Agricultural Value Chain Development and Women Economic Empowerment in Democratic Republic Of Congo.
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Date
2022-06
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Kampala International University
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to examine the role of agricultural value chain development on women economic empowerment in Aru Territory, DRC. The specific objectives of the study were; I. To assess the influence of women participation in primary production on their economic empowerment in Aru Territory, DRC.ii. To assess the contribution of women participation in processing phase on their economic empowerment in Aru Territory, DRC.iii. To determine the effect of women participation in marketing phase on their economic empowerment in Aru Territory, DRC. The theory used in this study was the socialist feminist theory which was developed by Karl Marx in 1960 to describe a mixed theoretical and practical approach to achieving gender equality. The study used cross-sectional research design, the population target were 400 people of which a sample of 200 was selected, the study employed both random and purposive sampling techniques to select participants. Questionnaire, interview guide and document review were the instruments of the study and data was analysed using SPSS. The study revealed that women in Aru to some extent have access to land but they have less access to improved agricultural inputs because they are expensive and women farmers rely on manual labor as they fail to access mechanized farming equipment therefore women do not achieve their production targets (Mean 2.51). The study concluded that women participation in the processing phase greatly contributes to women economic empowerment as the findings have indicated a positive relationship between the low-income level of women and their inability to participate in the processing phase where value is added to their farm products, as a result women earn some income but the income is not sustainable (Mean 2.31). The study on the third objective concluded that women in Aru do not have decision making power and they have not yet obtained freedom of movement and control over time (Mean2.30). The Study recommended that the government and NGOs targeting women economic empowerment should put more emphasis on breaking barriers that hinder women’s participation in agricultural value chains in Aru so that women can benefit more from agriculture practices. The financial institutions should review their policies that hinder women from accessing credits independently. Government should improve security and transport system to allow easy movement of farmers and enable their products to quickly reach the markets.
Description
A Dissertation Submitted to the College Of Humanities and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of a Master of Arts in Development Studies of Kampala International University
Keywords
Agricultural, Value Chain Development, Women Economic Empowerment, DRC