Interrogating gender-specific challenges facing rural female farmers: the case of Kambia District, Sierra Leone

The purpose of this study is to interrogate gender-specific challenges facing rural female farmers in the Kambia district of Sierra Leone. For purposes of this study, Kambia District in Sierra Leone was chosen as the locality on which the case study was based. This study employed qualitative research design because it allowed for the collection of qualitative data of lived experiences of female farmers about the factors feeding the problems they face in food production chains. This study adopted multi sampling technique to select the respondents to participate in the study. The researcher interviewed 8 leaders of the women group and 12 members from the group participated in focus group discussions. The data was collected through both semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. The researcher used semi-structured interviews for 8 key informants who are leaders of the Makuiya Women Farmers’ Cooperative. Collected data was analyzed using thematic analysis technique. The results reveal several insights about the discrimination of female farmers. With regard to access and control of agricultural resources, marital status, male support, low- income status and low educational status, low political power were found and lack of land ownership were found to undermine the farmers’ access to and control over these resources. Moreover, patriarchal community setting, male-leadership culture, gender roles, lack of family support, low education, and low mobility, as well as negative attitudes, and perceptions of women in the community all played a significant part in influencing the low socio-economic status of female farmers. The findings of the study reveals that cultural and customary norms heavily influence social relations among people involved in the agricultural sector. The patriarchal nature of the communities involved in this study allow for male household and community leaders to hold more power when it comes to making decisions about control, access, and usage of agricultural resources. To cope with the gender-based discrimination that female farmers encounter in the agricultural sector, women also employ several social, economic, and legal strategies such as working together, organizing fundraisings, using savings and loan schemes, and relying on support groups. Legal gender-specific challenges are addressed through engagement with stakeholders who are in the position of helping to pass bills in parliament and follow-up to ensure the implementation of those bills. Furthermore, female farmers get assistance from those organizations that work with women to advocate for justice. A perceived limitation of this study may be that it did not include male farmers to compare their views that those of female farmers. Future studies on productivity differences in women’s and men’s farmers in developing countries should include a comparative analysis of male and female farmers.