-6-

problems are magnified when their holdings are geographically disperse<. They need more time to commute between plots, and must transport tools, inputs or harvested produce longer distances. Child care is particularly difficult when fields are far: women must decide whether to take their children to the fields or make other child care arrangements. As a result, women may simply not have the time to travel to distant fields to carry out recommended extension practices. This not only reduces women's yields through diseconomies of scale, but causes extension agents to dismiss women as non-adopters.

# (ii) Women tend to be over-reRresented among farmers with little land.

1.17 In Kenya 40% of smallholders' are managed by women, and women provide some 75% of the labor on all smallholdings (World Bank 1989b). In Botswana, female-headed farm households work fewer acres of land, have less farm equipment, and own fewer cattle and small stock. (Kossoudji and Mueller 1981). When the land owned cannot support the family, outside income must be sought. A common source of such income is selling one's labor to others. However, this significantly reduces the time available to work on one's own farm. The result is lower productivity for the smallholder a;id less likelihood of interaction with extension agents in one's fielu.

Case 4: **NALAUr: VICIOJS CYCLE** OF SXALLIHOLDER AGRICULTURE

## Case **5:. COTE** DIVOIRE: EFFECT OF **EXPAIDIIN** CULTIVATION OF **COCOA** AND COFFEE

In Nalawi, 50% of smalt As a result of the expansîon of cocoa and farmsteads tles. than t ha) are coffee, better quality forest zone land, headed by women. Some 83i of the previously planted with food crops. was now smallholders consume alt theîr own ptanted with coffee mad cocoa. Thus, the malize supplies before the new maize conditions under which food crops were grown la reedy for'harvest. The shortage of changed: (1) they were grown on poorer food resuits in calorie deficits quality _tand_ further away fromnthe village; precisely when energy demands are (2) because coffee and cocoa are permanent highest -- et the beginning of the crops, the rotation possibitities were rigorous planting season. These reduced; (3) food crops groin were those smallholders frequently setl their which coutd be interplanted wiîth coffee and own labor to-buy foad. Chi Idren of ten cocca and (4) were those not needing care fall itt from malaria and food dur4ng peak coffee and cocoa operations. A shortages at this time, resulting in reduced range of food crops was suitable for additional burdens. Secause these these new conditions, and there is evidence smatt hotders-sel **t** heir tabor and that at certain times of the year farm have tes- time to altocate to their familtes had insufficient food. The oin: farms, earty maize weeding is seasonatity of income from cocoa and coffee delayed, slgnificantly reducing resulted In financiat bottlenecks at certain yields. The cycte of amize shortage times of the year. During such times, women then repeats itself next season. were obliged to sell part of their food _crop_ Unfortunatety, the number of production, even though totat food crop smaltholders caught In this series of production was insuffkicent'for two-thirds of e#ents is increasing with population the familie **s** urveyed.. Food crops had to be gre-th ti and limited off-farm bought later at higher prices. (Kranz, Jutte ewptoy.nent opportunities (Carr 1989). and Ffege, Karen, 1984) Defined as having less than 1 hectare of land.