In Chisasa 57% of the household were FHHs. All the
tobacco growing households in the households surveyed were
MHIHs. Both sexes participate in all crop operations, but
mendid most of the land. clearing (63%), nursery work (59%),
and marketing. (65%). They also fertilize the crop (49%),
harvest (18t%), string and cure (25%), and weed (44%). Women
di-jmost of the weeding (556), but also didnursery work (38%),
fertilizing (36%), harvesting (24%) and marketing (27%).
Children did most of the stringing and curing (50%). Women
tended to take care of the food crops which occupy fewer
hours than tobacco-nevertheless, women worked longerdays than
men.

 By contrast in Mbawa labour on oriental tobacco was
distributed daily evenly between males and females. Men
and women didsimilar amounts of nursery work and markcting.:.Men
di1somewhat more on planting and women didmore in fertilizing,
weeding, harvesting, and curing. Women also didmore work
on the groundnut, maize and millet gardens.

Cotton

 Ngabu, Henga Valley and Kasupe were the areas where
cotton growers were surveyed. In all areas, males were
considered to be in charge of the cotton crop, whether It was
sprayed or unsprayed. Hired labour was used a great deal
for work on sprayed cotton in Ngabu. In Henga Valley and
Kasupe there was little utilization of hired labour. Females
in both locations did much of the grading. In both locations
also, women were responsible for food crop production.
Interestingly enough, in Henga Valley, although men were
in charge of the cotton crop, cotton production would not
have been possible (and is, in fact, constrained) if females
had not been available for field work.

 In Ngabu women made significant contributions to
sprayed ar.n unsprayed cotton. For sprayed cotton female
heads d.i-d the majority of planting, thinning, spraying,
harvesting and grading. Hired male labour did most of the
weeding, marketing, and uprooting. In unsprayed cotton plots,
male heads did much of the planting and weeding while female
heads and wives performed the majority of other tasks. Unlike
sprayed cotton, males (heads and hired labour) were responsible
for 45% of the time spent grading cotton. Additionally, maize
and millet gardens occupied much of women's time.

 In Henga Valley women's participation in cotton
growing wassignficant and cotton growers had twice as much
avail i'~- mature female labour for farming needs as non-
cotton growers. The majority of men's time on crops-aes devoted
to cotton rather than other crops whereas women apportioned
their time among food crops and cotton but spent more time
on maize, millet and groundnuts than any other category of
worker.

 In Kasupe men spent most of their time on the cotton
crop, but women participated in all operations to some extent.
Women did much more work on the food crops (maize, pulses,
sweet potatoes and maize/millet).


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