(c) Unmarried households are constrained by labour,
 especially if they have many young dependents. As
 a result their cropping systems simplify and they
 grow fewer crops.

 (d) Distinctions can be made between two types of
 : female headed households. Those who have husbands
 (or children) who send regular remittances are similar
 to male headed households in terms of livestock
 and resources ownership. Those FHHs on their own
 have fewer livestock and goods, and have less
 improved housing.

 (e) Women get very little extension services (training,
 inputs, visits and advice) and their cultural
 practices reflect this lack of agricultural education
 (late planting, poor spacing, incorrect fertilizer
 usage, ignorance of crop protection). The results
 .of this situation are poorer yields and food deficits
 for the household.

 (f) Women tend to be shy and retiring when it comes to
 participating in some project services. They have
 come to believe that agricultural services are
 intended primarily for men.

Scheme and non-scheme farmers

11. Unmarried women are active on rainfed and irrigated rice
 schemes. As scheme farmers they manage their plots the
 same way as men. They obtain the same yields and
 extension advice on rice as men. Their production of
 non-scheme crops may lag behind men's since they get
 less access to inputs and advice.

 (a) FHHs and married women participatein allaspects of
 farming in certain areas including ox-ploughing.

 (b) FHHs on schemes make farm management decisions in
 terms of the hiring of labour and use of inputs.and
 credit.

12. More women than men tend to be lower resources farmers
 selling their labour rather than hiring labour. When
 faced with labour constraints they cultivate less land
 and simplify their cropping pattern.

13. It is difficult to say categorically that all women
 cultivate less land than all men. Although in some
 places the average are lower, some women on their own
 cultivate as much more than men with severalwives. For
 example, the average acreage cultivated by women at Wovwe
 Rice Scheme is greater than the average acreage culti-
 vated by men at Lufira.Rice Scheme..

14. Women make good use of credit and rarely default.

15. There is a reluctance to give technical advice and ;credit
 to women for cotton and hybrid maize on cotton/maize
 schemes whereas women's contributions o rice schemes
 are well recognized.


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