| dc.description.abstract | The study analyzed the effects of gender and farming systems
on time allocated to work by agricultural households in rural
Kenya. A total of 289 participants were selected from Njoro and
Kikuyu divisions. spot observations, personal observations,
questionnaires, and focus groups methods were used to collect
data. Ecological zones influenced the ~~ount of time allocated
to work. Households in Njoro spent less time on work than
households in Kikuyu. Females spent more time on household and
agricultural work than males. Younger males spent more time in
agriculture than female; of the same ages. Female-heads were not
different from other women on time they allocated to work.
Respondents from female-headed households spent more time in
agriculture and household production and less time in income
generation than their counterparts from two-parent households.
Presence of a husband in a household made members worked more
hours doing household activities than when he was away. Age and
educational attainment influenced the time females allocated to
work. For males, the factors were age, educational attainment,
type of family and the size of farm. For every additional year
in age, females contributed increasing amounts of time to
household and agricultural production while males' time
iv
decreased. To cope with bad weather and economic hardships,
livelihood strategies such as reducing consumers, shifting
members' maintenance responsibilities, increasing sources of
income and depending on remittances were used. Men were
conscious of their reduced time allocated to work in the home,
acknowledged the role of women in agricultural production and
allowed their spouses to make management and production decisions
on their farms. Women were performing male designated chores,
conscious of their roles in households subsistence, bias in
traditional division of labor and its consequences and were
seeking alternative solutions to manage the effects of emigration
of men. Mothers were m0re liberal than fathers in allocating
gender designated responsibilities to their children. Boys
contributed more time to agriculture than male adults and even
their counterpart females. Division of labor in the communities
were based on relative power, social ideology, and moral economy. | en_US |
