Gender roles and child nutrition in livestock production systems in developing countries: a critical review

The study of gender issues in agricultural production has become an important subject of inquiry, even since questions were raised on whether women and men benefited equally from economic development. The focus of the debate and empirical research has primarily been on the role of women in crop production to the virtual exclusion of the role of gender (women, men and children) in livestock farming. This review is based on the limited amount of available literature which shows that specific participation of women, men and children in animal husbandry is significant and varies from region to region according to the traditional gender division of labour, other variables, the farming systems and the demographic and environmental factors. The objectives of this review are to examine the gender division of labour, access to resources and benefits from smallholder ruminant livestock production systems; to evaluate the effects of ruminant livestock production on the nutritional status of children and to present two case studies that critically examine how gender analysis was included in smallholder ruminant livestock research projects

Crossbred cows and food security in Ethiopia

This study examines the food security and marketed surplus effects of intensified dairying in the peri-urban area of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where a market-oriented dairy production (MODP) system has been introduced for smallholders. Implications for policy formulation are drawn to help enhance the benefits of the new agricultural technologies. The data for the study are from 1999 primary data for 56 smallholder households. The ouseholds included two groups of 27 with crossbred cows and 29 without. Detailed household-level data were collected weekly (income, production, expenditures), monthly (food intake) and annually (demographics, resource endowments). The contrast between households using improved crossbred cattle and those using traditional cattle provides the basis for determining the extent to which the two sets of households allocate their resources differently and how their allocation decisions affect food security