The role of women in the socioeconomic development of the onchocerciasis-protected zones

,ffirz ONCHOCERCIASIS CONTROL PROGRAM}IE IN WEST AFRICA pRoGRAI'1r'{E DE LUTTE CONTRE L'ONCHOCERCOSE EN AFRIQUE DE LTOUEST ORIGINAL: FRENCH T}tE ROLE OF WO},IEN IN THE SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMEM OF THE ONCHOCERCIASIS-PROTECTED ZONES CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . Study justiflcation. 0bjectlve Pa ge I 1 1 socIo-cULTURAL, ECONol'IrC AND HEALTH oVERVTEW OF TIIE ZoNE - For the reductlon of househould chores - For a more effective participation CONCI,USION 3 4Contrlbution of women to development activities ConstrainEs on the parcicipaEion of women ln socioeconomj-c development ..; .... CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS 5 8 RECOI'I.MENDATIONS 10 10 L2 r3 15BIBI,IOGRAPHY INTRODUCTION Study justlflcatlon 1. This study on the role of women ln the socioeconomLc development of the protected zones was recornmended by the Jolnt Programme Cornmlttee (JPC), ln lEs 1985 sesslon, ln view of the nagnitude of the migratory movements going on ln the rural areas of the OCP and whlch have resulted ln an expansion of the occupancy of the lands formerly subjected to onchocerclasls Eransmisslon and ln a dynamism of the populatlons. 2. The JPC has partleularly focused lts attention on women not because they are the only people who work ln the rural areas or because thelr contribution to development is not well known. The very ltrportant role of women 1n the socleEy-in general and ln Lhe rural agrlcultural soclety ln parEicular is recognized at the naE.ional and inEernaE. lonal leve1s. In fact, many sEudies aEE.est to thaE. 3. The JPC recommendatlon proceeded rather from thls increaslng aurareness role that women play in national developmenE. Thus, an evaluation,of the socioeconomic impact of OCP would not be complete if lt dld not cover Ehls Ehe rural populatlon. :' of the secti.on of 4. That is why thls work is aimed rather aE a better knowledge of the environment. Social and economic constralnts whlch can check the progress of women will thus be identified in order to better adapt local, natlonal and external lnterventlons to Ehe real socioeconomic needs of fhe wornen ln these zones since without.'such needs the seEElement and resettlement schemes run great. risks of fallure 10r13. 5. This study w111 try to identlfy Ehe major persisEent obstacles,so Ehat the whole of the human and material potentlal for productlon could be moblIlzed wlth a vlew to an optimal development. of the zone. Tradttlonal actlviEie" "ng.g"d in by women musttherefore be well ldentlfled to make possible a proper definltlon of appropriate technologlcal means for the developmenE of the onchocerclasis-proEecEed lands. objecEive I 6. Far therefore from trying to linger over an evalutlon of esonomic conErlbution of the woments work, Ehis sEudy attempE less evldenL aspects, lre the subjectlve notions which women relat.ion to Eheir objective sit.uation; the objectlve alnned aE the way ln which the women 1n these zones envisage the future 7. Through dogumentary analysis and field surveys, thls concerns It.. 1de Ehe i SEO have be in porEance of the y emphasis on f thelr role in i to grasp beEter elves. ntlficaEion of: t - economic (farming, anlmal rearing, fishlng, handicrafts, tra social (home managenenL, role in health and educaElon, etc.) underraken by the women in the rural zones of theiOCP area; e, etc.) and acE ivi ties ctors of ions coo pe ra t ive ill be the subject crete as possible ly and constrai-nts related to the working conditions (te+hnolo production and their availability, et3. ) or rhe healEh(accessibllity to safe drinking \rater, health cenEre, e locaI lnitiatives of the social and/or esr;rromic rype, s r;rganizations and other types of village assoclaElons. oE a critlcal analysis 1rr or:der t<> bring out proposals Lhat will enable tlre wonren and rheir familics to 1ead, ecooomically, a more productive and rnore dynarntc life. gY, f[ co nd if, tc.);l I uch ap rher Ias con .t- so c ra.l i I Page 2 METHODOLOGY 8. The whole sample used for Ehe case study, based essentlally on a well-consldered selecflon supporEed by the experlence of the minlsErLes, non-governrnental organlzaElons and women associatlons, was chosen because of: the amount of work done by the women; lnfrastrucEures as regards extenslon servicesEhe exisEence of socioeconomic and equipment; Ehe erdstence of a EradiEional organizatlon or assoclatlon and particularly the magnitude of the mlgratory movemenE thaE has been golng on ln the locality since the sEarE of Ehe Onehocerciasis Control Programme. On rhis basis, the followlng will be found ln the sample: villages provided with exEenslon services by public as well as prlvate bodles (developmenE corporatlons, various rural funds, non-governmejntal organlzations, etc. ); - villages provided wlth extension servlces by associations or the Natlonal Womenrs Union; villages not provl-ded with extenslon services, where Ehe lnitlative for associatlons 1s purely local; vl1lages where r"romen engage more ln EradiElonal handicraft actlvlties; and fina11y, villages conEaining only emlgrants. 9 . Thus, Ehanks Eo the s urveys corrducted E,hrough open discussio ns alone and to the questlonnaires, it has been possbile to identify and social activities engaged irr by the women, and t.he consErainLs encounter ln Ehe exerclse of these actlvites. liniEed Eo women different economic .and problems they 10. For detalled informaEion by country, reference w111 be made to based on local studlds carrled ouE in 1986 and 19S7(t). a set of reports 11. This reporE is therefore a synthesls of a seri.es of macro-sEudies carried out according co a meEhodology based on: (1) a docurnentary research in,varlous places, i.e. ministries, governmenE departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), eEc. and (2) field visiEs fr)r observaEion and conducE of surveys througit dlrect discussions wiEh the \romen and women groups in a sample of 2l villages and six r'iral towns. (1) OCr Reports on E.he c()ntributi,on of wornen to the socioecr>nornig onchoce rclasis-protected zones. development t>f Ehe Page 3 socro-cULTURAL, ECONOMTC AND HEALTH OVERVIEW OF THE ZoNE 12. The onchocerclasls zones of each of the seven lnltlal Partlclpatlng Countrles have many comnon features. f3. Generally, they are wooded savannas on predomlnantly ferruglnous solls lntersected wlth lowlands and floodable plalns. 14. The agrlcultural pracElces, doninated essentially by Ehelr mlgrant nature and the duration of thelr fallow, dlvlde the OCP area into Ewo regions: the north where the prlncipal crops cultlvated are cereals (millet, sorghum and malze), whlle nore to the south cassava, yam and cowpeas are being developed further ln addlclon to cereals and cash crops such as cotEon and groundnut.s. 15. To thaL must be added picked or gathered produce like shea-nuts and locust beans whlch are processed inEo butter, soap or various condlments. CaEtle rearing is widespread and the ralslng of snall rumlnants is becoming general ln the zone. 16. Commercial actlvitles based essenEially on cola nuts, gold and salt, and cultural actlvities dominated by Islam, on the one hand, and ancest.ral tradltlons on the other, and whlch explaln ln part Ehe practice of polygamy, have developed over the centurles ln thls vast reglon. 17. The organlzation of hunan socleEies composed of more rhan 17 mllllon people 52% of whom are \romen seems Eo predestine each main ethnic group for one of Ehe followlng activities, i.e. crop faruing, trade and anlmal rearing. 18. Thus, the Voltalan groups met in Cote d'Ivolre, Mali, Burkina, To8o, Ghana, Benin and Niger appear prlnclpally to be more active ln crop farmlng and the rearlng of small rumlnants, while the Mandingo groups scatEered over Cot.e dtIvElre, Mall, .Burkina and Benin devoted themselves nore to trade until recently wfren thanks to Ehe developmenE. of cash crops they started turrring more and more t.o agriculture. The age-old pastoral tradit.lon of the Fulanis still makes them incontesEably the maln promoters of anlmal rearing in the reglon- 19. The population siEuation in the onchocergiasis zones is setElements. There the noEion of population denslty takes slgniflcance ln that 1t condiElons the possibillties for developmen fact, lE ls concelved very eas11y that wh-en the populaElon density value no development gan take place profitably: setElement sehemes , spontaneous settlements aimed aL agriculEural activitles can be fac of transport, trade and even shortage of rnanpower. marked !y "crEteredon a parf,lcular t. As a matter of is below a cerEain)r, sImply, ed wlth problems 20. From the health vlewpoint, Ehe insufficiency of lnfrastrucEures. and personnel is still of concern. The consequence of such a situaEion is the significance of rhe parasicic diseases which consEitute the lot of the epidemioloBy of the zone. NotabIy, they are malaria, diarrhoea, bilharzia and inE.estinal worms. 21. Onchocerciasls no longer consEitues a serious tl'rrear co health or socioeconornic development. Thls, coupled with Ehe effects of the drought of the:past few years, has influenced rhe migration of some of Lhe econornically productlvej populaEions to Ehe formerly-lnfested zones and oEhers to other counLries in search of a greater ecr>nomic lr'rdependence that wl11 enable thern to escape the tute-1age bf the elders. 22. In the zones concerned, thls ls reflected in the presence of a younger population in the seEElemenL zones and in an adult Ee'nale populatton rate thaL'1s less (25.47") rlran thaE of the adult rnale populaElon (21 .47"). Furttrerrnore, 1t has been tndicated that out of a sample of 86 women quesEtoned in Burklna Faso almr-lst 607" have no co- Page 4 wlfe. Thls flgure ls far above Ehe natlonal flgures and ls conflrmed ln Benln as well as Cote drlvolre where lt, was possible to gaEher lnformat.lon. This change ln the fanlly structure demands from rromen not only a greaEer cont.rlbution Eo the everyday management of the home but also a greater part,iclpation ln economlc acttvlEles through crop farming, anlmal rearlng, handlcrafEs and Erade. Contributlon of tromen to development actlvltles 23. In general, wonen manage t.he family partly through the produce of thelr plots of land for the productlon of varlous vegetables and, secondarily, rice. The proceeds from small handlcrafts and gathered fruits that have been processed (locust beans and shea-nuts) constitute a conslderable contrlbutlon. In addlElon, $romen are responsible for educaElon and health. 24. A new phenomenon is appearlng ln the settlement zones ln Ehe valleys formerly lnfestedz 527" of the agtive population (from 14 years Eo 64 years) ls composed of women generally ln monogamous homes as menEloned above. Thus, it ls observed that the tendeney for an excesslve demand on working capaciEy is more pronounced for Ehe women than the men. 25. The evidence of such situatlons is conflrmed by the area ln Ma1l followlng typical tlmeEable : The 24 hours of a woman ln a rural 04h30 o4h30 - 06h00 o6hoo - 10ho0 10h00 - 15h00 15h00 - 18h00 18 hoo 20ho0 20ho0 2zL'oo 22hOo out of bed waterf eEchlng preparatlon of breakfast generally made the supper t.hat are reheated or millet bathing of rhe children up of the remalns of po r fld ge washing-up pounding of m1l1et collection of vegetables or leaves washing long journey to the market in the there are only a few dal1y markets because generally al areas helps Ehe man to for meal big centfes carrylng of the meal to the farm farm work on her plot if she has one, if t111, weed, plant or guide the plough in the l,r I I I-. i- n9t collectlon of flrewood_ for supper c,ollection of fruits or shea-nuEs for water-fetchlng poundlng of millet cleaning of compound preparatlon of supper cardlng and spinning of cotton of f to bed the dxtraction of buLter to assume a houscwlfe role, that t-rf men as 26. IE appears clearly Ehat the women work more than 15 hours per day, Lhe tlrne being dlvlded between famlly and economic acttvltles. 27. Right from their birrh, women seem prepared and condlElr>ned role (wlfe and mother) wlth the expecEation of a complemenLary those responslble econornically 1n the household. I.l i i Page 5 28. It should be observed that whlle ln Ehe ruajorlty of cases sromen compleEely assume the so-called female Easks and responslbllltles competently, the men do not. always and completely play thelr role as economic provlders. Thls role then falls also on sromen who unfortunately have not. always been prepared for that. 29. -I get up at 4 a.m. and start preparlng breakfast wlth Thls phase 1s experlenced by mosE of the women ln the Programme Area. They work on lndlvldual fains where they grow malnly vegetables and food crops whose proceeds go lnto clothlng, medlcal care, the chlldrents schoollng, varlous household ltems (utenslls, caEpets, etc.) and, of course, food. 30. Their work sovers ploughlng, sowing, weeding, harvest and t.he carrying of the quangity to be consumed by the household, not forgetting all that they do Eo ensure thaE it is well processed. These processlng actlvities concern shea-nuts, locust beans, tannin and tamarind, collected frults which certalnly generate lncome but rernain sources of additional work before being sold on the local market. 31. FurEhermore, thls processlng lncreases the poss1b1litles for c-onservatlon and storage of produce. It is carrLed out very often by drylng on the sun as regards crops and by smoking as regards animal produce. Raw produce' Processed produce from personal farms and sometimes famlly farrns, and potLery, coEton, basketry and tanning handicrafts are sold on the locaI markets. 32. Woroen, guardians of the soclo-cultural values of the grouP' are responslble for all educatlonal activifies. They advise the husband, prepare the glrls for thelr duties as women and initiate t.hem lnto Ehe rites of the famlly. They must also honour many soclal obllgatlons (baptlsm, engagemenE, marrlage, deaEh ceremonles, etc.) which are occasions when greaE exPenses are made. 33. As far as health is concerned, women are responslble for the care of the famlly. It is they who send each sick roember of the family to t.he traditional healer or the marabout. Subsequently, they see to 1t that all the treaEmenEs prdscribed are followed and applled. Thelr acti-ons concern prevention also which they ensure Ehrough envlronmenEal hyglene (sweeping of compounds and weedlng of surroundings). 34. Today, the populatlon movements whlch have led t-o Ehe reseEt, leinent of the valleys have broughE about changes. The mlgratory phenomenon indlsputablyfaffects famllies whose size is markedly smaller Ehan the average. I'loreover, the coirsequences of thts resettlement./setElement concern changes ln habits 1n the families.; Women see Lhemselves bound to play a greaEer role in Ehe family farm domlnatEd by cash croPs, in this case coLton, and to a lesser extent, groundnuts and tobacco. Slmllarly, water-feLching (where there are no wells) and the search for flrewbod conEinue to take mrrch of thelr precious tlme. i 35. It 1s necessary to elimlnate the boEtleneck thar manpowe. "on"tlEuEes ln Ehisessentially manual and extensive agrlculture. This lnevitably involves, anong other things, a reduction of Ehe household chores, partlcularly water-fejtching and the search for firewood. i I ConsEratnts on the participatlon of women in socioeconomlc develognent 36. The following observatlon should be recalled: the women here r*ork about 15 to litiz;.;.; per day. They carry ouE work whi^h is partlcularly tqdious (the preparation of ml1IeE or maize for the meal). Water-fetchlng and 'sornetlmes flrewood crrllecEion make thern Eravel, ln certaln situatlons, several tens of kilomeEres dally. .I .M. Guiss<tu has tndlcated figures ranging between 16 and 32 km fo'r the dry season irnd B and 16 km for the rainy season. For the ralny season, for example, when the .r.railability of marrpower must be maximal, this represents more than two t.o four hours Page 6 per day. To the prejudlce that Ehese actlvlEies cause to womenrs full particlPatlon ln development should be added Ehe two hours regularly devoEed to the pounding and grlndlng of cereals when a mlll ls not avallable 37. The consequence of such a slEuatlon for t.he wonen ls the linltatlon of thelr agriculEurat rrork on relatlvely poor lands alongslde the fanlly farm. Stl11 dominated by the weight of traditlon, women cannot fully enjoy thelr polltlcal righE as usufructuarles of the land as conferred on them by the State. In fact, everywhere ln the Programme area, land ls the properEy of the SEate and lt leaves lE to he or she who develops lt. 38. Because of its imporEance as the main factor of production, land ruay seen to some Eo be the major constralnt on Ehe parEicipation of women ln development. Wlthln the framework of this sEudy, thaE does not appear to be evident ln any of the countrles conce rned. 39. J.M. Koh1er (L97 1) indicated thar ln the Bissa country, for exauple, 50% of the cultlvated lands belong to women. They produce 512 of the food crops and 427" of. the cash crops on areas which sometlmes exceed one hectare. Elsewhere, lt ls rlce whlch ls cultlvared, up to 85%, by women. 40. To reporE better on the siEuation, these women who have seEtled'in the rural zones of the valleys were called on Eo speak. The rable below surunarlzes Eheir polnts of vlew on Ehe constraints which weigh heavy on them and the solutions Ehey recommend. CONSTRAINT - The lack of water ln general ls our main constralnE. The wells are noE always functlonal: they dry up often or the pumps break down. Certaln crops llke rlce have been abandoned. The work carrled out lndlvidually, especlally wlEh the means at our dls- posal, is very dlfflcult and llmlts the possibllitles for crop dlversifl- catlon. * Animal Eractlon and the use of carts will lncrease productlon. - Our food processing activitles are dorqinated by the tedlous operatlon of poundlng and grlndlng mil1et/ sorghum and other cereals by hand. "Look at my hands, they are hard". Many women are engaged in shea-butter manufacture and cassava processlng also. - The worklng day ls too heavy and in the evening when we return from che farm wlth flrewood for cooklng and heaEing we still have to go to the sErean Eo fetch water and pound gralns or cassava for the meal. We travel up to 1O krn to reach the first dispensary and when someone ls sick one has to sEop working and watch over him. Page 7 PROPOSITION - The construcEion of wells and boreholes ls as necessary as the r{omen learnlng to repalr the pumps themselves when they break down. The butlding of small dams for rlce lrrlgation 1s necessary. Collectlve farms, llke ln other vlllages recelving extenslon servlces, consElEute a solutlon. We should, however, be sure that we would get hlgh-ylelding seeds, ploughlng and sowing equlpment as well as protecE. lon for our crops through insecElcldes. Can we be taught other technologies that will help us to i.ncrease our insomes? For cereals, cereal ml1ls and decortlca- tors can bring relief but" this dernands that the women organlze Ehemselves lnto groups Eo produce more and thaE the authoriEies help them market their produce. We wanE Eo conEribuEe Eo, buy carEs for Ehe t.ransporE of wood and water by the children lnstead of conEinulng t.o carry them ourselves. ; If we regeive trainlng we first-aid box and the f and female village heal give flrst-aid care. lrsI 'l can set up a t-aid workers workers can 41. One may wonder lf what the women propose always consti.tute sol consEraints. Some of Ehe propositlons seem rather Eo be an exPres ardenE desire to find soluEions ito the dlEferent prttblems. This i will to oversome the barriers irnposed on thern by society. The fie barriers are sti11 sErong are t{aLrt1ng and education. "We have no f ront- of r:ur husbands, much less-gp to sclrool. It is a cultural f extsted since the tirne of our ancesEors. It is t.rormal. The lmpor our chlldren, both girls and bojs, now go to schooI". q tlons to the s.1 i s on of Ehelr a proof of rheir ds ln which these rlghE to speak 1n ct which has ant thlng ls that I I q 't I I q d 42. This is a strange irony of f4te when iE is person in charge of educati<;n. The refusal to reveals the relat.lonship which e xlsts beLween devclopment. th is educaElon and ecionomlc 41. These observaEions should, however, not m.akc sight to be lost of E.he extension services belng offererl ln Lire region, thorrgh r>n a smaIl scale, and the role of women rlrganizations. Their economlc trnpact on parL of the female population covers malnly peaking ls the s to educatlon known that the one leE women have acce Ehe means of Productlon wlthin the framework of 44. Soclal1y, exEenslon services rare, in fact, to meet women who improved flrewood stoves. Page B (carts, hlgh-yieldlng seeds, seedersl eEc.) they recelve groups whlch e:dst almosE anywhere ln the reglon. undoubtedly llghten the woments tlmetable. It ls are not well-lnformed about Ehe advantages of 45. At Ourogo, a vlllage ln Nlger, the women lntend even to pay beEween 10 and francs per fanlly for water-fetchlng from the punp. This sun ls to be used to the pump lf necessary and to purchase spare parts. 25 CFA repalr iciency of the avallable habirants, abut one emphasis has not always ater responslbilicles lne o[ thelr personal i I I e cominunity \.rorkers t ee , l^rhen technical rkersi cannoE fu1ly I : CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS 46. On the whole, the groups (vil1age assoclaElons, cooPeratlves, hlomen associatlons, etc.) seem Eo be a school for the women ln these rural areas. It is Ehrough these groups that they recelve agricultural tralning and acqulre functional llteracy status, both of which are nesessary for an lmprovement in Ehelr lncomes and consequently the well-belng of the farnlly. 47. It ls also through these groups thac the lmpaet of t.he services offered by rural development assisEants, vllIage health workers, rural communiEy workers, etc. can be pe rceived. 50. In facE, some wonen think that these male workers pay less atfiintion to E.heir role ln agrlculEure. Sometirnes situations are encount.ered in whlcfr the community worker is noE auEhorlzed, especially tf he ls young, Eo deal directly wlth women. 51. The consequence of such a sltuatlon ls Ehat very few exEensionl services 48. It has been observed, however, that because of the lnsuff resources, especlally manpower (one health worker for 1O0O in exEenslon worker for 300 to 40O dependtng on the situation*), been laid on the actlon of women ln the face of their new gre, which, paiadoxlcally, appear to be lncompaElble wlth the decl iqcomes. 49. From the agricultural viewpoint, it, ls rare Eo find femaI, sufficlently tralned for technical assi-stance tasks to guaran asslstance is extended to women, the success Ehat the male wo ensure. women and the rare female communit.y workers meL usually teach the nutrition and home economics. It ls only erceptlonally that sorne gardening and backyard animal rearing are imparted. trt, as has wlth the lnsuf flclency of rnanpower in Elrts migrant en\lironment, i essentiat that women particlpaEe more 1rr economic development acti] 52. It is difficulc Eo irnl>rove signlficanEly the nutritlonal and f amily without ensuring that women c()ntribute ef fecrl -uely Eo the process and beneflt Irorn its spin-offs. * In the organlzed settlemenL zorles, the rate of exteIISlon servi extenslon worker for 69 farms in 1982, wtthin the fram€work of t Development Authority ir.t Rrrrl:irla. Irinciples notlons of $"n """n,tl is rather fogus on of chlld market faced viEies. ,] q ealth levels of the iverall developmenE s ls-greater: one Vo.Lta Valleys This actlon wlLhout which an), progress will rematn tragtle ls faced noL only with sr.lcial impedernerrts brrt also wi th practlcal cons ideratlons. Page 9 53. As regards trade, Ehe exLsEence of two types of actlvlty dornlnated by men and women respectlvely should be not,ed. The sector eonsidered to be uodern ls ln fhe hands of men whtle the tradltlonal sector belongs Eo woxren. To be convlnced about EhaE, lt sufflces to go to any rural market; most of the sellers are women who sell agrlcultural produce made up malnly of mllIet whlch is used to brew the local beer. This ls another prosperous t,rade ln both the rural and urban areas. Dried vegetables are also wldely marketed. Ilandlcrafts are also found there: poEEerles' dye torks, eEc. Shea-butter and soumbala* are sold there. 54. The few men who sell ln this Eype of market can be divlded lnto tlro Sroups: on the one hand, peasants who se11 malnly anlmal-rearing produce as well as farnlng Eools (hoe and the wooden handles); on the other, peasant traders who deal ln common manufactured consumer pods llke salt, sugar and other tlnned foods. Female and male t.raders in the villages take advantage of these markets Eo buy cereals, vegetables and oEher produce to sell ln the nelghbourlng towns- 55. A11 the quantltles sold take place only when Ehe women conslder the famlly needs whlch are thelr prtorlEy Eo have been met. Thus, so long as rdolnen remaln the main users of a flnal produetr any actlon concernlng its processlng technolory should be adapted to the uses they make of lt. 56. ThaE ls why, the big lndustrlal unlts, which have always had a tendeney Eojeopardize Ehe Eradltlonal ehannels whlch the women usually domlnate, often encounter opposltion from them. Thus, ln rice processlng women have been seen preferring the servlces of a small vlllage mlll to those of a big rlce-processlng factory; the sma]l mill seemed to meet thelr needs bet,ter and any change ln capaclty and mode of processing Eust take lnEo account those who conErol lts use ln the famlly and its commerciallzaEion. i 57. The same applles to handicrafts which costly technologles alwaYf end up ellmlnaEing. The success of any undertaklng by women in one case and lts fallure ln anoEher depend on the nature of Ehe product and iEs share ln famlly'consumptlon. 58. In Ehe nutritlonal sphere, lt ls still urgenE Lo make use of thp services of communiEy vorkers so that Ehe level of food intake would be improvefl through women's recognlzed educaEional role. l,Ilthin Ehe groups, extenslon servicesihave been focusseC on directlng the women to market gardening. However, it tb st111 very often not very profltable because of the lnaceessibillty of certain vlIlales and the need for a modern distributlon channel for Ehe produce. The fact thaE chrrots, cabbages, salads, peas and potaEoes do noE form parE of the housewlfe's food aggravaEes the slEuation further. Efforts should be almed aE inEegratlng these new productions also into the family diet. Such an educaEion programme w111 lmprove therlevel of health iof children and Ehe whole family. 1 ! 59. Animal rearing ls alnost exclusivey reserved for men but women in the rural areas are lnte resEed in it and iE.s ir,nporEance seems Eo be rel-aE.ed to the husband'p maln act.ivity. R.A. Phllott-Almeirla4 has shown that in the Fulani area,29Z of rhe women possess livestock wh1le ln the Mossl country tl're proportion Ls 592.: Animal rearlng is considered by women as a means of saving but it :arr represent a Viable economlc activity for them and an additional source of food [or the population ln the zone only 1f rhe followlng constralrlts are rernoved: * Soumbala - Locust beans processed into a granrrlar ltigh-protein flavourlng sauces. flour used fo r Page 10 the lnsufficlency of the i{ater-supply polnts, whlch makes the womenrs tlmetable not to allow them to be lnteresEed ln lE durlng the dry season (20 kru to water the llvesEock); - herdlng constrainEs as a result of whlch desplte the abundance of pasture ln the Oncho-zone, the sedentary livestoek sometlmes gtaze only ln the lnterstices and near Ehe villages. This leads very often to overpressures and problems of man/anlmal competlElon regardlng both water-supply poinEs and utlllsed space; technlcal dissoclatlon between animal rearlng and crop farming which slmply appear to be juxt.aposed raEher than assoclated. RECOMMENDATIONS 60. The question of women's conErlbuElon to the development processes in Afrlean rural areas ln general and in the onchocerclasls-protecEed zones ln parEicular ls much more economic than polltieal or soclal. 6I. Women's responslblllttes are great and cover flelds such as educatlon and health. 62. The study which has been summarized here constiEutes an overvli:w and shows women at the centre and not on the frlnge of the development process. 63. The lntegratlon of thls population thaE constitutes more than half the zone's human resources should not take place wlthln the perlpheral framework of some additlonal women progranmes "as a favour to mlnority groups". On Ehe contrary, faced \diEh Ehe reallty that the rural worklng women ln the-bnchocerclasis zones are very subject to Ehe Ehreat of deracinatlon, the lntegratlon should be seen as a conditlon for the survival of the whole group. It must be based on tire tradlt.lonal condltions and aimed at making the women more a\rare of their economic responsibllities. This should not let sight be lost of Ehe overall vlsion whlch divislon of labour, cult.ural bases, and womenrs speclflc conditlons and Ehe necessary changes 1n Eheir economig role constitute and which should characterlze all strategies for t,he- organlzation of peasant \+Iomen. Such an approach ryould avold many tactlcal opposiElons by men which in the end do noE help anyone. i i64. That ls why the real lntegration of women must alm partlcularl4y at reduclng the household chores ln order Eo make them more avallable to participate fully ln their own progress ln the faml1y unlt. Fo r the reduc L lon o f househo ld c.ho res 65. The lnterventlons should mainly be aimed at improvlng village rdater supply, means of transporE and the technology employed by women ln their food processing and handicraft activlEies. l.le l1s 66. The crlEeria for the constructlon of safe water-supply poln[s have ofEerr been deflned ln relation to the sLze of the localities concerned: depending on the country, lt may be vlllages wirh 3O0 or more inhabitants. It appears to be irnportanE also to take lnto account the perrulnency of the settLernents since the entomological sltuatlon and other factors bearlng no relatlon to orrchocerclasls control intluence somewhat the raEe of seEtlemerrt of the protected valleys. 67. There is no doubt abouE tlre rnobllizatlon oI Lhe village cornrnunities particlpaEe ln terms of manpower ln any acEivity. Before cr;ntacttng Ehe Valleys Development Authorlty (AVV, Burklna Faso) to come L() thelr ald, to Volta the populatlon of Taam Boagho (51 famllles that seEtled spontaneously ln Ehe basln) had trted with lEs own means to geE wells. Eleven we1ls were dug up ln the dry season. Conslderlng such a manlfest w111, the speclallzed could limlt Ehelr lnEervenElon Eo technlcal assisEance and the provlsion materials. Page 11 Whlte Volta but all dry servlces of non-Iocal 68. To ensure the malntenance of the weIls, some women propose, as rhentloned earller, a good many approprlate solutlons: conEribuEion for t.he purchase of spare parts' thelr avallabtlity to follow tralnlng courses that w111 enable Ehem to lntervene ln case of breakdown, €tc. 69. It ls easily estlmated that by reduclng rhe dlstaoces to be covered Eo less Ehan 5OO metres on average, there w111 be reductlons of more than 802 ln Ehe tlme devoted to water-fetchlng. The rate of settleruent belng experienced in t,he whole of the protected lands ln many of the countrles consEltutes an economic jusElflcatlon for such projects thaE are well studied and adapted Eo the slze of the community concerned. ,, Improved and approprlate technologies 7O. As regards flrewood, the women ln the onchocerciasis zones, which are still thinly populated, suffer less from supply dlfflculties slnce the vegetatlon ls st111 abundant. However, preventive measures such as the following shoulll be taken: control of woodcuttlng for sale in urban areas; Eree planting projects ln Ehe lnsufflcient; vlllages. Some exlst already but are promotion of the use of improved flrewood stoves: in some ln one-third of the households. It is only ln one sample seem to be unknown. 71. These measures whlch form part of rhe concerns of each State I llmiced by exrensi.on services. In the long run, such measures wil leasE one-Ehird of their tlme and thls can be devoted to economlc is becoming partlcularly imporEanE because of the lmposslbility of solutions to Ehese populations ln Ehe rural areas. In this, regard being Eested constltuEe a source of hope. 72. Another alternatlve Eo Ehls problem related Eo water-fetching is the lmprovemenE of Ehe means of transport. 73. Because of their resources, women are still under-equipped in transport. Very few of them possess a bicyle when the husband or chlldren possess one. They run all rheir errands on foot, usually rheir backs. Although thls means of transport is convenlenE for t and beEween vlllages and centres where dlfferent servlces are offe draught anlmals (donkeys generally) seem to be more useful Lo wome areas they are used vlflage EhaE they rl the region are I f... women for at {ctlvities. Thls lofferfng other ,l the solar ovens I I it_and t I I I I Ite rms somejwl th lrewood supply of means of of the male children on Eo the farrns carts and (i ps {ed, ,1. the corv6es of water-fetchlng and woodcuttlng are redueed and t loads on the head ls spared. Furthermore, iE.ls the young boys the well/fountain or ln search of flrewood, thereby freelng rhe Easks. The use of the cart even covers Ehe EransporE of butldl brlcks and sand. he t^ I whd I wor[e .,9 T, I.lith the cart, rrying o t all lead the carE to n for other Eerlals such as 74. The transport ls not llmlted Eo only flrewood and water. It also covers agrlcultural produce f rom the f arms to tl're vl11ages and f rom the villages Eo the local markeEs. AI1 products [or sale: potteryr locaI beer, etc. are trarrsp()r[ed to the tradlng centres thanks to such arr equlpment which, trfter a1l, calls for llrntted malntenance. Page 12 75. UnforEunately, it ls an lnvestment, whlch ts relatively cosEly for Ehe famllles. In flve years, the cost of a cart has rlsen from 30'OOO CFA francs Eo more than SOTOOO Cfe fn the AW zones i.n Burklna. I,loreover, the draught anlmal (donkey ln thls case) is valued today at some 3O.O0O CFA francs. 76. Thls ls becomlng all the more dellcaEe since women have less access to equlpment credlts whtch are prlmarlly lntended for cooperatlves. Women producers' groups or cooperatives are not very widespread but when they succeed ln getting farmlng or lnterlm loans, the relmbursetrent raEes are very hlgh ln relatlon to those for men. A 1OOZ relmbursernent rate has been reported ln some AVV planning unlts where the proportlon of women geEtlng thls type of loan represenEs 757. of. the totallty- 77. Furthermore, the access of women to credlt should make posslble an improvement in thelr worklng conditlons as regards the grlnding of eereals, thanks to the installatlon of mills ln the vil1ages, and ln the food processing actlvlties, thanks E.o Ehe access Eo an equipment thaE ls stlll manually operated for most of the operations whlch, however, have been much more simpllfled and are rapld. With the models whlch have been proposed and are being tesEed ln several countrles (see l.Ioments role ln and contrlbutlon to the socioeconomlc development of the onchocerciasls-protected zones in C6te d'Ivoire and Mali, Annex III), the capaclEy wlth respect to operatlons concernlng the husking of sheanuts for the productlon of shea-butter rapidly rlses from 1O-2O kg of sheanuts per hour to 3OO kg. Ilere also, mllls play an imporEant role in the crushlng of nuEs. It ls a dlfficult operaElon Ehe traditionat outpuE of whlch is ln the order of 11 kg/hour for Ehree people. The mechanized procedures of the gereal mllls make lt posslble Eo obtain outpuEs that can reach 78 kg/hour. 78. Wood consumptlon ls stlll very hlgh ln the different cooking and drylng operatlons lnvolved ln Ehe preparatlon of soumbal-a or shea-but,ter especially since the results of Ehe solar sEudies are noE very encouraglng (12 kg of dry nuts 1n Ewo days ) . For a more effective particlpatlon of women ln development 79. Relattvely relleved thanks to Ehe measures recornmended above, most of whtch must be lntensifled and improved, women can devote themselves more Eo agriculture, the economlc development facEor ln Ehese reglons. 80. In order EhaE this developmenE w111 not contlnue Eo take place to the det.rlment of women, lE ls lmportanE for them Eo beneflt ln the same way as men from agricultural know-how. In this env.tronment where social constralnEs perslst, Ehe role of economic provlder which they play fully and responslbly ls noE always recognlzed. Tradltion generally relegates Ehem to a postEion of secondary importance. 81. Flrstly, therefore, 1t is importanE to let Ehe women beneflt from technlcal assistance in Lhe matter of agrlculture. In order Eo Ery Eo mlninlze the welght of certaln traditions, it seems opporEune to train more female exEenslon workers. Thelr number, even if iE is greaE, will play a role ln Ehe quality of the servlce rendered only if exfenslon L/orkers cease Eo speak Eo peasants as people havlng a monopoly of trurh. Michet Labonnel noted Ehat in Senegal 5% of the farmers decided Lo acqulre agricultural eqrripment on the advice of extenslon workers as agal-nst more thao 7O% who took EhaE sEep because of the experience of thelr nelghbour or slmply because they had the flnancial means. 82. Such an observatlon cal1s lnEo questlon the appropriateness of lncreaslng Ehe services on E.he basts of an extenslon worker/farmer rat10. aPage 13 83. Secondly, women should be organLzed lnto cooperat.lves relaEed to produetlons other than what are tradLtlonally reserved for Ehem and helped wlth the organlzation of the marke,_t.- Thls lnvolves an lncreaslng lntegratlon of farm produce lnto Ehe household food and Ehe settinS up of vlllage Barkets for Ehe sale of Ehe produce intended for markeEtng. 84. By so dolng, rronen could have access to the hlgh-yleldlng seeds, farm lmplenents, eEc.) that the lnprovement of the well-belng of the famlly. of productlon (ferElllzers, essentlal Eo thelr promoElon and r-supply polnts level of the means Ehe vlllages; means are CONCLUSION 85. The asslgnment of dlfferent types of dlstincE Easks to men and women in a human socleEy ls closely related to the methods of productlon and the speclflc cultural or rellglous nolrtrs. There should therefore be sooe cauEion wlth respect to the EemptaElon to make general lnferences, whlch such an overvlew of soclal lnstltutions does noE make lE posslble to avoid. 86. Some dlfferences were noted ln the dlfferent communltles ln the Progralnme area. These dlfferences seem Eo be related to Ehe actlvitles the men and women are engaged ln. However, the study revealed some homogenelty ln the dlvlslon of labour of which agrlculture remains Ehe matn conponent. 87. It can Eherefore be concluded from the sEudies carried out ln the zone thaE the development of agrlculture deflnltely lnvolves the prorrDEion of wonen who must be made to partlclpate Eore Ln the organlzatlon of such actlvlties. 88. That ls why everyEhlng posslble should be done Eo reduce the blrrden whlch the household chores constitute and which deprlve women of a whole part of thelr energy and economlc productivlEy pot,enElal the lmmedlate consequence of whlch is thelr lnabllity to have the necessary means for Eheir own promotlon. I 89. Thls situatlon is all the more worrying since it influences also the health status of the family in that women, responsible for educaElon and health, remaln handicapped and cannot correctly play Ehis role ful1y because a lojt of thelr Elme ls taken up by oEher less productive and particularly tedious preoccupations llke water- fetching and food preparation. t i 90. The soluttons recommended are charactertzed by Ehe concern fori Ehem to beneflt from the supporE and contrlbutlon of the t.arget populatlon. Thls,ls all the more necessary slnce the world economic crtsis has made financial r""oui.c"" to be less available for soluElons calllng for heavy projects and p.og.r*."r.1 Ic ls therefore a matter of relieving women further for thern to devoEe themselves moire to product. lve activitles. Therefore iE ls recommended:, I Eo reduce the distances generally covered on foot to tne ratp either by dlgglng more wells or inLroduclng or lmprovlng th( of transport (especially carrs) which increase trade betweert i to proEect commun i t les contlnuous consumpt ltrn vtllages of eucalyptus; {r rruttje done lion oflntenan brought the bya f 1 rewood ce 1n the the new envlronment whlch because of its pofentl closer Eo sources of firewood supply; thls can eclucati()rr Lo respect thls environment, the reduc ( lmproved f i rewood s foves ) , the plant i.ng and trees rnade up of rapldly-developlng species ma likg acacla and Lo lnstruct womerr rn()re trr ecorromtcs and agrlculture 1n addltlon to the rradtEtonal maternal and child healt.l'r and household educatlon advlce, through the tralnlng of more speclalized fernale technlcal workers. cPage 14 91. By so dolng, lt 1s belng ensured that women wlll have acsess to factors for productlon of cash crops, partlcularly Ehe seeds, the fertllizers and the agrlcultural credlE necessary for Ehe handllng and processing of collect.ed nuts food crops. the and 92. Furthermore, all these changes wlll have a posltlve lupact only lf the narkeElng channels are organlzed, t.he means of transport lmproved to enable the women to reach the different 1oca1 markets easlly and the produce are lntegrated lnto the household dlet. 93. l.Jhen deflnltively freed from the sEruggle for the survlval of the household, eromen could be Ehe keysEone of any health progratrme because they have t.he aptltude for it. aPage 15 BIBLIOGRAPHY JPC7.3 RapporE d'6valuatlon de lrlmpact Soclo- Econornlque du Programme de Lutte conEre lrOnchocercose. 1 2. - Etude sur les besolns des fenmes dans drun programne d'lnterventlon ; SAED, les villages de 1'A.V.V. et aofit 1976-avri1 1977. pro pos ltlon 3. - R61e et Contrlbution de la fenme dans le d6veloppement soclo-6conomlque des zones prot6g6es de lrOnchocercose, R.I. LOIIYA, - juillet-ao0t 1987 - C6te drlvoire et Mali - f6vrier 1987 - Niger. 4. Report on the Status and Contrlbutlon of women ln Socloeconomlc Development ln the Onchocerclasis - llberated zone, Burkina Faso, R.A. Phillott-Almelda, december 1985. 5 Revue Tlers-Monde Tome XXVI No 102 avril-juln 1985 - Revue Tiers-Monde Tome XXI - No 84 - octobre-dEcembre 1980 7 - Programme de d6veloppeuent 1983-1986, lrAW, rDars 1983 8. - Impact Soclo-6conomlque du Programme de LuEte sontre ItOnchocercose au Burklna Faso 1974-1985, AVV, juln 1985. 9. - Rapport drEvaluation Socio-6conomique du Programme d'Eradicatton de Ironchocercose OMS/CIRES, juillet 1985. 10 Etude sur 1es condlE.lons de vle et de travall des femmes en mllleu rural et proPosltlon d'un programme d'lntervenEion reglonal pour lrallEgement du Eravall des femnes, SAED/UNICEF, seprembre 1976. 6 11 - Rapport f6vr ie r drEvaluatlon - Unlt6 de 1985. PlanlftcaElon I, Zorgho, Burkina Faso, CCCE. 12 - MlnistEre des Relatlons Ext6rteures Coop6ration et D6veloppemenE : Am6nagement des Va116es des Volta, novembre 1983. 13 Etude sur Pro Sramme les besoins des d I lnterventlon. femmes dans les AVV/SAED, aoTt villages AVV et proposltion dfun 1976 - avril ).977. 14 - AVV/INSD: EnquGte droplnlon auprEs des agriculteurs des p6rlm6rres am6nag6s de 1',AVV, 1982.