman requested to speak, a gendarme command her to sit down,
“you are not here to quarrel but to pay your loan”. Women were intimidated by
the presence of the gendarmes and refused to express their views for fear that
the gendarmes or the law ofﬁcers would put them in jail. When the intelligent bold
women put up their hands to speak the SNV project coordinator ignored them.
When these women realized that he was doing that on purpose, they stood up to
talk but the coordinator and the gendarmes hushed them. The project coordinator

told the women that they had money in the Ngie credit union. He insisted that

121

group representatives must withdraw the money and give to him today, not
tomorrow. As the gendarmes were present, farmers were afraid to speak or to
resist making the payments. The women told the investigator that they were
afraid of the law officers who could put them to jail if they continue to resist
payment. With fear, the group leaders quickly signed for the withdrawal. The
SNV coordinator, the gendarmes and the women went to the credit union to
withdraw the money and gave it to the SNV project coordinator.

Individual farmers groups had opened their account many years before.
They had raised money by individual yearly registration and by doing various
activities such as molding of blocks for builders, work in farms for others, clearing
farms and doing various jobs. Some had opened their accounts as far back in
1993 and 1994 before the coming of SNV project. All that they had suffered for
years to accumulate was taken in one day. The women were so disappointed.
One woman told the researcher that, “all our labor all these years is in vain”.
Women’s groups that did not have money in the credit union but individuals, who
had private accounts in the local farmer’s bank, had their money conﬁscated for
payment of the group loan. Farmer groups that had no money to pay for the loan
were threatened. When the SNV-NIRDP project ofﬁcers saw that these groups
were ﬁrm on not paying the loan, and that this might call unwanted attention,
perhaps scandals, announced that they “forgave” the loan. Those groups forced
to withdraw their bank money and money conﬁscated from private savings were
never refunded. Some of the women were asked if the money that was

conﬁscated was ever refunded. Their response was, “not even a franc or cent.”

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This action brought weakness to the farmers. Some groups ended their
existence. The Ngie union of farmers found it difﬁcult to bring the farmer’s groups
together again.

The aftermath of the SNV-NIRDP’s actions was devastating. Those farms
that did not do well were standing almost empty. For example, the Bonanyang
farmer’s group cocayam and plantain farm was almost empty. In some places,
two years old cassava grew well. When you uproot them, there is no tuber under
them. In one farmer’s group farm in Etwii, two years old plantains plants were just
like those at three months, taunted and brownish as if they lacked fertilizer. Most
plants did not bear plantain. Those that did had only one or two ﬁngers plantains
on them.

Tinakok farmer’s group that planted Irish potatoes said potatoes did well.
Unfortunately, they did not have a market to sell the potatoes since it is not a
staple food of the region. The SNV project ofﬁcers promised to help them ﬁnd
markets. They took some potatoes to sell and brought back just part of the
money. One of Ajei farmer’s potato group said that the Irish potatoes plants did
well but when harvesting found that most were rotten.

The Angong women cassava group farm did well. The cassavas were still
in the farm when the investigator left the region. They were never harvested
because they had no machine for processing. The SNV-NIRDP promised to
bring them a grinding machine but failed to bring it. The chief went to see another
Non governmental organization in Bamenda in the Northwest province to rent

their processing machine. The cost was too much for him or his women to pay.

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Consequently, the cassavas were abandoned on the farm. The women had
wasted their time and energy for the project.
SNV-NIRDP behavior is indicated in ﬁgure 3 below.

Figure 3. Diagram Explaining the Experiences of SN V and The Rural
Farmers in Ngie

 

 

 

 

SNV-NIRDP package . Ngie Farmers Needs and
expectations
Agricultural component Fertilizer,
Marketing component Panama
Institutional development treatment
Gender
6
Dictate
Force—e Gendarmes
(Police)

The straight line in the middle is the boundary between SNV-NIRDP and the Ngie farmers. There
was no meaningful communication between the two parties for change and development to
occur. None of the ideas crossed the line. There was dissonance or there was no connection for
communication and development to take place. So the project failed. What is left in the minds of
the farmers is force by the use of gendarmes by SNV-NIRDP coordinator to get money from the
poor farmers from their accounts in the local credit union. This left the farmers poorer than they
went in.

Marketing Component

The SNV involvement in the market component according to some
respondents was positive. The farmers gained marketing skills as they were
taught many things, including record keeping. One respondent said, “the
marketing training is good but what can I market when crops are not doing well?

The training would have been more proﬁtable if I had something to sell”.

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Road Construction

The SNV undertook a road construction project. Before the road
construction project, the roads were very bad and in most places impassable.
One British person who visited the region in 1997 described the roads as cow
tracks. The few roads they reconstructed increased the rate of interaction with
the urban region for some time. During the rainy season, the roads go bad.
Introducing the use of Donkeys

SNV-NIRDP also introduced the use of donkeys. It was a good idea but
not without its frustrations. Five donkeys were brought in the region. From the
beginning, four out of ﬁve donkeys were not doing their job. One donkey user
would put a load on the donkey’s back. The donkey would not move. When the
load was removed from the donkey’s back, the donkey would start moving.
Another woman complained that her donkey would stop at every bridge or
stream and refuse to cross. Speculation was that the donkeys had been kept for
more than two months before putting them to use. The result, they probably
forgot their job. Authorities realized that the donkeys were not doing the work
they were supposed to do. A donkey’s “expert” was called to retrain the donkeys.
Most of the donkeys eventually did what they were supposed to do.

The SNV-NIRDP sent out letters to the people that there would be a
“stocktaking” seminar. The Ngie integrated development project had ﬁnished the
ﬁrst phase and was moving to the second phase in June 2001. The stocktaking
seminar was supposed to be an evaluation meeting. During the meeting, the

SNV staff members gave talks on the different components of their project. There

125

were four areas; one talked on agriculture, another on marketing, and another on
gender, and the last one talked on the road construction network. Pictures were
put on the wall of different components. The population was asked to look at
them and comment. At the end, a time was given for questioning. Each question
was written down. Reading and explanation came later.

A woman put up her hand and asked, “what were they going to do now
that the project has failed?” That woman’s question was evaded. This was an
important question however, for them to answer. An evaluation would have been
the better thing to do since they were moving from the ﬁrst phase to the second.
They lost a good opportunity to hear what went wrong and how to approach the
second phase. Evaluation is good at all stages of a project. The second stage
may be less successful unless there is a proper evaluation of the ﬁrst. Some of
the things they were saying were not consistent with the outcomes. For example
crops like cocoyams, plantain, cassava and Irish potatoes were presented as
doing well, whereas the project did not achieve expectations. Their evaluation
was just to brainwash the population. When asked to give examples of success
as they claimed, they identiﬁed a few individuals who had some success. This
obscured the fact that the SNV-NIRDP project involved many farmers’ groups in
the clan, not just few individuals.

This project did not meet expectations for several reasons. First, there
were no pre planning and evaluation guidelines. Secondly, SNV-NIRDP ignored
the indigenous knowledge of the people by bringing cassava stems from the

Southwest part of the country to the Northwest each with different fauna, ﬂora

126

and climatic zones. Bonatu was one of the quarters that planted cassava stems
from SNV-NIRDP. Bonatu was one of the places that produced the best
cassavas in Ngie. Those of SNV-NIRDP did not do well. SNV-NIRDP staff would
have improved the local cassava variety that is used to the climate and soil of the
region instead of importing cassava from outside. Thirdly, SNV project staff
refused to listen to the farmers. The women told them that they needed fertilizer
more than the varieties that they were told to plant. The SNV did not listen to
their demands or needs. Fourthly, the SNV project staff dictated how the women
were to plant. The communication was top down, a one-way channel. When the
women were asked to plant cassava, cocoyams and plantain in a certain way the
women informed them that in Ngie our planting methods are different. The reply
was, “do what you have been told”. The women were not empowered. Fifthly,
follow up of the project was not appropriate. For example some groups cleared
two or three farms before approval was given. Women were asked to clear a
farm ﬁfty by hundred feet or the size of a football (soccer) ﬁeld. Most women did
not know measurements. When they cleared one farm, the project staff would
refuse to let them use the farm since it did not comply the predetermined
measurements. The poor farmers would look then for another farm to clear. If the
project staff knew that the poor farmers did not know how to measure why didn’t
they deﬁne the size before they start clearing? One group cleared a farm on a
slope. The project ofﬁcers would not accept the farm because it was on a slope.
The group was asked to clear another farm. This was the third farm cleared

before approval was given. This idea of clearing many farms with only one

127

accepted wasted women’s time and discouraged many groups. Some women
gave up group work. More signiﬁcantly, the women were not properly educated
about the project. The project ofﬁcers asked the women to pay for the seeds or
suckers. This the women resented. They were not told at the beginning that the
seeds provided by the project for planting are a loan. The loan issue brought an
end to further involvement by many groups. The idea of conﬁscating their money
and forcing the women to withdraw what little money they had in the bank was
devastating.

Another reason that the project failed was greed on the part of project
staff. Prices were inﬂated in favor of project staff, for example, the cost of
transporting cassava, the amount of money spent on the mini agricultural show
and the amount of money each group paid for their seeds. The project executors
did not do experiments to plant the crops ﬁrst see if the crops would do well
before giving them out for the women to plant. Finally, the project executors
never welcomed suggestions from the women. Such information would help the
project be more effective. In the end, the center fell apart. The project helped to
scatter women’s groups and it discouraged women from further group work.

From the role of the women, they also contributed to the failure of this
project. The women did not work with all their hearts because it was a “group
thing”. Many preferred going to their own farms on group-farming day. As a
result, when groups gave up, the cassava stems were left unplanted. One group
not caring for group farming failed to protect the cassavas. The result was that

goats ate it up. In some cases there was lack of interest, gossip and jealousy

128

among the women and lack of trust for each other. This killed the spirit of

teamwork.

2. Women lnforrnation and Coordination Ofﬁce (WICO)

This organization is sponsored by Germany. This NGO is based in Batibo.
Although it is in a different district, it extended their project to some groups in
Ngie. As the authorities put it, “WICO is an autonomous rural development NGO
that focuses on liberation and development of rural women and other
disadvantaged groups”. Their main objective is to empower women by education
and helps to boost their market business through loans.

Several members of this project were interviewed. Some thought it would
have been a beneficial project but certain conditions made it unfavorable. One
interviewee said “the ﬁrst thing the project ofﬁcials did was to have meetings with
each group to learn what they wanted. Secondly, the women were trained in
business management before money was given to the groups”. She continued,
“Money is given according to one’s need. For example, a woman who wants to
trade in the buying and selling of palm oil, the cost of all the materials needed (
tins, funnels, etc) was added. The cost palm oil plus transportation to the market
plus feeding, was calculated to determine the amount of money given to the
group or an individual”.

This idea in theory is good. On the other hand, the group must ﬁrst pay ten
percent of the total amount to be borrowed. This is where the problems begin.

The women are poor and most frequently are not able to raise this ten percent up

129

front fee. Another said that her group got a loan from WICO. She added that
WICO gives borrowers a three-month grace period. This is adequate time to
start to pay back. If your group borrows $100 (72, 000 CAF Francs) for example,
the group will only pay half of the amount and the other half is put in the group’s
account. The loan is paid quarterly till the loan is completely paid off.

Another woman shared that there is an annual fee to be paid to the project
organization. Those who had borrowed money pay an annual charge of Five
thousand Francs and those that had not taken the loan pay an annual charge of
2,500 Francs. The loan is usually not given until the group pays the annual dues.
Often groups struggle to pay the annual fee. When a group needs money to do
business, this money may not always be given in a timely manner. WICO deals
with ﬁve women’s groups in Ngie.

The idea of WICO giving three months grace period is a good practice.
Making the women pay an annual fee makes the women poorer. Only those
groups that pay the annual dues are given a loan. It was hardship for women to
pay ten percent of the loan before the loan is awarded.

The objectives of this project are often not achieved, as it is difﬁcult for those
who do not have money to pay ten percent of the loan before the loan is given. If
one WICO’s aim was the liberation and development of rural women, then the
project has failed. Those who took part in this project were women who did not

fall in the disadvantaged group.

130

BERDSCO

The Canadians sponsored a non-govemmental organization called
Benevolent Education Rural Development Society and Community Organization.
(BERDSCO). One of their aims was to help women alleviate poverty by providing
loans to do business. The activities of this project experienced “disconnect
factors”. To be a member of BERDSCO, the registration fee was 2,500 CFA
francs. In addition, every member was asked to pay an insurance fee and
encouraged to open a savings account with the project. The registration and
insurance fees strained the ﬁnances of the women who were already poor.
Interviewees that had taken part in the project related that the project did not
fulﬁll its promise. For example, if a participant became a member and paid her
insurance fee, and she dies, the bereaved family was to receives 100, 000 CFA
francs (about 70 dollars). Reports from those interviewed were that, members
had died but families did not receive death beneﬁts as promised. Furthermore,
the deceased woman’s savings were never returned to the family. One woman
farmer who was in the project with her mother related that when the mother who
had paid the insurance fee died, she asked the project to give the 100,00er that
they had promised to the deceased’s family. The money was not given. The
daughter then asked the project coordinator “if you refuse to give the insurance
money, then you should give back my mother’s saving”. The daughter continued
“the project staff encouraged me to continue to deposit more money in my
deceased mother’s account until a reasonable amount of money was

accumulated before I get it. I stopped making deposits in my mother’s saving

I31

account. When the project coordinator resisted giving my mother’s saving, I
became angry and left the group project”.

The project ofﬁcers printed T-shirts for 2,500 FRS and forced the members to
buy. They did not tell the members that they were going to print T-shirts from the
beginning. If a member did not buy the T-shirt, when a loan was given the value
of the T-shirt was deducted from the loan amount.

. From the beginning the women were never told of a development fee. When
obtaining a loan, a 2,500er was deducted as development fee from each
member. If a woman applied for a loan of 20,000frs, 5, 000er was subtracted as
the development fee and T-shirt, leaving her with a balance of only 15,000frs.
This amount was inadequate to do business.

The women were told that the interest on their savings would be shared.
According to the women this never happened. Members savings deposits were
used to loan to other needy members. When a large group applied for a loan, the
group members were asked to create sub groups consisting of three to four
members. The main group might have five sub groups. On the day that they were
promised to receive the loan, all the members of the group would go to the
BERDSCO ofﬁce to receive the loan. The loan might only be given to one of the
sub-groups. The remaining four sub groups were asked to come next week.
When the remaining sub groups returned the following week, they might wait for
almost a whole day. Often the project staff would then tell the farmers that the
money had not arrived from their head ofﬁce. They were told again to come next

week. A whole day was wasted. This practice of go and come next week caused

132

the farmer to be unproductive. This going and coming might continue for more
than three months. During this time the project coordinator would tell those who
had not received the loan to start paying interest against the “promised” loan.
The rationale being that when the loan is given, they would not pay much
interest. These members kept paying interest for a loan which they had not
received. This practice increased the ﬁnancial burden on the poor farmers.
Instead of improving their financial capability, their impoverished condition was
worsened.

Some members ﬁnally realized that instead of gaining something from the
project they were actually loosing. They decided to leave the organization and
requested BERDSCO to return their accumulated savings deposits. BERDSCO
would tell them that if they withdrew from the project they would have to pay back
the entire loan. When the loan is paid back the insurance fee, interest gained and
savings deposit would be returned. Members would struggle to pay back the
entire loan to receive their savings. Even when they did this, their savings were
never refunded according to some of the women interviewed. This practice
frustrated members to the extent that they withdrew from the project anyway and
counted their lost insurance fee and savings deposits as “bad debt”.

Some respondents said that when the project ofﬁcers did give them a loan,
they had only one week of grace period before they must to start pay back the
loan. Another group of women said, “they gave us a loan last week and this week
they ask us to start paying back even when we have not been to the market to

sell something”.

133

One day, the BERDSCO coordinator reported one farming group to the
gendarrnerie (who are like police) because they had not paid their loan. The
gendarmes asked the group to appear at their ofﬁce. One of the women
interviewed said that the group had received money from BERDSCO. She
added “these women were supposed to have regular group meetings to discuss
issues on business or share experiences. It was also an opportunity to meet the
project staff that collected loan payments. Regular group meetings were not held
because the loan to the group was full of deductions and the money was
inadequate for doing business. Whenever the BERDSCO staff came to meet us
where we were supposed to have regular meetings. The women were never
there”. She continued, “when a woman asked for a loan, they would deduct
2,500er for the development fee and 2,500 for the T-shirt leaving the woman
practically with little money remaining in her hands. The money is not enough to
do business. So most of the women used the money for other things like paying
their children’s school fees or buying household needs. Finally, they have no
money to pay back. That was the reason why BERDSCO reported us to the
gendannesﬁ

Another woman who was the president of the BERDSCO group in her
village offered that they have regular meetings in their own group. When the
women were not able to pay back their loan, they explained it to the staff during
the group meeting. Usually the staff will ask them to pay it next week or to bring
in any amount that they have. She added that BERDSCO’s loan condition is

“difﬁcult to manage” and that she never wants to borrow money from BERDSCO.

134

She did have a saving account with them. However, many times when she tries
to withdraw money from her savings, they will inform her that there is no money .
for withdrawal. The project is draining valuable ﬁnancial resources from the
women instead of helping them. Many farmers realized this leading to withdrawal
from the project.

The project appears to be a failure because BERDSCO gives only seven
days grace period. If a loan is given on Monday that Monday is a market day,
they expect the woman to start paying the loan the next Monday. The region has
eight days in a week instead of seven. The next market day falls on Tuesday not
Monday. Asking a woman to pay when she has not even been to the market to
sell is not realistic. One week is a short period of grace. Furthermore, there is no
proper follow up after the loan is given. This may be due to lack of good
management and supervision. This may be the reason why some women took
advantage and use the money for “ personal things” instead of investing it in their
business endeavors. Those who invest by putting only a deposit so that other
needy women can borrow are discouraged from contributing. Interest is not paid
as some women complained. The idea of deducting money from such a small
loan makes the amount too small for supporting business activities. The project
was out to make money from the women not help them. The women came out

poorer than when they initially participated.

135

4. Heifer Project international (HPI)

HPI is a non-govemmental organization with sponsors in the United States
of America. In Ngie, it deals mostly with animal agriculture with some aspects of
crop farming and gender education. HPI give species of domestic animals like
rabbits, goats, bees and pigs to groups to rear free of charge on condition that
the ﬁrst siblings of the animals will in turn be given to another group free also.
This project is the only one in the region, which seems to connect with the needs
of the women farmers. When interviewed, some women told the investigator that
groups choose what they wanted from the different groups of animals like pigs,
goats, sheep, chicken and rabbits.

The aims of HPI are to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty, povide
families with food, improve nutrition and supplement income for low-income
families. They also aim at empowering women through education and special
training. Most women have responded favorably towards this organization. One
group was asked why they liked the organization? The group members volunteer
that “the organization is really out to help the poor because no money or loan are
involved and that the animals are provided at no charge”. The leader explained
how the organization works. The interested group sends a request for assistance
to HPI. HPI sends the group a form requesting information about the group. This
information is used to assess their eligibility for assistance. Once the form is
returned, a project staff member visits the group and project site to verify
authenticity of the group’s existence and to verify the group’s needs. If needs are

veriﬁed, a letter of agreement is signed with the farmer’s group. Once a group is

136

accepted for assistance, HPI begins a training program for group members.
Topics for training include animal husbandry, integrated and sustainable animal
agriculture, project management, nutrition education, public awareness and
market promotion.

Members of another women’s group were given livestock training. A
contract was signed by group and HPI to ensure that the livestock were managed
according to the rules of the contract. Before the animals were given to the
group, HPI made certain that the livestock infrastructure was adequately
controlled to avoid animal crop destruction. A conducive place for the animals to
live was also available and made HPI criteria. With appropriate livestock
infrastructures in the place, usually two animals, male and female were given to
each member of the group. The ﬁrst female and male offspring were given to
another needy group when it reached reproduction age. This was known as a
“passing on the gift”. (POG). P06 is also done with “knowledge gained”.
Acquired knowledge and newfound skills are passed to new farmers in their own
localities. The investigator witnessed some of the “passing over the gift"
ceremonies.

Women are taught how to vaccinate and give medications to their
animals. One woman farmer was proud that she could inject her animals. In the
past, only veterinary agents were able to do that. She complimented HPI staff for
making visits to see how her rabbits were doing. When a woman was not skilled

to give medication to her animals, HPI made veterinary agents available to

137

provide assistance. The many visits and on-site supervision ensures that the
animals will remain healthy.

The women farmers liked the project best because it did not involve
money. The women told the researcher that they never paid for any registration
fee, like the other projects in the area. When they had to go for training, the
project would pay for food and lodging if needed. Round trip transport money
was also provided. During training sessions, elites of the villages were invited to
come for the training so that they could help educate the illiterates and those
slow to understand.

Several group meetings were attended. In their group meetings, those
who had gained experience dealing with their livestock taught others. In one
meeting, group members taught each other how traditional herbs could cure
some animal diseases. These herbs really worked because they taught their
members from their own experience. The project members also have inter-group
meetings where members share their experiences and Ieam new techniques of
improving production.

HPI also has a policy of “extension” follow up. The extension staff visits
farmers that have been trained and those who have received livestock to see that
they are following proper procedures. Most of the time, HPI used government
extension argents to assist the farmers. There is a continual follow-up. That is
why the project is perceived to be so successful.

The project is limited due to the presence of SNV-NIRDP who had greater

sphere of inﬂuence in the region. HPI did not want to have conﬂict of interest, as

138

explained by one of their ofﬁcials. The women like this project. Some women’s
groups even asked the researcher to see the project ofﬁcers to increase their
spheres of inﬂuence and to increase their activities in the clan. This is the only
project that is succeeding in Ngie. The project is succeeding because the project
does not involve money. Animals are given free on no charge. Drugs for
treatment of the animals are given free. More so, the farmers are visited and
trained on regular basis. There is proper supervision. The authorities listen to the
women’s complaints and address the issues immediately. The farmers are given
proper education. There is a two-way communication channel. Communication is
lateral, not top down. Figure 4 adds more information to their success.

Figure 4. Diagram Explaining the Interaction of HPI with The Rural Farmers
in Ngie

 

 

 

 

 

HPI package Ngie Farmers Needs and
For alleviation of poverty expectations
-Animal Agriculture ‘ Animals
-Crop Farming . 1——— training
«Gender education . _ —— money
Key

V . . .
a 1111813011011 01’ communication 20118

The straight line in the middle is the boundary between HPI and the Ngie farmers. Here there
is a connect factor. The shaded area is the intersection region where there was interaction,
dialogue and meaningful communication between the two parties for change and development to
occur. .

MIDINO is another non-governmental organization operating in the region. It
gives loans to farmers. Their aim is to alleviate hunger and poverty through
loans that could be used to improve farms or do business to raise living

standards. Villagers have to apply for the loan. If the loan is approved, one must

I39

first pay one quarter of the amount needed before the loan is given. Loan
payback begins eight months after receiving the loan. The rural women in Ngie
did not apply for the loan because they lack money to pay a quarter of the
requested loan. This project is not beneﬁcial to the rural poor women farmers.
Only a few men were involved. Again the poor women farmers were never
reached. This type of project is only good for the progressive farmer. MIDNO
used to be more helpful in the past but activities that could have helped rural
women farmers had been reduced due to inadequate funding from the donors.
Sustainable Livestock (SLS)

Sustainable Livestock (SLS) is another non-governmental organization
that is operating in the region. The SLS gave out animals on loan and farmers
paid back with matured offspring. Farmers are trained on how to raise the
animals. Only a few groups are involved in this sustainable livestock farming in
Andek area and Etwii. Those participating are doing well.

There appears to be one factor of the project, the business aspect that is
not functioning as well. Farmers were asked to form groups, which they did. The
project coordinator would arrange meetings to talk to farmers before giving them
loans. Many women farmers shared that the project staff would not come as
arranged. Farmers would spend a whole day waiting, but in vain. When staff did
come excuses were always given. This happened many times. The farmers kept
coming and waited because they desperately needed some money. When a
meeting was at last convened, he promised to give loans to the people. The

representative gave a sample form for farmers to complete and send to his SLS

140

ofﬁce before the day the loans would be give. The farmers ﬁlled the forms and
handed them in as directed. On the day of the meeting as the farmers narrated,
forms had been typed with the information sent prior to the meeting. Individuals,
both men and women, were asked to sign the forms and hand them in
immediately. Many signed without reading the content. Some more literate
women farmers said that they read the form. In it, was written, "sign here for the
amount that you have received". Some women questioned the project
coordinator,” you have written sign here for the amount that you have received”,
but, you have not given us the money. “Why should we sign for something that
we have not received?” The coordinator replied, “Other people have signed
without comments, why should you be asking me this question? Sign if you like.
If not, then you should leave in peace. You want to show that you know more
than others?” As the women needed money they signed the form with the
expectation that he would give the money right there at the end of the meeting to
make his work easier. When each person signed, he or she would wait to get the
money at the end. Every body was so excited. People waited for more than four
hours. When everybody had signed for receiving the money, the project
coordinator then told the farmers that he would give the money another day. He
would inform them of the day. This incident happened before the research was
conducted. At the time of the research the farmers still had not received money
for which they had signed. Consequently, the people lost interest in projects that
involved money. Some women suspected that the project coordinator must have

presented their signatures to the donor organization, received the money for the

141

amount signed, and diverted the money to his personal account. Questions were
raised. “Did the donors give the money and the project staff use the money for
some other purpose?” Why were the farmers asked to sign for receiving the
money before they received it? These questions remain to be answered.

There is another disconnect factor of SLS project. The coordinator of the
project had a meeting with grazers in the Ngie. Women representatives attended
the meeting too because women were victims to the grazing problems. The
coordinators aim was to help grazers to build fences to contain their cattle and
reduce animal crop destruction, which is a big problem in Ngie. The SLS project
coordinator had a good aim. Women farmers and grazers alike welcome the
idea. The project coordinator told them that to make a good strong fence to
contain the cattle needs good iron fence. The fence is expensive. He suggested
that all grazers should contribute 5thousand francs each toward the building of
their fences. Most grazers contributed 5thousand francs each. The coordinator
added that he would take the money to the donors of his project and tell them
that the grazers are willing to construct fences for the cattle to eradicate grazing
problem. But the grazers have not enough money and that the donors should
fund the project. The women told the investigator that they were very happy and
were hoping that one of their major problems would be solved. One of the chiefs
who was interviewed, said that the project coordinator collected the money and
nothing was done. Nothing was done with the money collected and no
explanation given to the grazers and women till end of research. Some women

and grazers asked the investigator to mediate in the matter. The investigator told

142

them that the research was not to judge cases but to learn and gather
information. Questions were still raised about this issue. Did the coordinator take
the money he collected to the donors as he told the women and grazers? If his
ideas did not work, why did he not return the grazer’s money or give them
feedback? These questions too are still to be answered.
Why Projects are a Failure in Ngie

In careful evaluation of the various projects in the Ngie area, one might
conclude that most of the projects failed due to failure to research the problems
of the women farmers and their needs. Implementation methods were lacking in
substance. Project executors had selfish aims, wanting to enrich themselves.
There was lack of integrity, and lack of transparency. Most of the project staff and
project coordinators were not qualiﬁed well-trained staff to manage and direct the
projects. Traditionally, women fear men in'Ngie. The population involved in the
projects or the participants were mostly women and there was not even one
project coordinated by a woman. This hampered freedom to discuss freely. This
does not provide a model for women to aspire to search for positions. There was
no board of directors to evaluate and monitor the projects. The donors might
have failed to evaluate their investment projects. Consequently, some project
coordinators were able to manipulate the process to their advantage. Requiring
the women farmers to pay part of the loan before the loan is given made it
difﬁcult for poor women to participate. Preventing the women from withdrawing

their own deposits had a damaging effect on women farmers’ participation. Lack

143

of proper education for the farmers was another reason why various projects

have failed.

B. Extension Agents

In Cameroon, the government uses extension systems. Extension agents
are trained and they work for the government. The government uses the teaching
and visit (T8V) method to promote the extension system. The agents are taught
an innovative technique and then, they go and visit the farmers. Extension
agents attend training courses continually. After receiving training, they go to the
ﬁeld and practice. The T8V method is used because most extension agents are
not highly educated.

Extension system had extended to Ngie. Agents were however sent to
the region long ago. Agricultural education, through extension, has not yet
succeeded in Ngie. As a result, the women have not beneﬁted much from the
agricultural extension system. There are six government agricultural extension
agents unevenly located in the Ngie clan with an estimated population of more
than 35,000 inhabitants. The number of extension agents is too small for the
population. However, the area has been divided into zones and each has a
speciﬁc zone to oversee. All six government extension agents are male. SNV-
NIRDP also had extension agents too.

Women Farmers’ Perception of Extension Agents
The women farmers in Andek and Etwii were asked if extension agents

had visits to their farms. More than ninety percent of the women said an

144

extension agent had never visited their farm even though extension agents have
been in the region for many years. Several women commented that extension
agents only visited their farms for evaluation when animals destroyed their crops.
They were sent to assess the crop damage. In doing this, the extension agents
had formed the practice of demanding compensation. The women said that
before an extension agent will evaluate a farm, one has to cook him food, buy
him beer or wine and give him money for transportation. The women complained
that even when they meet the agent’s demand, most of the time the agent never
gets back to them. The women farmers concluded that they ended up spending
valuable resources for the extension agent while losing their crops.

One hundred percent of the women indicated that they want the extension
agents to visit their farms. Over Ninety-three percent of the women preferred

female extension agents to males. See table 18 below.

Table 18. The women's farmers prefference of sex of Extension Agents

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statistics
Women's prefference of sex Number of women Percent
male extension agent 3 6.8
female extension agent 41 93.2
Total 44 100.0

 

 

Three women indicated that they prefer a male extension agent. One of the three
women expressed that there is no need asking of preference because all
extension agents are always males and even if they choose female, they will
never have one. Another woman commented that if she chooses a female agent,

the government might be angry and withdraw the few men agents from the

145

region. This implies that these women see themselves as being powerless,
unable to inﬂuence policy to their own advantage. A woman said she preferred a
male to female agent because a woman extension agent would feel proud to
teach another woman. Consequently, she would tend to look down on the
women farmers.

The women were asked why they preferred a female extension agent to a
male. Some said a female extension agent who has likely experienced what rural
women are going through is in a better position to understand the women’s
problems and would be able to help and attend to them better than the male.
Others said that the male extension agent has “no patience” dealing with women.
The women farmers believe that women extension agents would be more
considerate and understanding. Other women said the female extension agent
knows farm operation better than the males. Therefore, they prefer a female as
the male do not understand farm operations. They have never been farmers
themselves. A few said they couldn’t talk freely or say their problems to a male
extension agent for fear of it being shared with other males.

Extension agents are supposed to help the women to increase their
production. They do not however give the support that the women need. Some of
them had stayed in the Andek zone for a long time but their work had not been
effective. Other women commented that there are some extension agents in Ngie
that have been there for donkey years and they did not do anything for the
women till the previous year when they “woke up from sleep” and started

practicing demonstration techniques. They continued that the male agents are

146

trying to work because the government might have given them a warning. The
women concluded that the male extension agents spent their time drinking beer
and palm-wine and get drunk everyday. During group meetings, some women
commented that those extension agents who are outsiders do better job than
those who are from Ngie. They continued that those who are from Ngie spent
most of their time doing their private work in their homes than doing their
extension job. Some are involved in activities that are not beneﬁcial to farmers.
The Ajei women farmers said that the extension agent in their zone was very
active with the women. He did lots of farm visits.
Extension Agents’ Work and Perception of Women

Several extension agents were interviewed. They were asked what type of
work they do with the women farmers. One told the investigator that he taught
the women how to grow tomatoes and cabbages. He was asked if it was the
women who asked him to teach them to grow the crops he mentioned. He
replied that the government Research Department asked him to teach the
women how to grow the crops. In addition, he said that the crops are important
source of vitamin intake, and they could also sell the tomatoes and cabbage to
generate income. It has been investigated that the women have many farm
problems. Why haven’t they taken their problems to the Research Department?
He replied that they would be having a meeting shortly where women farmers’
problems will be collected and presented to the researchers. In some places, he
continued, some women’s farm problem had already been taken to the

researchers. Another extension agent told the researcher that he had taught

147

groups how to grow ginger. He added that he tried to solve one of their problems
and the women refused to listen. He was asked what problem and how did he
want it to be solved? He replied that he wanted to help them treat cocoyam
disease, which is pythium root rot, commonly known in the region as “Panama”.
He continued that he was informed about some chemical that treats the cocoyam
sucker or the cocoyams seeds to be planted. He explained that the suckers or
seeds are put in the chemical for two days. When the soil is prepared the treated
suckers are planted. The treated cocoyams will not be affected by Panama
disease. He had a group meeting with the women and told them of this
treatment. He said he told them to bring money for him to buy this chemical.
Some women brought him money for the chemical. A man in the village told the
women that if they do as the extension agent had explained, then the chemical
will help to degenerate the soil even more, so that next time when crops are
planted, they will not do well at all. These women who had given the extension
agent money asked for their money back. They did not want the chemical any
more. He complained that the women were not willing to learn new ways of doing
things. The women probably refused because the whole idea was abstract in
nature. There were no demonstration farm for the women to see and compare
the treated crop with the untreated ones. The extension agent was asked why
most women have not been exposed to extension agents? One responded,
“Women never invited them to visit their farms”. Another said, “Women are not
interested even when they are invited for farm demonstration. They never show

up. Only very few would show up”. The agents were asked what advice they

148

could give the women that would help increase their agricultural production?
They gave the following advice:- “women should be willing to accept innovations.
They should group themselves to attract loans, and be timely to carry out
agricultural operations. They should buy and apply input in their farms. They
should always attend farm demonstrations”. None of then mentioned that the
women should feel free to invite them for a farm visit.

The extension agents are supposed to be a link between farmers and the
researchers. They are supposed to take the women’s problems to the
researchers and the researchers solve the problem. The extension agents then
take the solution back to the women. From the description above, one can see
that top down management is still alive in the region. The research center tells
the extension agent to come and teach the women how to grow cabbage, ginger,
tomatoes without asking the women farmers’ opinion.

Perceived Problems of Extension Agents

The extension agents on the other hand explained the problems that they
face in doing their work. They expressed that each agent has big zones to
control and they do not have transportation to facilitate their work. They go
mainly on feet. This makes their job difﬁcult and less effective. Furthermore, they
are not given enough material to run a good demonstration farm. The women are
not interested in what they are doing. When they call the women to attend
demonstrations only few attend. This is probably because the demonstration is
not the women’s interest or it might have been scheduled when the women are

too busy with their multitude jobs.

149

There is little linkage between the farmers and the researchers. The
communication is one-way from top down. The women are seldom if ever
involved in planning. Generally, information is just “dumped” on them.

Why Extension Agents, Work is a failure

There are many reasons for failed extension activities in the region. The
practice of government centralization of activities is a deterrent to client
participation. Every activity is controlled from the Ministry. Another reason for
extension failure is absenteeism, lack of duty consciousness, lack of supervision
and a strong corrupt system of government. For an example, a sub—divisional
delegate for agriculture was sent to Ngie. The sub-divisional delegate came and
got his certificate of resumption of duty and left the area. There was no one to
question him why he was not on duty. He was supposed to be in charge of the
extension agents and supervise their work. He became an absentee sub-
divisional delegate for agriculture. The Momo Divisional delegate could not
sanction him. Even if she did, every decision is made only from the headquarters
and not by her. If a complaint is ﬁled against him, the sub-delegate could go to
the headquarters to bribe some one in the ministry who would take the complaint
ﬁle from the ﬁle and trash it so that nothing could be done to the man. But, if
there was decentralization, the divisional delegate could take some measures to
discipline the delegate. The idea of leaving the region and not fulﬁlling
responsibility would not have occurred. His absence gives advantage to the
extension agents to do what they like at their own pace. This makes their work

ineffective without direct supervision.

150

Another reason for extension's failure is doing multiple jobs. Most of the
extension agents do not do the work they are supposed to do. Sometimes even
the government uses them to perform duties other than extension ones, duties
that are not of direct beneﬁt to the women farmers. For example, some agents
campaign for the government in the rural areas for up coming elections. During
elections they are used as polling ofﬁcers.

On the other hand, the government does not pay the extension agent very
well. Some of them because of poverty want to get money and food from the
poor women to supplement their income. The evaluation of crop damage gives
them this opportunity to pinch money from the poor women. This practice makes
the women to have hatred for them and would not want to deal with them. The
agents do not have direct supervision and evaluation. They have an absentee
sub-divisional delegate. This is one reason why signiﬁcant changes have not
taken place with the rural women farmers.

Another failure of the extension agent is that they have not enough
equipment to do their work, no tools, no fund allocated for demonstration and no
means of transport to go around to make their work easy. They are few extension
agents and they have big areas to control with no transportation.

On the other hand, the women farmers do not trust the extension agents
primarily because the agents have never been farmers. The little innovation they
taught the women was not put it into practice. The women would Ieam best

through practical demonstration methods.

151

Government Policy on Agricultural Development.

Growth in agricultural production can be increased if the government
establishes supporting policies that will promote and encourage production.
For this reason, government policies were examined to ﬁnd those geared
toward the development of women in agriculture. The Cameroon government
had made policies aimed at helping the rural poor. One of the aims was to
increase agricultural production. The government then introduced a concept
of Rural Development. Consequently, government opened farmer’s banks so
that farmers could borrow money to increase agricultural production. Even
though these banks were closed down due to mismanagement, their loan
policy did not particularly favor the women because they do not have landed
property, which is usually required by these ﬁnancial institutions as collateral
security for loans. Only the commercial farmers gained from these banks.
During interviews, interviewees were asked if they had applied for a loan
from banks. The rural women farmers in Andek and Etwii said that they have
not applied for any loan from any bank. They also indicated that they had not
had any subsidies from the government.

A government agricultural ofﬁcial in the delegation of agriculture was
asked what the government was doing to increase agricultural production? He
said, “The government has done a lot and has made policies aimed at
helping the poorest of the poor. For example, the government has opened
farmer’s banks for farmers to borrow money to increase their production. As a

result, there is a lot of food in the market, like Irish potatoes, cabbage etc.

152

Today, Cameroon produces 96 % of its food". The information the
government ofﬁcer gave was not current. The government farmers’ banks he
talked of were closed down in the eighties. The farmers in Santa, which he
mentioned that they had borrowed money from the farmers' bank, in actual
fact, they borrowed money instead from a non-governmental organization.
The ofﬁcial was informed that most rural women at the subsistence level had
never been given a loan.

The government made policy decisions to support and increase
production through research, extension programs and state investments. The
government then failed to equip the extension agent so they could do their
work effectively. Extension agents have no money to organize effective farm
demonstrations. They have no effective equipment to work with and
inadequate transportation. As a result, most extension agents could not
perform their work effectively. The government realized this and sent a sub
divisional delegate of agriculture to coordinate the activities of agricultural
extension agents in Ngie. The ofﬁcer came and took his certiﬁcate of
assumption duty and left the region. When there was a census of active
government workers, the ofﬁcer returned for the census. The administrative
ofﬁcer of the region observed this but he did not take any action. He allowed
the sub-divisional delegate for agriculture to be counted as having been
active. After the census, the sub-divisional delegate for agriculture again left
the region. During the yearlong study in the region, this sub-divisional

delegate of agriculture did not put in two months of active service. As a

153

result, there was no direct person to coordinate and supervise the activities of
the extension agents. The government did nothing to make an agricultural
investment in the Ngie. An absence of policy implementation promoting
sustainable agricultural developments resulted in women continuing in hunger
and poverty. One policy that was somewhat useful was a mini agricultural
show that took place in the Ngie Subdivision. There was competition of crops
among farmers. Those who won were given prizes as incentives. The
government did not inform the women early about the agricultural show. Many
women did not participate. A few women bought crops from other farmers and
presented because of the short notice. Some results were not genuine
because the crops that some women presented were not from their farms.
The Green Revolution policy was preached in the country but most of the
women in the region had no access to fertilizer and other inputs to promote
the green revolution, which the government preaches.

In another instance, the government sent some money to help rural
women. One such amount sent to Ngie was partially taken by the
parliamentarian that represented the region in parliament. The government
gave Ngie women farmers 200.000francs (about US $ 140). Though this
money was a small amount, the parliamentarian gave the women 150,
000francs with an explanation that he had taken 50,000 francs for his
transportation and for “ﬁghting for the women’s cause”. People who are well
to do in the community even squeeze out the little that is given to the women.

The women’s suppression comes from all angles of the society.

154

Section Five Summaries
Summary of the Ngie Women Farmers’ Problems
Ngie women encounter a lot of problems. Table 19 below shows some of the

problems, which the women farmers indicated during research.

Table 19. Summary of the Women's Problems

 

 

 

Women's Problems Number of women
animal crop destruction 44.00
gender inequality 41.00
cocoyam, plantain

disease (panama) 40.00
pythium8cosmopolite

soil infertility 38.00
insect, weevils 8 stem

borer 37'00
sickness 36.00
death 35.00
shortage of labor 32.00
problem of baby-sitting 14.00

 

 

 

Forty-four women farmers were asked if they had experienced animal crop
destruction. All the women affirmed. This is the most acute problem facing the
Ngie woman today. Forty-one women farmers complaint bitterly of gender
inequality. They shared that subordination is a big hindrance to their progress.
“Panama” is a root rot disease that affects cocoyams and plantains. This root rot
disease causes starvation in the region.

Other problems that women face are shortage of labor, weak land rights,
limited access to family property, limited contact with agricultural extension
agents, lack of access to credit, lower levels of education, and lack of storage

facility.

155

Summary of the Women’s Perceived Needs

Individual needs

Table 20. Summary of the Women's Needs

 

 

 

Women’s Needs Number of women

money 44.00
farm tools 35.00
grinding mills 30.00
pesticides 8 insecticide 29.00
fertilizer 26.00
medications 25.00
chicken, animal, ﬁsh 24.00

ots and house

:quipment 21'00
hybrid seeds 10.00
agricultural. training 10

 

 

 

All the forty-four women said they needed money. If the money were
available, they would be able to provide their needs. They would also be
empowered and be less dependent. Farm tools were their next need. Most of
them do not have enough farm tools and they do not have money to buy the farm
tools. The women also indicated they needed grinding mills. There are a variety
of grinding mills they want. Some of them are: - oil mill, corn mill, cassava mill,
blenders etc. If their needs were provided, they would be more productive.
Community Needs
The women need the following: - hospital, well-equipped clinics, good roads,
donkeys, wheelbarrows, oil mills, cassava grinding machines, storage facilities,

grinding mills, tap water, day care centers.

156

Most families in Andek and Etwii and Ngie in general carry their drinking water
from streams or springs. Most of the water they drink is contaminated either by
human or by domestic animals. This causes water-borne diseases.

Summary of Coping Strategists

1. Cocoyams, the stable food has been affected by cocoyam disease commonly
known as “panama”. The people now have introduced rice eating. Rice in the
past was eaten once a year and only on Christmas day. Now it is eaten

almost daily.

2. In the past banana was given to pigs and the people sometimes ate only ripe
bananas. Now the people have introduced boiling and eating green banana
for food.

3. The women depend on relatives living in urban areas or other productive
agricultural regions. These relatives send food, clothing and money to their
families back home.

4. Migration to urban or other productive agricultural region is another way of
solving the problem of hunger and poverty.

5. The women are involved in low-income generating activities to solve the
problem of hunger and poverty.

6. The church and its activities is another way women try to solve their

problems.

157

Summary of chapter four

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

g Aspect Belief Attitude Practice Remarks
Lack of
Husbands education on
have birth control.
negative Only 22.7% of Husband should
They are attitude women be educated
against towards interviewed along side with
Birth birth birth practice his wife on birth
1 control control control birth control control.
The women take
longer time to
breast feed
because they do
not know
nutritional
education. Most
Women Average years have strong and
belief in of breast healthy children
Breast breast Breast feed feeding in due to breast-
2 feedinL feeding children Ngie is 2 feeding.
Fathers or
guardians Women Many women
see no have More men are illiterates.
need positive were But now many
educating attitude educated in female children
their towards the past than are sent to
3 Education daughters education women school.
Men have Women are
less value Men practice victims. The
for crops uncontrolled practice
since crops grazing. frustrates
are grown Consequently, women and
Traditional by women their animals cause women to
free and not destroy cultivate many
grazing accessed women’s pieces of land in
4 Grazing way for tax. crops. order to survive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

158

 

 

Bad farming
practices that
increases soil
erosion, renders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burning of the the
topsoil to soil infertile. The
increase soil women practice
The fertility agriculture
women (akara). expansion at the
belief that Practice short expense of the
soil fertility fallow. . natural habitant
increases Deforestation and depleting
Soil fertility out put. Positive for farming. the forestland.
The land is
Women Farming alone sloppy. It
belief that slope 8 accelerates soil
soil erosion burning erosion. Soil
is a natural negative of grass. erosion
soil erosion process attitude Grazing is so rampant.
Women want to
Women own land. The
Women hate the Land is land tenure
belief that land tenure patrilineal. system makes
Land they cannot system. Women don't them to be
tenure own land. own land dependable.
Women are
powerless. They
have no decision
Women are making power.
brought up Women are born
to belief Women Subordination free, but,
that they fear and of women by everywhere in
are inferior respect the men in all Ngie, they are in
Gender to men. men aspects. chain.
Women
Always always looking
looking for help.
for help. Women are
They crave involved in
for money low
and work income They are always
Money is hard but generating poor, frustrated
Credit power gain little. activity and dependable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

159

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The The women do
women Women not like the
have mixed hate the Polygamy is practice. It
belief of idea of practiced in brings problems
10 Polygamy polygamy. polygamy Ngie to families
The
women
have the The vicious
The attitude of circle continues.
women farming the Traditional
belief that way their farming, bad
farming is grand and They have the farm practices,
their great grand practice of soil erosion and
traditional used to farming many low productivity.
profession farm. No pieces of land The women
for change or and not caring work too hard in
Land livelihood. diversificati for all farms at the farm all year
11 cropping ons. the right time. round.
Teaching the
women. They
also have the Women have
practice of gain
exploitation. little from
The That is asking extension
extension for agents.
agents compensation Extension
belief that before system is top
the women evaluating down.
Extension know very Dumping of crop animal
12 agents little. knowledge destruction.
They did not tell
the Women from
the beginning all
They They never about the
thought They had listened to the project. Women
that the women. came out poorer
the women attitude of Communicatio from the project
SNV- know dictating to n is than they went
13 NIRDP nothing the women top down in.
They listened Women were
to the well educated
women. about the
Communicatio project and they
Women are n gained a lot. The
not is a two way gift of animals
14 HPI blank Dialogue channel without loans

 

 

160

 

 

has helped to
change the life
of those farmers
that were
involved in the
project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their grace
period was
They belief short. They did
that the not keep
women are to their promise.
desperately They had The women
in need of attitude Making money were drained of
15 BERDSCO money of deceit out off women their money
The women
were not able to
meet with their
rules and
regulations.
These credit
They belief They had schemes
that the the attitude They have the projects are not
women are of planning practice of helping the
desperately without making their women. They
Credit in need of involving own rules and make them
16 schemes money the women Equlations poorer.

 

161

 

Chapter Five
Conclusions, Recommendations, Suggestions for Further Research and
Reﬂections.
Introduction

The research was undertaken to study Ngie women’s farm-household
systems to know the connections and interactions between individual
components, and to understand why Ngie women’s farm- household systems are
not satisfying their needs. Examined were three environments that surround the
farm-household systems: the physical; socio-cultural and socio economic; and
policy institutional environments each of which inﬂuences women farmers’
productive systems. Also identiﬁed was the role of women in Ngie, their problems
and needs. Development of existing and future programs to help improve the
living conditions of the Ngie women, their needs and problems encountered must
be identiﬁed and assessed. The ﬁndings of the study presented were written in
Chapter four. In Chapter ﬁve, the major ﬁndings are outlined and explained with
recommendations based on the research that was carried out in Ngie in the
North-West Province of Cameroon.
Conclusions and Recommendation

From the ﬁndings obtained from the research in Ngie, there were several
important elements of dissonance identiﬁed. Dissonance, or factors of
disconnection were discovered which hindered effective interactions between the

rural women farmers and several agencies whose reason d’etre was to interact

162

with the women farmers to affect desired positive change in the women’s lives
and consequently the community at large.

Poor communication: This is the inability of the intervening institution to
effectively communicate their ideas, rules and regulations, and translate their
aims and objectives practically according to the situation of the women. For
example, when SNV-NIRDP insisted that the farmers should plant large edible
cocayams, the farmers insisted, based on personal experience, that small
cocoyams seeds and suckers did best. SNV-NIRDP did not listen to the women
farmers. They believed that the women farmers had no knowledge to offer.
Methods of planting were dictated. The women obeyed, but the crops did not do
well.

Recommendation: There should be a two-way communication channel between
the project executors and the farmers involved in the projects. Both sides should
listen to each other and put their ideas together, perhaps conduct research
efforts to verify degree of success. When any innovation is proposed, it should be
discussed with those who are involved in the farming operations.

Unfulfilled expectations of the farmers: The farmers were given to believe that
there would be cash available for farm investments and cash for petty trading.
The cash was not available but the criteria for obtaining the ﬁnancial support
prevented most of the women farmers from beneﬁting. For example, women in
cooperating with BERDSCO put money in their savings account for the purpose

of getting more interest at the end of the year. The interest was not realized.

163

Those who had saved money discovered in time of need that the money was not
always available.

BERDSCO would ask women to pay for insurance as part of their ﬁnancial
package. When any member who had the insurance died, a hundred francs CFA
(70 dollars) would be given to the bereaved family. This promise was never
fulﬁlled.

Another example is that SNV-NIRDP asked Agong farmers groups to plant
cassava and SchNIRDP promised to bring a machine to grind the cassavas.
Angong women farmers cassava farm did well but SNV-NIRDP failed to bring the
group the grinding machine. The group could not afford to buy a processing
machine to make products like garri. As a result, these cassavas were
abandoned in the farm.

Recommendation: It is recommended that the project executors should make
certain that expectations are clearly understood by the women farmers. Farmers
need to ask questions for clarifying expectations. Adjustments should be made
possible if things are not going well. Evaluation procedure should be used at
every stage of the project. The project executors should maintain the integrity of
the rules and regulations giving guidance to the projects. The project staff should
not make promises if they cannot be fulﬁlled. The Agong women on the other
hand should be ﬂexible and utilize other methods if project promises are not kept.
Instead of abandoning the cassava farm or waiting for SNV-NIRDP to provide a
grinding machine the women could make water fufu for sale, instead of leaving

the cassava to rot in the farm.

164

Participatory Endeavors: In a participatory approach, the farmers could have
an inﬂuential role in the project’s success. They should be permitted to take part
in the initial planning, implementation, decision-making process, monitoring and
evaluation. This is the participatory approach. Unfortunately, all the projects in
Ngie, with HPI as an exception, were planned and executed by using the top
down approach. For example, the loan schemes in Ngie failed because the rules
and regulations governing the loan schemes were not formulated involving the
women farmers. The BERDSCO’s grace period was one week before beginning
to start paying back the loan. WICO asked each woman’s group to pay annual
dues of 2,500 francs CFA for those that had not taken the loan and 5,000 francs
for each group that had taken the loan. These conditions placed an extreme
hardship on the poor women to pay up front fees.

Recommendation Since the proposed scheme is created considering the best
interests of the women, the women should be invited to participate in formulating
the rules and regulations governing the loan schemes. This would enable them to
formulate rules that they would be able to execute effectively.

Timeliness or Transparency of information: This is a crucial policy formation
procedure that was not disclosed to the women at the beginning of several
projects. The women discovered this information when it was being executed
latter in the project. The women had no power or means to reject it even if they
found the process to be unproductive. For example, SNV-NIRDP gave seeds to
farmers to plant. The women farmers thought the seeds were a grant but to the

NGO, it was a loan that was only disclosed to the farmers after planting.

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BERDSCO did not tell the women from the beginning that they had printed T-
shirts for sale as part of the package for loan. When women came to borrow
money, a T-shirt was given and 2,500 francs CFA subtracted from their loan as
payment for the T-shirt.

Recommendation: When implementing a project, it is advised that the project
staff should provide preparation opportunities for the women. Explain everything
about the project so that they can decide whether to take part in the project or
not. Let them choose what they need. Let the women talk. The project staff
should listen to the women. In other words, the project staff and the concerned
women should meet and discuss all issues about the project before it is started.
Even when the project is underway, discussions should be done periodically.
Evaluation of the project should take place at each stage of the project. This
gives way for correction and adjustment that will make the project more
successful. Project ofﬁcers should not hide facts about the project. Surprises, as
SNV did with the loans, should be minimized and avoided if possible. During
evaluation stages, let those who are taking part in the project offer feedback.
They would be able to say what they have achieved, what they have not yet
achieved and what can be done for a successful completion of the project. Let
them freely ask questions about the project. There should not be any hidden
facts. Let those involved pilot the project, if this is done there will not be any
hidden agenda that might generate problems.

Fraudulent or Deceptive or Questionable practices: It is falsehood. This was

seen in Ngie during the execution of projects where project executors inﬂated

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project prices of materials. SNV-NIRDP inﬂated the cost of seeds given to each
women’s groups to pay the cost of buying and transporting cassava from
Southwest to Northwest and the amount spent at the mini agric show.

The Sustainable Livestock Project coordinator prepared forms with speciﬁc
amounts of money that those individuals have indicated to borrow. Members
signed forms that they had received the money, which they did not receive.

Extension staff and some administrators, asked women to pay
transportation costs to the farm when evaluating crops destroyed by domestic
animals or when settling land disputes. When women farmers sought
compensation from the Rural Council for domestic animals that had destroyed
their crops, the council charged the owner for each day that the animals were
kept contained in the council fence. When the owner paid the council charge, the
owner takes his animals away without even compensating the women for
destroyed crops. The council gains the money, not the women who suffered the
crop losses.

Recommendation: Any worker dealing with the rural women farmers should
honestly execute his or her duty without asking for tips and bribes. They should
be patriotic and serve with dignity. They should not inﬂate prices for materials.
There should not be any mis-management of funds for that would reduce the
amount of money needed to run the projects effectively. Those involved in
projects should be allowed to take part in decision- making, implementation and
evaluation. Such action would reduce misunderstandings and practices that

might be considered unfair to the women farmers.

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The women, on the other hand should refuse to give bribe. Ngie Union of
Farmers Association (NUFAC) could form a board of directors to take care of the
women farmers’ problems. This board should take all women’s farm problems to
the government administrator to solve.

Lack of Clear Institutional Vision: Not having a clear vivid mental picture of
what the executors of the project want to achieve in a given community. Clarity of
purpose helps to deﬁne the methodology to be used in project implementation.
For example, SNV-NIRDP's action did not reﬂect the assessment of community
needs in order to choose the correct strategy to execute the project. This failure
results in project failure.

Recommendation: Study the society. Learn about the people, their culture and
needs. Create demonstration farms presenting different crops and determining
their value to the farmers. The women have been farming certain crops for ages.
They have some useful farming techniques. The women are not totally ignorant
of farming processes. The project coordinators should incorporate their
techniques with those of the women. Listen to the women. Do not dictate to them
without testing beforehand the evidence supporting a new crop or farming
technique.

Indigenous Knowledge Ignored: Indigenous knowledge is very important in
any development project. Indigenous knowledge and practice of the women was
ignored, suggesting that the intervening institutions did not conduct community
studies. For example, SNV-NIRDP asked different groups to plant the crops that

does best in their region. Bonato was one of the regions that produces the best

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cassava in Ngie. SNV-NIRDP, instead of using the local variety of cassava
stems in Bonatu brought cassava stems from Southwest of Cameroon to the
Northwest of the country. Southwest of Cameroon and Northwest of Cameroon
have contrasting climates, a signiﬁcant factor inﬂuencing which varieties grow
best in each climate. Then the women were told how to plant the cassava stems.
The women’s group explained to the project staff their own way of planting
cassava. The local method of planting the cassava stems was not compatible
with the new technique. The project staff ignored the indigenous knowledge. The
women’s group followed the SNV-NIRDP procedures but the crops did not do
well.

Recommendation: The local Cassava does well in Bonato. SNV-NIRDP should
have worked with the Bonato women’s group farmers to test the existing variety
with the proposed cassava stems from the Southwest. If SNV-NIRDP insisted on
planting the imported cassava stems, an experimental cassava farm could have
been established. If the crop did well, it provides evidence for accepting a change
in farming practices. The project staff should have listened to the farmers and
tested to see which way of planting cassava was better. The same thing applied
to the method of planting plantains.

Gender Conﬂict or Gender Attitudes: The different roles that the Ngie
traditional society has ascribed to men and women places the women in a status
inferior to the men. This concept remains very much alive in the Ngie research

region. Consequently, the role of women in leadership is diminished. All

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coordinators of the various projects were men. All government extension agents
working in the Ngie area were men.

Locally, the men also dominate the women causing them to feel inferior
and without decision-making power. For example, a man and his wife cannot do
any family planning together. Women have no rights to an inheritance. Women
are regarded as property of men. Women do most of the household tasks
including nursing, taking care of children, etc. Men never accompany their wives
to birthing rooms. Gender inequality is very dominant in Ngie. Men pay a dowry
on women before marrying them. As property of their husbands, women are
expected to do every thing the men want them to do. Anything that the woman
has belongs to the husband. Subordination is entrenched in sub-conscious of
both men and women. For this reason, even mothers would advise their
daughters before marriage to be good to their husbands. Obey them and work
hard to please their husband. Even when daughters are ill-treated by their
husbands, the mothers and other relatives would advise the daughters to stay in
the marriage. They should accept suffering because of the children.
Recommendation: Educational workshops, seminars and informal meetings
are needed for both men and women to address the traditional roles and gender
differences. When both parties meet, each group should jot down the household
work they perform for the betterment of the family. The men might realize visually
that women perform more duties. Hopefully, they both would seek ways to
reduce the burdens placed on the women. To get men and women to attend

such a meeting in greater numbers, it is suggested that it would be helpful to

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offer food and drinks at the end of the meeting. Husbands and wives should play
an equal role in household management. Clariﬁcation of husband and wife roles
is essential to family improvement. Eder (1999) had suggested that husband and
wife might powerfully inﬂuence household's internal functioning and choice of
economic strategy.

Government and non-governmental organizations, on the other hand,
should consider placing women in responsible positions and especially those that
involve working with women. Rural women have been suppressed in the society
and have been made to fear men. Some women could be appointed as project
coordinators or project directors in Ngie. Women would feel more comfortable
working with women. Village men should share responsibility for child caring.
One of the ways to encourage them to have love and equal treatment for their
wives and children is to begin by having husband be present when the woman is
in labor. The husband should be encouraged to touch the wife and say
comforting words to her during labor. When the birthing act is completed, the
nurses should give the baby to both the mother and father to hold.

Men and women should be encouraged to work together in a variety of
jobs. Men should hoe in the farm, cook and fetch wood for their wives. There
should be no distinction between masculine and feminine jobs. Mothers should
equally start teaching their sons how to perform household tasks.

Faulty economic principles: Doing business without practicing viable economic
principles is unproﬁtable. Women farmers should be encouraged to make a proﬁt

in business. In Ngie women participated in projects that caused them to be

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poorer than when they began. For example, seeds that the farmers thought were
given to farmers as a grant, they were later told that it was a loan. The women
farmers were forced to pay for the seeds. In some instances, force using
gendarmes (police) was used to get money from the farmers. Several of the
farmers groups had acquired money from contracts; molding of sun bricks,
clearing farms, farming, etc. The groups had opened savings accounts in the
Ngie credit union. SNV-NIRDP forced the farmers to withdraw their money
leaving them with nothing.

BERDSCO, on the other hand, did not give full value of the loans made to
the farmers. For example when a farmer borrowed 20,000er to do business,
2,500er was withheld for a development fee, and 2,500 were withheld for a T-
shirt, which they forced the farmers to buy. The farmer was then left with
inadequate money to do business. As a result, some used the money for other
things than business and were not able to pay back their loans.
Recommendation: One of the main aims of the loan schemes is to help alleviate
hunger and poverty. The project managers should see to it that this aim is
fulﬁlled. One way of doing it is by giving the farmer the right amount she needs in
order to help her operate her business. It is suggested that there should be
continual follow up of their activities to help the women succeed. Give the women
the training they need to be more efficient in using ﬁnancial resources. Also let

them start paying back the loan after they start making proﬁt.

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Role of the Extension System: Most of the women had not been made aware
of govemmentally supported extension programs. Extension agents' presence in
Menghom and Azem areas was almost non-existence. Most of the extension
agents did not utilize their working hours with the women. Worse, those
indigenes from Ngie spent some of their working hours doing their private work at
their homes. Those who are outsiders did better than the indigenes. The
government used some of the extension agents to do work that is not beneﬁcial
to the women.

Agricultural extension agents complained that their work is made difﬁcult

because they lack transportation. Most travel is by foot. There is no direct
supervision of the extension agents’ work. A Sub-divisional delegate for
agriculture was not available who could have been directly involved in
supervising the activities of the extension agents. Extension agents who were not
from Ngie did better job than those whose origin is Ngie.
Recommendation: The district ofﬁcer representing the government in Ngie and
the Divisional delegate of agriculture could have periodic meetings with the
extension agents to discuss and evaluate the extension agents’ work. Lack of
transportation was one of the main complaints so the government could provide
inexpensive means of transportation. Another alternative might be that the
government could provide each extension agent with a horse to facilitate his
work.

The ofﬁce of the divisional delegation for agriculture could provide seeds

for farm demonstrations and experimentation. Since most of the women are

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illiterate, participating practically in these demonstration farms would help them to
learn by doing. Lecture only is not a solution. There should be more
demonstrations and personal interaction with the women. Furthermore, the
extension administration could see to it that every extension agent is doing his or
her job well through constant evaluation.

Almost all women in Ngie are farmers who depend on agriculture for their
livelihood. To make agriculture and extension system more effective, government
should avoid sending the extension agents who are indigenes to their own clan to
work. If they are sent to their clan or village to work, the tendency for them is to
do their private work at their home rather than doing the extension work
effectively. The government should consider decentralization of the ministry of
agriculture. If this is done then each province would supervise its extension
system better and there will be effective agricultural development. The
government should also consider employing more women as extension agents.
Women farmers will feel free working with female extension agents. The female
extension agent would do a better job for most of them have worked in the farms.
They would understand women’s agricultural problems.

For the government to make the extension agents’ work more effective,
during their training programs, the government should include topics like
extension program planning, program development, program evaluation, public

relation with farmers, and good communication technique.

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Other Findings and Recommendations

Agricultural Production: The government and non-governmental
organizations have tried to boost agricultural production in Ngie with a mixture of
results. For example, the government organizes mini agricultural shows and
sends extension agents to work with the women. The non-governmental
organizations on the other hand instituted development projects in the region.
This was an innovative approach, but it did not take into account the cultural
back- ground of the women farmers.

Recommendation: The government or non-governmental organizations could
help the women farmers to associate with the Ngie Union of Farmers Association
(NUFAC) by developing a culturally based curriculum focusing on increased food
production. Extension agents should be encouraged to use such a culturally
based curriculum in their extension work. Reading ideas from books or furnishing
the women with information from the department of research only is not a
practical solution. It is essential to help the women by ﬁrst using the local
traditional knowledge and materials indigenous to their environment. Once this
approach is fully engaged then new technologies could be introduced.

The Role of HPI: The only project that is succeeding in Ngie is Heifer Project
lntemational. One of the reasons for its success is that their project does not
involve any money. Secondly, the farmers are well trained before animals are
given to the farmers. There is a good communication system between the project

administrators and the farmers. Each group is inclined to listen to one another.

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The people are interested in the project and desire to be more involved. The
NGO is committed to help the poorest poor.

Recommendation: HPl’s involvement practices seem to be successful. An
expansion of their programming effort would be significant. Meat in Ngie is more
expensive than in urban areas. The women eat more “Maggie" cubes rather than
eating meat because meat is very expensive. Many women indicated that they
have high blood pressure. Maggie might be one of the contributors to high blood
pressure because it contains a high level of sodium. The HPI activities are more
progressive and proﬁtable for people. More families should participate in the
project. If this is done then there would be many families producing one of the
following: - rabbits, pigs, goats etc. Consequently, meat would be less expensive
in Ngie and many families would increase their protein in take and also reduce
the eating of Maggie cubes.

The Practice Of Cultivating Many Pieces of Land: The women work several
pieces of farm within a growing season. Crops have planting seasons and all the
crops could not be planted at the right season and the right time. Therefore, the
tendency is to start farming early in the growing season and continuing into a late
season. Consequently, crops do not do as well when farmed late in the season.
In addition, most of the farms are not well cared for because of distance and
numbers of land parcels to manage. For example, manure frequently is not
applied and weeding is often done too late. Planting too early or too late has an

adverse effect on crop out put.

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Recommendation: The women should abandon farming late in the season. This
wastes labor and valuable time. They should reduce the number of land parcels
(farms) to about three. If they cultivate a few parcels at a time, they would be
able to give appropriate care. They could harvest more food than someone who
cultivated six to eight parcels. Cultivating a few parcels will let them start work on
time and end planting at the right time. They would be able to do other essential
farm management procedures like applying manure, weeding in time, molding
the tuber plants, and looking for sticks for fencing and staking. They would have
time to restore their energies and engage in trading activities to generate more
income. Preventing weeds would have a positive effect. One way to prevent
weeds is by mulching. When many farms are cultivated it is not possible to mulch
each farm. When the women work yams, they should mulch the yarns
immediately so when working other farms to plant corn, beans and other crops,
they would not have to bother to weed the yarn farms. The mulch would prevent
weeds. Corn planted in the mulched yam farm would grow without them weeding.
Non-governmental organizations could help by providing weed prevention
chemicals. Weeds share the manure available for crop growth. If weeds were
contained, there would be increased crop production.
Unproductive Activities by women: Women waste time in doing some
unproductive activities. If there were proper planning, they would have time to
engage in other productive activities. For example, beans are an important crop
in the region. Beans are worked twice yearly. Most of the beans need staking.

The women waste time by going far and wide to look for bean stakes. lf stakes

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were provided that did not decay and could be used on a recurring basis much
time could be saved.
Recommendation: Since women have many pieces of farms, it is suggested
that one farm be devoted to growing trees. Tree branches could be cut and used
for staking. Better still, they could plant acacia trees in all their farms, whose
branches could be readily used for staking and the leaves used to enrich the soil.
This would save time for other productive activities. American Peace Corps has
already introduced this tree in the region

Another unproductive activity is seen during bean planting season in
October, when women plant corn together with the beans. Planting corn in dry
season beans farms is not appropriate especially on slopes. The corn does not
do well.

Recommendation: They should not plant com on sloping land during the dry
season. The corn shares the manure with the beans thereby reducing the
amount of manure for the bean nutrient. The corn withers due to inadequate
water in the soil.

Lack of irrigation schemes in Ngie: There are no irrigation schemes that could
help the women farmers produce fresh food during the dry season. As a result,
the population lives mostly on dry food during the dry season. The women could
grow more food during this season to increase food production.
Recommendation: In order to enable the people have fresh food all the time,

the villagers or the government or any non-governmental organization could

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introduced irrigation systems to be used in the valley during the dry season for
more crops.

During the dry season, brick makers direct water from hillsides to the site
where blocks or bricks are made. Households could also redirect water from
streams or from hill slopes to the plains during the dry season to farm in order to
increase crop production. This would ensure a continuous supply of fresh food. It
would also help to eradicate hunger and poverty. This would be the beginning of
a primitive irrigation scheme. The Chiefs could organize the villagers to redirect
the water. During the rainy season, these passages could be blocked to prevent
soil erosion and reopened during the dry season.

The Practice of Grass Burning: Although this is a banned practiced in the
country, grass burning is rampant in Ngie. This is because there is no
supervision instituted after the ban. Burning of grass exposes the soil to erosion.
The result is soil infertility. Burning of grass is done for two reasons. Some
household members cannot afford to buy meat from the market. They hunt wild
animals for meat in the grassland. In the grassland, hunting is dominant during
the dry season. When hunting, they would use ﬁre to chase animals to hunters.
Cattle grazers also burn grass to get the young green shoots for the cattle. The
grass is burned every year. lf the grass were left without burning for four to ten
years, the hills would be very fertile and erosion contained. For example, if the
ﬁrst year the grass were left during the dry season, the grass would dry up. When
rain falls, the dry grass would form manure and enrich the soil. The new grass

would be healthier. More manure would be generated. If the land is fallow for ten

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years without burning, the manure would accumulate to make the land more
fertile. Erosion would be reduced and the topsoil would not be carried away.
Recommendation: There should be an “Against Grass Burning” supervisory
committee made up of the District Ofﬁcer, the gendarme or police chief, the
mayor of the Andek rural council and the village Chiefs. The purpose should be
to seeing that the ban is respected in all parts of the villages. The administration
and the local Chiefs should work hand in hand to see that the practice of grass
burning is stopped. Those caught burning should be punished accordingly.
During each dry season, the Chiefs should organize men in their villages to
watch the hills to prevent the hunters and the herd’s men from burning the hill.
They should have a 24 hours watch. This would be a type of community work
done in shifts. Violators should be ﬁned as a deterrent.

The Practice Reducing the Fertile Arable Land: Valleys and plains have
fertile soil. Unfortunately for the women, building schools, government ofﬁces,
and resettlement areas reduces the fertile land.

Recommendation: The women could start looking for other alternatives to
augment their out put (Business practices). For example, they could be involved
in high income generating activities that would give them a good income. Most of
them are involved in low income-generating activities. They lack the experience
of entrepreneurship. If done, this would give them opportunity to carry out more
income generating activities, which will beneﬁt the whole family. This could take
place through leadership training or small business management training within

the villages organized either by government or non-governmental organization.

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Forest Utilization: The forest trees are slashed and burned for agriculture by the
women farmers. This practice might produce acid rain, which might be a
deterrent to crops and drinking water. These forests have lots of nuts grown in
them. The nuts are harvested in an uncontrolled manner.

Recommendations: The women and the population should control the harvest
of the nuts. They should not cut down the forest for agriculture. This would give
them surplus nuts to eat and sell some in the market for extra cash. The harvest
time should be arranged by different Chiefs and care be taken that during harvest
that the forest canopy is maintained. This would encourage evapo-transpiration
in the region, which would bring rain. The rain would be very helpful to farmers,
plants and animals. Animals from these forests are being made extinct due to
agriculture and hunting.

Akara: or Baking the Soil: One practice for increasing food production is
making Akara. This is baking the topsoil before crops are planted. This method
kills the soil nutrients and other living organisms in the soil, which help to enrich
the soil.

Recommendation: The women should stop using this procedure. Women
farmers should use more compost manure and cow dung. The village Chiefs and
agricultural agents should discourage women from using the Akara method. To
completely eradicate this practice, the violators should be punished.
Transportation Challenges: Farm to market roads is very bad in Ngie
especially during the rainy season. Torrential downpours and heavy run-offs

create difﬁcult conditions at times being almost impassable. One British man

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visiting the region described the roads in Ngie as “cow tracks”. This greatly
hinders transportation to and from urban regions where crops could be sold.
Household needs and products essential to farm production are difﬁcult to
secure.

Recommendation: The rural council should continuously maintain farm to
market roads to make communication between regions easier. Women farmers
would have the best opportunities to sell their produce in urban areas. On the
other hand, traders from the urban and other regions that need Ngie women’s
products would come to Ngie markets. If adequate capital is generated they can
buy farm tools, seeds, household products and other nutritional foods to
supplement their diets. More so, if the roads are accessible, Ngie women can
grow crops that are not consumed at home for urban consumption to generate
more income. SNV implemented Irish potatoes project in Tinakoh. The potato
production was successful but there was no market locally. The population that
needed this food production was far away. It was impossible to carry the
potatoes to these needy places because of bad roads. Trucks carrying food from
rural areas sometimes spent one week or more before getting to distribution
points. This was a distance of only thirty-five miles.

Women with Babies: Women perform many duties. One is carrying their babies
on their backs to the farm. Babies are care intensive and a distraction to
productive activities.

Recommendation: Since the women are too poor to send their children to day

care centers, women’s farming groups could maintain day care centers and

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share responsibilities. Each woman could take some portion of work time and
share in the caring responsibility. The women could make a schedule for each
participant. Each mother would bring food for the feeding of her child.

The men could also assist in the village day care centers. Most men do
not work in the farms. This idea would require a change in cultural ways. Men are
not inclined to accept the role of “babysitters”. Also, an alternative would be for
the government or non-governmental organization to maintain free day care
centers or perhaps accept a portion of the structure as compensation. That is,
they can provide the women with some structures and equipment for running the
day care centers.

Impact of Com Borer: Corn borer is one of the major problems in Ngie. Corn
that is planted early is most often affected by the corn borer. Some women start
cultivating corn farms two to four weeks before the rains begin. Some plant corn
after the ﬁrst rain. Some women apply wood ash to control the corn borer.

Recommendation: The women might consider stopping the planting of corn
early. Production is highest when the rain has fallen a couple of times, generally
in April. They women should wait for the rain to fall a couple of times before they
plant the corn or plant when there is a continuous rainfall. Often, wood ash is-
applied but the growth of corn is negatively affected. A program experimenting
with the appropriate amount of wood ash is critical. The government extension or
any non-governmental organization should conduct some research to determine
what amount of wood ash would best control the corn borer or what quantity of

wood ash be put on the corn stem to control the corn borer. Agencies could

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subsidize the purchase of insecticides so that the women would be able to
eradicate corn borers and other insects, (ants, caterpillars) which are harmful to
their crops.

Soil Fertility: The best soil nutrients are essential to grow healthy crops. The
women are too poor to buy fertilizer.

Recommendation: Creation of a compost heap would provide an inexpensive
source of fertilizer. When the grass is decomposed, it could be used as manure.
Since many of the women farm too many parcels of land, time and energy
prevent them from practicing a single task that would assist in keeping the soil
fertile. With fewer farms to maintain, this idea could work.

Another way they could enrich the soil is by paddock farming. Cattle
owners would be allowed to feed the cattle on the women’s farm after harvest.
The dung from the cattle would fertilize the soil. This would require fencing the
farm to contain the cattle. The women farmers should work hand in hand with
the grazers towards a successful paddock farming. This would also reduce the
grazing problem in Ngie.

Another good way is to practice longer fallowing, to allow the soil to
become rich. Average fallow in the region is 3.5years. This fallow period is too
short. They should let the land lie fallow from six to ten years for best results.
This would work if the grass is not burnt at all.

Food Storage: There is more food available during the harvest season than can
be used, especially if market accessibility is not available. Therefore, food stored

in bans or buried in the ground to be eaten during hunger time, frequently rots.

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Recommendation: The women need storage facilities where food can be stored
safely and for longer periods of time. A big storage facility could be built in each
village. The women could share the rooms. They could be asked to share in the
cost of maintaining the facility as a form of cooperation. NGOs whose aim is to
help the rural poor to eradicate hunger and poverty could take responsibilities to
provide the villagers with these storage facilities.
Grazing Problem: Animal crop destruction is the most serious problem the
women in Ngie are facing. All the women interviewed in the region had
experienced crop destruction caused by animals.
Recommendation Government intervention to reduce animal destruction is
possible. It would require making and enforcing rules to guard against animal
destruction. The village Chiefs and village councils could levy ﬁnes on the
defaulters. This would discourage animal owners from letting their animals run
uncontrolled, especially in areas where crop production is taking place. The
Andek Rural council should take action to see that the women are properly
compensated from the ﬁnes collected. The government and the village Chiefs
should work together to resolve this problem. The government can help by
respecting and strengthening the laws that village Chiefs and their councils have
put in place to eradicate or prevent the grazing problem. Animals could be
pastured on empty grassland, not farmland.

The district ofﬁce and the extension agents should not ask for money from
the women before evaluating crop damage caused by the roving animals.

Instead, they should see to it that the women are properly compensated and the

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defaulters appropriately punished. The village council and government should
provide subsidies to assist in defraying the cost for fencing the farms.

The cattlemen on the other hand should be required to keep their cows in
a fence. The government should have to see that every cattleman has a fence for
his cattle. Pigs or goats should be tied when crops are still on the farm.
Husbands should play active role with their wives in controlling animal crop
destruction. Husbands should not leave their wives to tackle this problem alone.
When they become active in demanding compensation from the defaulters, they
themselves would become conscious of the problems for some of them have
some domestic animals. They will then learn to control their animals.
Access to Farm Tools: The Cameroon President’s wife gave some farm tools to
women in different tribes in Cameroon through CEERAC, a non-governmental
organization created by the President’s wife based in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Women leaders from different villages in Ngie had a meeting to decide how the
tools could be shared. During the meeting, some women commented that the
gifts were too small to be divided. A suggestion was made that the Ngie union of
farmers’ office could keep the tools for needy women to borrow and return after
use. Others insisted on taking the tools to the administration and let them decide
how to share them. It was agreed that the tools would be placed in charge of the
administration. On the day of sharing, the following people were present, women
representatives from different villages, the administrative ofﬁcer, the mayor of
Ngie rural council and some top politicians in the region. Each of these ofﬁcers

took a hoe and a cutlass. The rest were given to the women to share. The

186

women decided to bring in the administration because the culture had placed
women in an inferior position and they had no decision making power.
Recommendation: The women of Ngie should organize themselves by creating
an executive group that can oversee women’s affairs. The women should be the
ones to make decisions on anything given to the women. If such a women’s
group existed, they could have divided the tools among the women instead of
sharing with the administration. The women's representatives should be given
chances to write to the donor and explain in detail how the tools were distributed.
An inventory should be kept of every tool distributed. This would eradicate the
bad practices of “you chop l chop”.

Methods of Financial Assistance: The women complained that they never
borrow money from the farmer’s banks. The government in the past had
agricultural banks where farmers could borrow money to increase their
production. Most of the farmers’ banks were located in cities or large towns.
Those who gained from these banks were mostly commercial farmers who were
well-to-do people. Those who most needed money from these banks were the
rural poor farmers who needed to increase their production. Unfortunately,
seldom, if ever, were they beneﬁted from these potential ﬁnancial resources. Due
to mis-management, the government run farmers’ banks are no longer in
existence. What is in existence now is a nongovernmental organization loan
program. Most are located in urban centers. Most of these loan schemes
formulate rules and regulations, which are very unfavorable to rural women

farmers. Those operating in Ngie are focused on money making and not on

187

helping to improve farming operation or income generating activities for the
women farmers.

Recommendation: These loan programs should work to provide ﬁnancial
resources at reasonable costs to help the women. Rules and regulations should
make the scheme more proﬁtable to rural poor farmers, rather than to increase
ﬁnancial burdens. Women should be involved in the meeting of making the rules
and regulations of the loans.

If the government would reopen the farmer’s bank, rural poor farmers
would be able to increase their production without incurring unreasonable
ﬁnancial debt. The banks should have branches located closer to the people who
need it most. Farrner’s banks should be created in all subdivisions and districts
so that the poor rural women would have access to them. Some women
commented that they had never heard that such banks existed. The government
should educate the women about farmer’s banks and loans. Women farmers
should be encouraged to obtain loans from these banks. The practice of “you
chop l chop" (bribe) should not be practiced when lending money to the women
farmers. (When a farmer wants to borrow money, a percentage of the money to
be borrowed is given as a bribe before the loan is approved. Women also should
not be asked to ﬁrst pay a percentage of the loan before receiving the loan.
Educational Opportunities: Agricultural training is vital to increasing agricultural
production. Very few women in Ngie have received some sort of agricultural
education. The women participating in the study indicated that they would like to

have agricultural education. Most of the rural women farmers are illiterate.

188

Recommendation: Agricultural and home economics training centers could be
established in Ngie. Unfortunately for the rural women farmers in Ngie, training
centers are located only in large towns. Transportation to such centers brings
great challenges. lf agricultural training centers were located in the nJral areas
closer to the women and where agriculture is practiced the women could
participate. Business training should be included in the curriculum. The food
crisis could be reduced if the women receive relevant agricultural education and
business principles.

There should be a mass adult literacy program for the women. Since most
of the women attend church and belong to many church groups, the church could
take responsibility to create some time from their group meetings for adult
educaﬁon.

Women Extension Agents: The women interviewed preferred female extension
agents to male agents. Cultural practices place the rural women farmers in
conﬂict situations with the male extension agents. The male dominant behavior
towards the women farmers presents dialogue critical to hearing and accepting
new practices.

Recommendation: More females should be recruited as agricultural extension
agents. Women are more patient and understand the women’s problems better
than the male agents. Woman-to-woman relationships would create a more
effective communication system. Teaching and learning would be more effective
and cordial relationships would be established. To this end, food productivity

could be increased.

189

Women and Birth Rates: Women in the research region tend to have many
children. There are higher birth rates. This is probably because families have not
been given sufﬁcient education on family planning Having many children is a
responsibility for the women that takes away time from her farm. Furthermore,
the males do not accept the role of being a baby-sitter. Responses from the rural
women farmers indicate that family planning is not understood nor practiced.
Recommendation: The women and their husbands should be involved in family
planning practices. Such practices would include use of contraceptives or
abstention during ovulation. Both the mother and father should be taught
childcare practices. Men should be present when the wife is in the birthing
process. Perhaps observing what the women encounter in the birthing process
might change the men's attitude towards their wives and childcare
responsibilities. The men could be encouraged to accept responsibilities in the
household management. They should be helped to understand the
disadvantages of having so many children.
Rural Women’s Health Needs: Women’s health is an essential component for
rural development. Good health is vital to the Ngie Clan and the nation’s growth
in general. If a woman is continually confronted with bad health, she cannot
achieve necessary production levels. There is no hospital in the Ngie clan. A few
clinics exist but they are inadequately equipped. .
Currently, the rural women have access to medicine stores managed by
untrained nurses. These medicine stores disperse drugs with expired dates.

Some pity traders carry fake drugs from Nigeria on their heads in market places

190

for sale. The poor women buy them because the prizes are cheap. Frequently
these drugs are more harmful to their health. Some of the women indicated of
having adverse effect after taking these fake drugs.

When some women are sick they waited until the illness becomes serious
before they decide to go to the hospital.
AIDS Factor: In Ngie most of those who are AIDS patients are the migratory
groups who lived in the urban area and return to the village when they are
affected. They never disclose that they are AIDS patients. They continue to be
sexually active. This behavior presents major health crises for the rural women.
Recommendation: Health care of the women could be improved by adding
more health clinics. Rural women must not travel long distances to ﬁnd a clinic.
Furthermore, the government should give the region a full-equipped hospital with
subsidized medication beneﬁts. In short, the women need a hospital, more
equipped clinics, and some resident doctors and high quality medicines.

The hospital should be located in the sub-division headquarters in Ngie.
With time, other hospitals could be opened in other villages since the distance to
Andek is quite far from some other villages. Since there is no hospital in the clan,
the people now need ambulance services for medical emergencies. When Andek
would have a hospital and resident doctors, these ambulances could be
controlled by the hospital.

Pregnant women should be admitted to maternity wards a week or a few
days before delivery. This would avoid the idea of having a baby at home or

possibly on the roadside. This would also eliminate transporting women in labor

191

by wheelbarrow and or on horseback. Most of the time they cannot make it to the
distant hospital. The Fulanis (bororos) live on the hillcrests. No clinics exist in
these regions. Some of the Fulani children could be trained as nurses. The
trained nurses could go from hill to hill to care for the sick ones. The terrain is too
steep for the sick to walk to the clinic because the hills are too steep to navigate.

Women who are sick should go for treatment immediately when they
realize the symptom. They should not wait until the sickness becomes serious. It
might be late when they wait for seriousness. Prevention is better than cure.

Women should avoid getting medication from village medicine stores. If
the do, they should have someone check the medication for expiration date. The
government should have a constant check of the medicine store to see that no
expired drugs are sold. The government could consider opening a pharmacy
training program. Licenses should be offered. Only those who have gone to
these training schools should be allowed to sell in medicine stores. The
government should encourage medication to be sold in original sealed bottles
showing their expiration dates.

Women should stop buying medicine from those pity traders carrying fake
cheap medicine on their heads on market days. These medications are not good
for their health. That is why they are cheap. These are imitation medication
shipped from Nigeria.

The women should start practicing safe sex. They should take precautions

when associating with the migratory groups. Government or non-governmental

192

organizations should provide sex education and subsidize drugs that can help
prolong the life of AIDS patients.

Traditional Medicine: Some women go to traditional doctors for treatment.
Traditional medicines can treat some sickness. But because of the quest for
money, some traditional doctors would advertise that they can treat all illnesses.
In fact the traditional doctor might know only how to treat one or two illness.
Recommendation: Women should be careful in selecting a traditional doctor.
Some family members have died from receiving inappropriate treatment from the
traditional doctor. The traditional doctors should only treat the illness for which
they are trained and they should cease from deception. The Chiefs of the villages
and administration could help to control these false traditional doctors by
requiring them to obtain certiﬁcation or licenses from well-known traditional
doctors. The traditional doctor should verify their expertise.

Poultry as Food: Fowls are raised in the Ngie but are typically not used for
family food. The men kill fowls occasionally for special celebrations. This is a
deeply ingrained cultural practice.

Recommendation: Men should start to allow their family to prepare chicken for
general consumption. This would be an inexpensive substitute for more
expensive meat and make more protein available for the family. The men should
encourage their wives to cook and share the chicken. Fowls are susceptible to
disease. Most of the fowls die during this time. Instead of just allowing these
fowls to die from the diseases, the husband should give the fowls to the wife to

prepare for meal.

193

The government extension agents could help the villagers by providing
vaccines that would help to control the fowl disease. An increase in chicken
production would enable the men to provide fowls for every day meal and not just
for special occasions.

Oil Palm Processing: The women take a long time to process palm oil in crude
places. Time, which they could have saved to do other productive activities, they
use it in making palm oil. They used local crude ways in making the palm oil.
Recommendation: The places where palm oil is made (ishim) could be
modified. The hole where water is put for the raw palm oil to settle before
collection could be cemented. Some pipe water could be brought at “ishim” to
make the work of water easy for the women. Government or any non-
governmental organization could provide each of the villages that make palm oil
with an oil mill.

Coping Strategy: The rural women farmers use many c0ping strategists to solve
their problems. One is rice eating. Rice in the past was eaten once a year. Now,
rice is eaten almost as a daily meal. All the rice eaten is bought.
Recommendation: Ngie is hilly. Upland rice farming could be introduced in the
region to help solve the problem of hunger and poverty. Both men and women
should be involved in the cultivation of the upland rice when introduced

Summary and Conclusion

The “poorest of the poor" in Ngie are the rural women farmers. These
women are the backbone of the family. They perform all household tasks for the

well-being of the family. The women work too hard, their energy is sapped and

194

they have no time for leisure. Educating and developing them is educating and
developing the whole family.

In order to improve their condition and raise their living standard, the rural
women farmers need the following things: - reasonable ﬁnancial credit; farm tools
and appropriate modern farming equipment; storage facilities for food’ awareness
of cultural issues pertaining to land and to common property resources; hospitals
or adequate health care facilities; a more active role in the decision making
process,

Ngie women have been victims of development programs. Instead of
beneﬁting from these projects that were aimed at alleviating poverty and hunger;
they have often been made poorer and powerless.

These women suffer from many constraints. These include natural
acceleration of population growth; marginal hilly land susceptible to erosion, land
slides, earth movement, and soil infertility; crop destruction by vagrant animals;
deeply ingrained gender bias and cultural practices that hinder the role of rural
women; lack of household technology which impairs women’s efﬁciency. In
addition, they have uncertain access to land and to common property resources.
The women also have lower levels of education. With these environmental
constraints, therefore, women must depend successfully upon the evolution of a
productive system in which environmental management, social institutions, good
administration, good income generating activities and good agricultural practices

are closely linked.

195

This implies increased support for women in agriculture and income
generation activities, re-evaluation of policies, and promotion of activities that
would provide higher living standards for women. Any non-governmental
organization or government program should aid the developmental process
through careful planning, implementation, evaluation and procedures. Rules and
regulations governing the projects should have the best interest of the women
farmers. Empowering the women and making use of their knowledge should be a
primary objective. Policies makers should reassess their goals and strategies to
include participatory development. The women farmers at the center of
development should be involved as major participants in rural agricultural
development. The women should spearhead their development path. These
women are not blank. They have been working for ages to feed their families.
They understand culturally based agricultural techniques. Therefore it would be
beneﬁcial to listen to them. Listening to them would help to discover the areas in
which they have the greatest needs. Development programs for Ngie'women
would be more successful if based on needs assessment. This is an important
ﬁrst step in planning any development program. These women are poor small
and marginal farmers. With their low educational standard, they need special

attention because they are less able to help themselves.
Signiﬁcance and Implications

. The study identiﬁed opportunities for action to involve rural women

in agricultural development.

196

This study serves as database and opportunity to further study in

the areas of rural women’s development.

This study can serve as a point of reference for rural women’s

issues worldwide.

The study adds to the breadth of research in rural development in

developing countries.

0 This study identiﬁed lack of women’s ability in fertility management.

Recommendation For Future Research

1.

Conduct a study assessing the relationship between rural
women and men and how you could bridge the cultural gap
that made the women inferior to men.

‘Grass and tree burning is too rampant in the region.
Research could be done on topsoils in different regions to
determine what is lacking in the different soils and seeking
means to increase soil fertility.

An investigation into the perceptions of the males in Ngie
clan as to what motivates their contribution to the household
activities.

A study to identify determinants that prevent governmental
agencies from providing adequate assistance to the rural
women farmers.

A further study of the cultural behaviors that prevent

increased farm productivity.

197

6. A time and motion study to determine maximum production

from multiple farm parcels.

198

Appe

Sum

 

 

Appendix A

Survey Instruments

199

The main Instrument

Questionnaires for the research in Ngie

I will like to ask you some questions about your family land or land for growing crops or cattle.

Section A: Access to land
Answer Yes or No question 1 to 4

1.1. Do you have adequate land for your present level of production? Yes No

1.2. Can you always get additional cultivable land for farming if you want to increase
production? Yes No

1.3. Would you want to have more land for cultivation? Yes No
1.4. Does inadequate access to land inﬂuences your production? Yes No

Circle the ones that are applicable

1.5. What are the total pieces of land you? Total acreage in
Hectares

a) Own ---

b) Rented in «-

c) Rented out -----

d) Sold --

Circle the ones applicable
1.6. Ownership of family land is in whose name?
a) Family head
D) Family
c) Husband
(1) Wife
Circle one
1.7. Do you have communal land? Yes No

Put either H for husband or W for wife or B for both
1.8. Who makes decision on the following family land?
a). Family own land ---

b) Rented in land ----«

c) Rented out land ----

d) Communal land ------

e) Sold land ----

1.9. Has your land ever has been taken by the government or local council? Yes No
a) If yes, where is the land located?

a) Valley

b) Plain

c) Slope

e) Hill crest

1.10. Can the members of your household have right to cede or transfer land to some one
else? Yes No

200

Sectio

2.1. At

2.2. He

2.3. Is

2.4. Is
2.5. II

2.6. At

2.7. A
2.8. If

 

2.9. W
a) flue
bl pit

Cl.) Str
G) No
Othe

2.10.

2.11

2.1

Section B: Type of dwelling

2.1. At present, do you have a good storage facility? Yes No

2.2. How many houses have you in your compound?

2.3. Is the house roofed with zinc? Yes No

2.4. Is the house built with stone or cement bock? Yes No
2.5. If no, what type of house is it?

 

2.6. Are the ﬂoor of the house cemented? Yes No

2.7. Are there any rooms in your house given out for rent? Yes No
2.8. If yes, how much do you receive for rents each month? ----

2.9. What type of toilet do you have?
a) flush toilet

b) pit latrines

c) Stream

d) No toilet

Others (specify)

2.10. Is the toilet outside or inside the house? Inside Outside

2.11. Which of these do you have in your household?
a) Radio
b) Record player
c) TV
(I) Music box
e) Bicycle
f) Motor cycle
g) Car or truck

2.12. Which of the following animals do you have in your household? State the number
a) Cattle
b) Goats
c) Pig
d) Rabbits
e) Fouls or hen and cooks
f) Fish pond with ﬁsh in it

2.13. Name three above most consumed in your household? Start from the most
consumed. 1. 2. 3.

Section C: Health Issues

3.1. Have you been pregnant before? Yes No

3.2. When pregnant, do you go to the PMI or maternity clinic Yes No
3.3. How many children have you? ------ Children

3.4. How many dead? (specify)«---

201

3.5. Have you had any miscarriage? Yes No
3.6. If yes, what caused the abortion?----

3.7. Would you want to have another child? Yes No

3.8. If no, why not?
a) my husband does not want more children
b) I don’t want more children
c) I am at my menopause
d) I am barren

State the number.

 

e) Other (specify)

3.9. If yes, why? -- .........

3.10. How many more children do you intend to have? .. ...........

3.11. Have you heard of birth control? Yes No

3,12. Have you and your husband used any method to keep you from getting pregnant?

Yes No

 

3.13. If no, why not?

 

3.14. If yes, which method?

a) Natural method avoiding sex during ovulation

b) Take some pill
c) Have an injection
d) Use condoms
e) Abstain from sex

 

f) Other (specify)

3.15. Would you like to use contraceptives in future with your husband? Yes

3.16. . Have you ever given birth to a baby at home? Yes

3.17. If no, where?
a) hospital
b) village maternity clinic
c) Others (specify)

No

 

3.18. Who assist you at birth?
a) Ward servant
b) Midwife
c) Nurse
d) Doctor

 

e) Others (specify)
3.19. If yes, how many children?
3.20. Did you breast-feed your child? Yes No
insufﬁcient
3.21. b) If no, why not?

 

3.22. If yes, how many years? ---

3.23. Do you wish to have a hospital in the village? Yes

202

No

No

3.24. If any member of your household is sick, where does he/she go for treatment?
a) Traditional medicine
D) Go to clinic
c) Go to hospital
(I) Go to a witch doctor
e) Other (Specify)

Circle one
3.25. How will you rate the services rendered in your clinic?
a) Very good,
b) Good
c) Bad
d) Very bad
e) I don’t know

3.26. Which is your drinking water source?
a) Well
b) Spring
c) Stream
d) Rain
e) Tap
f) Other Specify)--u.--..----

3.27. How does your household dispose most of its garbage?
a) dumped behind the house
b) Buried
c) Burned
d) Others (specify)

 

Section D: Household Assert

4.1. What is the main source of lighting in your household?
a) Light from ﬁrewood
b) Kerosene lamp or oil lamp
c) Generator
d) Gas light
e) Others (specify)- -----------

4'2' What type Of fuel do you use in Your house for cooking?
a) Wood
b) Dried palm leaves
C) Corn stock
(I) Gas
6) Others (specify)

4.3 Who collect the wood? Circle those applicable
a) Husband
b) Wife
c) Children
d) B and c
e) Others (specify) --------..--

4.4. Where do you fetch wood?

a) Around the house
b) Far from the house

203

c) From scrubs on the hill
d) From planted forest
e) Others (specify) ---------

4.5. How many of the following tools are own by your household?
3) Hoes-«-
b) Cutlass ---
c) Axes —---
d) Wheel barrow ---
e) Other (specify)

4.6. Who decides what is to be eaten in your household? Circle the ones applicable
3) Wife
b) Husband
c) Children
d) Others (specify)

Section E: Prices and Government policies
5.1. Has the government or the council subsidies any food? Yes No
5.2. Have you received food aid from the government or NGO during bad time

Yes No
5.3. IF yes, how many times last year? Specify ----

 

5.4. What do you want the government to do to increase your food production?

 

 

5.5. Do you pay either in cash or kind for any services that is suppose to be free?
Yes No

5.6. If yes to who?

Circle the one applicable
a) Teachers
b) Police
c) District ofﬁce
(I) Nurses in the clinic
e) Extension agent
f) Others (specify)

 

Section F: Socio-Economic
Circle the ones applicable

6.1. Which time of the year is food more expensive?
a) Planting season
b) Rainy season
c) Dry season
d) All the time

6.2. For the past 12 months, has any member of your household worked for his/her self
other than farm work? Yes No

6.3. If yes, Who?

204

a) Husband

b) Wife

0) Adult children
(I) All of the above
6) Others (specify)

6.3. Has any household member worked in a garden belong to a group? Yes No
6.4. If yes, who?

a) Husband

b) Wife

c) Children

d) Other (specify)

 

Circle the ones applicable

6.5. When you were in need of money, whom did you contact?
a) Relatives
b) Fnends
c) Group meetings
(I) Bank or co-operative society
e) Others (specify)

6.6. Have you tried to borrow money at any time this year? Yes no
6.7. If no why

 

If yes, Circle the ones that are applicable
6.8. For what purpose did you borrow money?
a) For farm use
b) For children school fees
c) For health purposes
d) To help a relative
e) For food

6.9. Did you sell some of your farm produce this year? Yes No

6.10. If no, why not? Because
a) I did not harvest enough
b) Markets that will need my goods are far away
c) Transport cost to the markets are expensive
(I) I have no time to go to the markets
e) Others (specify)

6.11. If yes, where did you sell your goods?
a) Village market
b) Neighboring village market
c) In a different Clan’s market
d) In cities like Bamenda
e) Other (specify)

6.12. Estimate your total sales or crops income for this year. ---------—-CFA
6.13. Do you do any off-farm activities? Yes No
6.14. If no, why not?

8) There are no job for employment

b) l have no time

c) No body to take care of my child

d) Other (speciﬁed)

 

205

6.15. If yes what off-farm activities are you involved in?
6.16. About how much money you think you make per month?

6.17. Do you some times receive money from a family relative living out of the

village? Yes No
6.18. Who? Circle the ones applicable
a) Husband
b) Son

c) Daughter
d) Sister or brother
e) Others (specify)

 

6.19. In terms of money, how much do you receive per year from the named person

above?

6.20. Below is a list of 10 production resources. To each of these, assign a numerical
value, 1 to 10 in order of importance, indicating the ones you need most in
your production systems.

--- Land

-- Labor

--- Farm tools

-- Credit

--- Agricultural input (e.g. fertilizer, hybrid seeds, insecticide etc.)

-- Storage facility

--- Transportation

---- Market

--- Agricultural training

--- Household technology (e.g., improves cooking stove, tap water, grinding mills)

Section G : Socio Cultural Environment

Cultural Values
Put H for husband W for wife and B for both
7.1. Who makes the final decision on the following
a) Numbers of kids to have
b) Quantity of land for farming
0) Sales money from farm produce
d) Household expenditure
Circle the ones applicable
7.2. Who makes decision on which land to be farmed next season?
a) Village council
b) The village chief
c) Family head
d) Spouse
e) The chief and village council
f) Husband and wife

9) The family
7.3. How can you rate your husband's attitude towards you?
a) Very good
b) Good
c) Bad
d) Very bad

e) I don't know

206

7.4. Does your husband compel you to do some work for him? Yes No
7.5. If yes what?

 

 

7.6. Has your husband bullied you? Yes No
7.7. Has your husband beaten you? Yes No
7.8. Is there some food that only men eat them?

Yes No

 

7.9. If yes, then name the foods
7.10. Does your spouse give you money to buy some household needs? Yes No

7.11. Does your spouse cook when you are sick or still in the farm? Circle one
a) yes
b) Sometimes
c) No
Circle those applicable
7.12. Do you give him money to
a) Pay his tax
b) Pay children fee
c) Pay church contribution
d) For pocket allowance
e) Others (specify)

 

8713. Which of the following duties do you do?
a) Cook for the family
b) Do farm work
0) Fetch ﬁrewood
d) Child care
e) Domestic cleaning
f) All of the above

7.14. Do you get tired when you do all these activities? Yes No

7.15. If yes, what ways do you think your husband or household should do to reduce this
burden?

 

 

 

 

7.16.Name at list ﬁve things you need most in life? Start naming from the most
important.

 

 

7.17. Who takes care of your baby when you are gone to the farm?
a) I carry the baby alone with me
b) My husband baby sit for me
c) Have one of my children baby-sit for me.
d) Have an elderly person care of the baby
e) Other specify)

7.18. Have you ever taken one off your children out of school to take care of the junior
ones? Yes No

7.18. Has your husband another wife? Yes No

207

7.19. Do you love her?

 

7.20. Which ways is she helpful to you?

 

 

 

Section H. physical Factors

Circle the one
8.1. Have you experienced?

a) Soil erosion Yes No
b) Land slight Yes No
c) Drought Yes No
d) Soil infertility Yes No
e) Flood Yes No
8.2. Did any of these reduce your production that year? Yes No

8.3. IF yes, how did you cope with the situation?

8.4. Where are most of your farms located?
a) Valleys
b) Hill-slopes
c) Hill crest
d) Plain

 

8.5. How do you prevent soil erosion?

 

8.6. How do you fight against drought?

 

 

 

8.7. How do you cope during hunger times?

 

Section I: Access to Extension Agents

Circle one
9.1. Have you heard of the extension services? Yes No

9.2 Are you aware that an extension agent comes regularly to the village? Yes No

9.3 How many times did the extension agent visit you last year?
a) None
b) 1 to 2 times
c) 3 to 4 times
d) 5 to 6 times
e) Above 7 times
9.4. If yes, what sex? F M

Choose one

9.5. Which would you prefer more to work with you if you were to be given an option
a) Male extension agent
b) Female extension agent

 

9.6. State the reason behind your choice.

 

 

208

9.7. Did you pay an extension agent for any service? Yes No

9.8. If yes, which services did you pay for? Circle the applicable ones
a) Farm visit
b) Training session
c) Fertilizer delivery
d) Others (specify)

 

9.9. Would you like to be visited? Yes No

9.10. If no, why not?

 

9.11. Does extension agents work equally with all farmers both male and female?
Yes No

9.12. Do you know where extension agent conducts demonstration? Yes No

9.13. Have you participated on any demonstration farm Yes No
Circle the ones applicable
9.14. If yes, was it for
a) A mono cropping system?
b) Mixed cropping agriculture?
9.15. Did you benefit from it? Yes No

 

9.16. If no why?

 

9.17. If no, why not?
a) The location was too far
b) I did not have enough time
c) l was not interested
d) Don't know place or time
e) others (specify)

 

9.18. Has any member of your household attended a demonstration farm this year?

 

Yes No
9.19. If yes, who? Circle the one applicable
a) Wife
b) Husband
c) Both husband and wife
d) others (Specify)

Section J: Institutional Environment
Agricultural Training
10.1. Are you aware of different types of agricultural training program? Yes No

10.2. Have you attended agricultural programs, which are important to your production?
Yes No

10.3. If no, why not? Circle the ones applicable
a) Training site is too far from home
b) There are no accommodations if you have to bring your child?
c) The timing of agricultural training programs is inapprOpriate
d) Your level of makes it difficult to take advantage of available training programs.

209

e) The knowledge (including skills) you need to perform your agricultural activities is not
provided in most training programs.
f) Other (specify)

 

10.4 Identify from the list below the following agricultural training organization
programs that you have attended. Circle the ones applicable.
a) None
b) Extension service training programs
c) Young farmers training programs
d) Home-economic training programs
e) NGO training program
f) Other (specify)

 

10.5. If you attended home-economic programs, what were you trained for? Circle those
applicable
a) Cooking, or baking or frying
b) Knitting
c) Sewing
d) Others (specified) -- uuuuuu

Section K: Farming and Access to labor

11.1. Below are speciﬁc agricultural production tasks perform on your farm. Please
indicate by circling those applicable

Group

Activities Myself Husband Children work Relatives others
Land preparation 1 2 3 4 5 6
Hoeing 1 2 3 4 5 6
Planting 1 2 3 4 5 6
Weeding 1 2 3 4 5 6
Harvesting Transporting 1 2 3 4 5 6
Processing 1 2 3 4 5 6
Marketing 1 2 3 4 5 6
Storage 1 2 3 4 5 6
11.2. Do you require more labor on your farm? Yes No

Circle the appropriate one
11.3. Is your farm burned before farming season? Yes No
11.4. If yes, who burns the farm?
a) Husband
b) Wife
c) Hunter
d) Cattle raisers

11.5. Why is the farm burnt?
a) to make work easy for farming
b) To drive snakes
c) To know the boundary
d) To use the ash as manure

11.6. Do you use any manure when farming? Yes No
11.7. If yes, which one?

a) fertilizer

b) Grass manure

c) Cow or chicken dung

210

d) Non of the above
e) Others (specify) --------------.._

11.8. Do you buyfertilizer? Yes No

11.9. If no, will you like to buy some? Yes No

11.10. If no, why not?

a) I do not have money

b) I do not know how to use it
c) I don't like fertilizer

d) Other (specify)

11.11. Who controls when to harvest the crops on the farm?

a) Husband

b) Wife

c) Both husband and wife
d) Others (specify) ---

11.12. Do you usually sell your agricultural products in the market? Yes No

11.13 How do you get to your local market?

a) On foot

b) By bicycle

0) By horse

0) By bus

e) Other (specify ..............

11.14. Which other places apart from the village market do you sell your crops or goods? ----------

 

11.15. How do you get to the distant markets?

a) On foot

b) In a bus or taxi
c) On a bike
(I) On a horse

e) Others Specify

 

11.16. How long does it take you on foot to get there?

11.17. Who decides what to be sold?

a) Husband
b) Wife
c) Both husband and wife

11.18. Which crops did you plant this year?

a)
b)
C)
d)
e)
f)
9)
h)

11.19. Do you fallow your plot?

Corn

Coco yam
Cassava

Yam

Beans

Sweet potato
Irish potatoes
Other (specify)

Yes No

211

11.20. If not, why not? Because
a) I don't have enough land
b) I need to feed many mouths
c) Other (specify)

11.21. If yes, how long do you fallow your plot? Circle one
a) Six months
b) One year
0) Two years
d) Three years
e) 4 years
f) Others (specify)

Section L: Farm Tools

12.1. Presently, do you have adequate farm tools? Yes No

12.2. Is your production low because of lack of improves farm tools? Yes No

12.3. Are you aware of farming tools that are more efﬁcient than the ones you have?
Yes No

12.4. Are you using one or some of them? Yes No
12.5. If yes, which ones? Name three. 1. 2. 3.

12.6. Are these improved tools available in the market? Yes No

12.7. Has an extension agent or any organization taught your how to use new tools?
Yes No

12.8.Would you like to get some improved farm tools? Yes No
12.9. Do you have money to by the improved farm tools? Yes No

12.10. Apart from using your hoe for farming, do you have a plough or tractor?
Yes No

Section M: General production

13.1. Do you belong to any farmer’s club? Yes No
13.2. If yes, which one? Specify

 

13.3. If you should have one, What are the most important activities that your farmer’s
club should undertake?
a) Supply fertilizers
b) Supply seeds
c) Supply credit
d) Help market your goods
e) Provide storage facilities to members
f) Rent out farming tools
9) Others (specify)

 

13.4. Where do you get the seeds for planting?
a) Reserve
b) Buy from the market
c) From relatives

212

d)
, 13.5. Whic.
a

l
l
)
l
l

(00.00“

0
l g}
13.6. Did ti

13J.VVhe

 

13.8.1309

1:19.ch

13.10. W1

 

13.15

d) All of the above
13.5. Which of these production inputs is used on your farm? Circle those applicable
a) traditional seed variety
b) improved seed variety
c) Fertilizer
d) Manure animal dung
e) Herbicide
f) Insecticide
9) Others (specify)
13.6. Did the government or NGO given you any hybrid seeds to plant last year?

Yes No
13.7. Where do you store your crops for consumption during the bad season?
a) Ban
b) Ceiling

c) Buried in the soil
d) All of the above
e) Others (specify)

 

13.8. Does some of the food get rotten before the time of consumption? Yes No

13.9. Would you like to get a storage house to reserve your food so that they don't get
bad? Yes No

13.10. Which is the worst time of the year?
a) beginning of planting season
b) Rainy season
c) Dry season

 

13.11. How do you cope during this bad season?

 

13.1.2. How can the government improve the bad season?

 

 

13.13. Were year yields better this year than last year? Yes No
13.14. If no, Why?
a) l farm plot that has not been followed
b) The soil is not fertile
c) I did not apply manure
(I) There was more drought this year
e) Other (specify)
13.15. If yes, what factor contributed to this positive change?
a) use of hybrid seeds
b) Use of manure
c) Use of fertilizer
d) Use of prolong fallow
e) Others (specify)

13.16 .Has your cropping patterns changed? Yes No
13.17. Do you wish it to be changed? Yes No
13.18. If yes, how do you want it to be changed?

13.19. Have you ever experienced bad harvest? Yes No

13.20. If yes, When? Say the year
13.21. Tell me why it happened?

213

a) drought

b) Erosion

c) Flood

d) Locus

e) Animals (like cows, goats pigs etc.)
f) Others (specify)

13.22. If animals have destroyed your crops, did the owners compensate you?
Yes No

13.23. How many times do you farm in a year? A) One b) two 0) three
13.24. Do you do any farming during the dry season? Yes No
Section N: Projects
14.1. Have you taken part in any village project? Yes No
14.2. If no, why not?
a) not interested
b) Not enough time
c) No money to buy needed tools or requirement
d) Your spouse asked you not to participate
e) don’t know
14.3. If yes, which one?
14.4. How would you rate the way the project was implemented?
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly disagree
e) No opinion
14.5. Was any new technology introduced in the project? Yes No

14.6. Did you have some difﬁculties in obtaining some input? Yes No
14.7. If yes, which one?

14.8. Were you involve in the planning of the project? Yes No

14.9. Before implementing this project, did the authorities concern ask for your needs?
Yes No

14.10. Did you benefit from the project? Yes No

14.11. Was the project implemented from beginning to the end? Yes No

 

14.12. If no, what do you think is the cause of failure?

 

14.13. How would you want the project be implemented?

 

14.14. What type of project do you think it would have benefited you more?

14.15. Do you have any other suggestions about projects?

214

Section 0: Household Demographic

15.1. How old are you?
15.2. Are you...
a) Single
b) Married
0) Married with the husband elsewhere
(1) Widow
e) Divorced

 

15.3. How many wives have your husband?
a) Just me
b) Two
c) Three
d) Four
e) Five and above specify)

15.4. Who is the head of your household?
a) Myself
b) Husband
c) Son
d) Brother in-law
e) Older relative
f) Others (specify)

15.5. How many children do you have that are...
a) not in primary school (0 to 5)
b) Primary school (6 to 14)
0) Secondary school (15 to 20)
d) High school
e) University and other professional school

 

 

f) Drop out from school

 

Circle those applicable
15.6. How many of your children are
a) Married
b) Working on their own
c) Living with other relative

 

 

 

15.7. Do you have any relative living in your household? Yes No

15.8. If yes name their ages

 

15.9. What is your education level?
a) Did not go to school at all
b) Did not complete primary school
c) Completed primary school
d) Drop out of secondary school
e) Completed secondary school
f) Completed high school
9) Others (specify)

 

215

APPENDIX B

CORESPONDENCE

216

 

MICHIGANSTATE
u NIVERSITY

May 9, 2000
TO: Frank L BREWER
409 Agriculture Hall

RE: IRB# 00.234 CATEGORth-C
APPROVAL DATE: May 2, 2000

TITLE: DEVELOPING RURAL WOMEN FARM-HOUSEHOLD SYSTEMS. A CASE
STUDY IN NGIE CLAN IN THE NORTHWEST PROVINCE OF CAMEROON

The University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects' (UCRIHS) review of this
projedbmmpleteardlampleasedmadvisemmeﬁghtsmdwdfareofmehunan
subjechappeartobeadequatelyprotectedandmethodstoobteln informed oonsentare
appropriate. Therefore. the UCRIHS approved this project.

RENEWALS: UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar year. beginning with the approval
date shown above. Projects continuing beyond one year must be renewed with the green
renewal form. A maximum of four such expedited renewals possible. Investigators wishing to
cbntinue a project beyond that time need to submit it again for a complete review.

REVISIONS: UCRIHS must review any changes in procedures involving human subjects, prior
to Initiation of the change. If this is done at the time of renewal. please use the green renewal
form. To revise an approved protocol at any othertime during the year, send your written
request to the UCRIHS Chair, requesting revised approval and referencing the project‘s lRBtI
and title. Include in your request a description of the change and any revised instruments,
consent forms or advertisements that are applicable.

PROBLEMSICHANGES: Should either of the following arise during the course of the work,
notify UCRIHS promptly. 1) problems (unexpected side effects. complaints, etc.) involving
human subjects or 2) changes in the research environment or new information indicating
greater risk to the human subjects than existed when the protocol was previously reviewed and
approved

If we can be of further assistance, please contact us at, 517 355-2180 or via email:

UCRIHS@plot.rnsu.edu. Please note that all UCRIHS forms are located on the web:
http:/MwwnwuedulunltlvprgsIUCRIl-iSI

Sincerely,

 

ppora
1537 B Spartan Village
East Lansing, MI 48823

217

Introductory and Consent Form for literate and ofﬁcials
Departrnent Of ANR Education & Communication Systems
Agriculture Hall, Room 409,
Michigan State University, Ml 48824
- May 16, 2000.
To whom it might concern

My name is Agheneza ZippOrah from Michigan State University in USA. I
have come to conduct a research in the Ngie women ’s farm-household systems.
.The aim is to learn constraints,‘ needs and opportunities for developing fann-
households and also learn some coping strategist in their farm-household
systems. The result of the survey will help policy makers implement or reshape
policies that will help develop the Ngie women productive systems rn order to
raise their living standard.

I am asking for your permission to use any information that you will give
me in my research. I am assuring you that your information or responses will
remain completely conﬁdential.er name will never be placed on the answer
sheet or be used at any time. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum
extent allowable by law. Your participation is strictly voluntary. You may choose
not to participate. You may also choose not to answer any particular question or
withdraw your participation at any time. After the research, I. will call a meeting to
give you some brieﬁng on the ﬁndings.

If you have any question, you could contact me or any of the two persons
below. ‘ '

1. Dr. Frank Brewer
Committee Chair and Supervisor
410 Agriculture Hall,
Michigan State University, MI. 48824.
Phone it (517)355-6580 Extension 204.

2. David E. Wright, Ph.D. .
Chair, University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects
Michigan State University
Phone # (517) 355-2180

Are you willing to participate? Yes No
If no, intewbw terminates
If Yes, Sign below _
Signature -—---- Date ————-
Sincerely,
Agheneza Zipporah

UCRIHS APPROVAL FOR
THIS project EXPIRES:

MAY - 1 2001

SUBMIT RENEWAL APPLICATION
ONE MONTH PRIOR TO
ABOVE DATE TO CONTINUE

The researcher

218

 

A Research on Ngie Rural Women’s Farm Household Systems

Research questionnaires

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enumerator L 1 Respondent code
Date of interview I 7

Time started I ]

Time ended L 7-

 

Verbal Consent

This research is focus on the Ngie women’s fawn-household systems. The aim is
to learn from you women what yoUr constraints; needs and Opportunities are and
also Ieam some of your coping strategist. The result Of the survey will help policy
makers implement or reshape policies that will help develop your productive
systems in order to raise your living standard.

Your name was drawn in a random sample Of farm-household from two
villages in Ngie, Andek and teze. In order that the results accurately represent
the whole clan, it is very important that you give the responses to the entire
question to the best Of your knowledge. Responding will take less than 30
minutes of your time, but it will be crucial to the success of this study.

I am asking for your permission to use any information that you will give
me in my research. I am assuring you that your responses will remain completely
confidential. Your name will never be placed on the answer sheet or be used at
any time. Your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law.
Your participation is strictly voluntary. You may choose not to participate. You
may also choose not to answer any particular question or withdraw your
participation at any time. After the research, I will call a meeting to give you some
brieﬁng on the-findings. ‘ '

If you have any question about the study, contact me at Mr Essem’s
house where I reside.

Are you a female resident of this household who is between the age 21 and 65?
Yes NO

Are you a female below 21 married or had had been married? Yes No

Are you willing to participate in this survey? Yes NO

If no, interview will be terminated

If yes, I will go to the next page.

UCRIHS APPROVAL FOR
THIS project EXPIRES:

MAY - 1 2001

SUBMIT RENEWAL APPLICATION
ONE MONTH PRIOR TO
ABOVE DATE TO CONTINUE

219

APPENDIX C

MAPS

220

Cameroon Topography

 

 

 

 

 

5"}
If" g.
“.2.: 4E—Xf' Y‘— . .-
cmenoorr g
fern Um
”'7 met '1'
"- -§ Mad .
:3 gtwlrt . w- . V‘Shfd
a: . --_ :3...“ if? . \_ﬁ\
‘ a” W ..:‘o ' .e ..\
D It '9 «aura-r. 3.7! X... l‘
- ___ w.\ .-
\f
/
o'Tﬂl' 7.

o ' 3. .Fp'
' «W, 4 I": 0' if: ‘5’
Par-”x! Nigeria :7; r .' 3;- ’42 '
I ”#1 1"} 1 g ‘ ,..

Ngie

 

Central African

 

” Republic
M”
M *3 Hal
.9 W
't p, .. I
Gulfoquinea ﬁr)“. l :y
. 4‘ I
Equatorial ! 0m CONGO \ '
Guinea 1“ 3

221

The Ten Provinces Of Cameroon
And Their Capitals

Chad

    
 

Central Aﬁican
Republic

Gulf of
Guinea

Equatorial Gabon Congo
Guinea

222

Map Of Ngie Villages

 

Metta

Ngwaw

  

e r- ‘oou-e

Tinachong

 

223

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