Gender and Land Right Threatens Food Security

Published on 1st February 2013

Expanding women's right to land is fundamental to battle food shortage and penury. Nevertheless, gender differences to gain access to land are still a big issue in virtually all the countries of the world. Africa with reference to eastern part of Nigeria, women do not have ownership to land and this no doubt exposes women farmers to poverty and starvation, it also impedes women empowerment in both rural and urban cities. The use of Land by rural women axiomatically, makes it possible for them to have essential needs for survival and also make little money from the sale of their farm products in their local market. Land gives out what all humans need to live and be alive, it no doubt dominates vital resource for global existence both in rural and urban cities.

Issues on gender inequality, land right and access to land is all-encompassing, in Africa it has become a norm to deny women access to land. Women do not only have minimal access to land compare to their male counterpart, they face restriction to land right, most women can only access land if allowed to do so by family members through consensus. In most African countries, Women lose entitlements to land when divorced and if she becomes a widow. Even when women are allowed to hold a portion of land, they always have a small portion of land allocated to them and in most cases this portion is not always enough for them in the case of women farmers. In eastern part of Nigeria, the fact that you are a woman denies you right to ownership of land.

In recourse to international assessment of agricultural survey, it shows that fewer than 20% of landholders are women. This revelation is dismal in Western Central Africa, East and North Africa where it was found that fewer than 10% of landholders are women. In Asia, the percentage varies just in a small figure, though the case of Eastern and Southern Africa and in parts of Latin America, presents a difference as women appear to have better access to land.

Most of the efforts geared towards solving this injustice facing women seem not to have yielded fruit. In the eastern part of Nigeria for instance, even when land is willed to a woman, family members regard it as a taboo to hand over land to the woman. This is not only limited to Nigeria, but most West African countries.

Most countries in West Africa are turning their searchlight to revamping agriculture. If this effort will yield fruit as it ought to, all the factors impeding women's right to land must be addressed, 80% of women that produce about 85% of food consumed by the urban cities do not have right to land. If women are denied the right to access land, it will have global socio-political, economic and cultural implication and all the noise about revamping agriculture by most countries across West Africa will be a mere myth and mirage.

The food price challenges in 2006-2008 are a testament of the social and economic implication of women's minimal access to land. This no doubt metamorphosed into unduly larger welfare sufferings of female-headed households. The harmful effect on food safety was large as these households (women) spend a larger part of their earnings on food.

Giving women access to land will be a means to battle poverty and hunger.  Under the economic trend, if something drastically is not done to curb the denial of women (especially the rural women who are mostly farmers) access to and use of land, we may face another serious food scarcity particularly in Africa where most of the rural income is on farming and women contribute 80% to 85% of agricultural produce in these rural communities. Bearing in mind the implication of denying women access to land, governments across West Africa region must device policy and legislation that will guarantee women access to land.

As civil society intensifies its advocacy on economic and social rights, gender and land right must be one of its core mandate. OXFAM in its campaign for ending poverty and empowering small scale farmers must dedicate part of its funding to serious advocacy on gender and land right if its campaign on food security will yield expected result and achieve its set target. The same concern that climate change is generating in the global community should also be accorded to women in their quest for land rights.

By Audu Liberty Oseni


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