Page 33 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

Mbu Daniel Tambi, Mah-Soh Glennice Fosah: Econometric Modelling of Women
Empowerment and Agricultural Production in Cameroon

Aggregate data also suggest that African women perform about 90% of the work of
processing food crops and providing household water and fuel wood, 80% of the work
of food storage and transport from farm to village, 90% of the work of hoeing and
weeding, and 60% of the work of harvesting and marketing. (World Bank,
2009).Women are therefore the key players of agricultural production and inevitable
in overcoming food insecurity.

Empirical evidence suggests that increased empowerment could have positive effects on a
number of important development outcomes, such as household agricultural productivity,
food security, and nutrition security. In developing countries, particularly in rural
communities, women are underserved by public services (Budlender 2010), expanding
such services could bring about significant improvements. A study on the Indian state of
Gujarat estimated that reducing to 1 hour a day the time spent fetching water by women
would allow the women to increase their incomes by $100 yearly using the time saved
(UNDP, 2013). Defining priorities for public services in a way that recognizes the
imperative of relieving women and girls of these burdens is vital to their empowerment. In
addition to the establishment or expansion of public services, improved access to cleaner
energy sources for household needs should be central to such a strategy. This would not
only save women time, but also reduce reliance on traditional cook stoves. These stoves are
damaging environmentally and cause annually about 1.9 million deaths worldwide due to
indoor pollution, disproportionately affecting women and children (WHO, 2012).

Worldwide, women and girls are overrepresented among those who are food-insecure.
An estimated 60% of undernourished people are women or girls (WFP, 2009). This is
without doubt unpleasant, and calls for a concerted effort to empower women. Expanding
the opportunities of women and girls is a duty of states, which ratified various human
rights instruments on the human rights of women in general and the rights of women at
work. Fulfilment of these commitments matter to women and girls and should be seen as
an objective in its own right, essential to full attainment by women and girls of their rights.
However, it is not for their benefit alone. Women empowerment and gender equality can
make a substantial contribution to a country’s economic growth, and it is the single most
important determinant of food security (World Bank, 2012).

Agriculture has been the main engine of the economic growth for Sub Saharan African
countries yet feeding the increasing population is becoming a critical challenge for
most of the countries in this area (Bahiigwa, 1999). The Comprehensive Food Security
and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) study carried out in May 2017 in Cameroon
shows that about 16% of households are estimated to be food insecure (3.9 million
people), including 1% that are severely food insecure (around 211,000 people).

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