Conclusions: the politics of producing knowledge in development - gender in rural production

This book is a product of its time. It is based on the growing realization among international development practitioners, academics and policy makers that women’s contribution to agricultural production in developing countries has been understudied and underestimated. A recent FAO document encapsulates the logic of such general awareness that links gender and agriculture in the following way (emphasis in the original text):

Both women and men play critical roles in agriculture throughout the world, producing, processing and providing the food we eat. Rural women in particular are responsible for half of the world’s food production and produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries. Yet, despite their contribution to global food security, women farmers are frequently underestimated and overlooked in development strategies. Despite the fact that women are the world’s principal food producers and providers, they remain ‘invisible’ partners in development. A lack of available gender disaggregated data means that women’s contribution to agriculture in particular is poorly understood and their specific needs ignored in development planning. The rationale that stood at the center of the four focal case studies documented