Gender issues in irrigated agriculture in Tanzania : A case study of the Lower Moshi scheme

The underlying conceptual basis for this study is women’s active and meaningful participation as one of the gender issues in agriculture. Taking the case of the Lower Moshi Irrigation scheme this study focuses on three interrelated aspects of participation against gender. These are: 1. access and control over land, 2. access over agricultural technologies and 3. women’s position in decision-making processes. These three factors, determine the opportunities and barriers for possible women empowerment in agriculture. According to scholars the ways in which societies, customs and culture perceive women against men, have been quite awful; constraining the concerns and experiences of women in various socio-economic planned actions (Isinika and Mutabazi 2010, Chauvin et al. 2012, Kweka 1998). Tanzania land acquisition is informed by customary law, and its inheritance transfer goes through patriarchy which purposely excludes women. Women are positioned in the third category of land inheritance after the older and the youngest son. This form of discrimination and exclusion is codified under customary law. With regards to land, translating initiatives into practice has remained a challenge (Irrigation Policy 2010: 38). Thus, the work of Naila Kabeer is used to interpret gender relations within the Lower Moshi Scheme in Tanzania. This is achieved through qualitative interviews centred on women’s access to land, women’s experiences in accessing and using technologies, and women’s participation in decision-making. These interviews generated insights into the partial and sometimes ineffective ways that women seek control over land, technology and decision making, and highlighted the often-limited possibilities for women’s empowerment within the Lower Moshi Irrigation Scheme.