Food Insecurity in the Agrarian Household: An Analysis of Gendered Identity, Conjugal Dynamics, and Coping in Northwestern Benin

Abstract

Food insecurity represents an enduring challenge for subsistence farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). While gender has been identified as an important determinant of food insecurity in other SSA contexts, this has not been a focus of research in Benin. This dissertation examines how gender shapes food insecurity within the agrarian household by examining the household as a place where the broader structural forces that influence food insecurity and gender play out at a micro-level. I take a mixed-methods approach, drawing on community-level focus groups (n=12), semi-structured interviews (n=40), and a quantitative survey (n=600). The findings reveal that while food insecurity in the region is widespread, its effects are felt differently by men and women. Gendered sociocultural norms that place men as household breadwinners mean that men tend to be ‘blamed’ for food insecurity, while women feel frustrated with their husband’s perceived failure to fulfill their responsibilities. Sociocultural norms dictate what is considered men’s and women’s work, which results in a growing burden of labour for women in the form of survival-driven income generating activities. As livelihoods are reshaped, women are contesting societal norms that dictate the agreed upon division of labour, but in so doing threaten men’s masculinity and reinforce their shame with respect to food provisioning. In order to manage the stress and hunger which accompany food insecurity, gendered drinking patterns have emerged, wherein men’s alcohol misuse has become a problem. This has further undermined food security by interfering with farm work and diverting household resources. Conjugal tensions and arguments arise as a result and are exacerbated by drunkenness, often devolving into violence. Concomitantly, this results in intimate partner violence (IPV) as a gendered consequence of food insecurity, findings that are confirmed in the quantitative analysis of the regional survey data. Taken together, this research illustrates how gender shapes men’s and women’s experiences of food insecurity within the household, playing into the division of household responsibilities and challenging existing gender norms. Food insecurity is revealed as an important site for the renegotiation of gender roles within the agrarian household, but one that has particularly devastating consequences for women