International Journal of Aquaculture, 2013, Vol.3, No.18, 101
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Table 1 Major tasks and Gender responsibilities in aquaculture
Aquaculture task
Responsible
Pond selection
Predominantly male
Female assist
Pond cleaning
Male
Female
Pond digging
Predominantly Male
Female assist in carrying mud but occasionally dig too
Compost collection and mixing
Male
Female
Water management
Male
Female
Fingerlings sorting
Male
Female
Stocking
Male
Female
Feeding
Male
Female
Harvesting
Male
Female
Marketing
Male
Female
Note: Source: Field data
1.2
Potentials of Women in Fish Farming
Within the Lake Victoria bas in communities women
are often discriminated and mostly relegated to
domestic chores. This also holds true for capture
fishery where women’s participation is restricted to
post-harves t activities (proc ess ing and trading).
However, the difficulties women within the two
groups, have shown great potential which have make
them vital stakeholders in fish farming and survival of
the groups. Study revealed showed that besides their
regular household duties, 64% of the women in the
groups are involved in other activities related to
agriculture, fish farming included. These have enabled
women’s potentials to be fully evident. First, women
are less mobile than men thus they have been able to
provide incessant attention required in f ish farming
(
see also Kaliba et al., 1997; Burton et al., 1999),
secondly women are accustomed to several daily
routines such as cooking, child rearing, farming,
livestock and poultry keeping and household
gardening work which have enabled them to
accommodate fish farming, third, women are mostly
left behind when men migrate to urban center in
search for jobs or when in a polygamous family these
have given responsibilities to women to provide for
their families through hard work, fourth, subsistence
nature of aquaculture with little income within the
basin has distracted many men (see also Wetengere, 2009)
and finally women are more likely to adopt fish
farming technology due to the economic hardship.
There exists therefor, a natural conditions for women
to explore potentials needed in fish farming.
1.3
Benefits of Women Contribution
Women contr ibute s ignif ic antly to f ish farming
activities within the lake zone; their contribution is not
restricted to gender segregated roles to which they are
known to participate but also to masculine activities
such as pond digging, grass cutting and fish harvest.
Through their involvement women have been able to:
Provide an opportunity for self-employment; Improved
their soc io-ec onomic condition; Increas ed f ish
availability; Contribute to the family income and
nutrition; Increased/improved their skills in fish
farming; Reduced soc io-cultural taboos against
women involvement in fishery.
1.4
Constraints Women Face in Fish Farming
Socially women within Kerewe community have from
ancestral period enjoyed lesser importance than male
counterparts. Women major role from childhood is
trained to be a housewife and mother (Onyango, 2004).
Although women have successfully participated in
agr icultural activities , their contr ibution to f ish
farming faces the following challenges;
(1)
Land ownership: it is difficult for women to own
land w ithin the community. Land tenure is
traditionally communal with males having ownership
rights. Lack of land ownership rights for women is a
major setback for credit services. Several governments
dealing with land reforms have responded with
regulations for occupancy, but these have not been
fully implemented at the lower level.
(2)
Access to credit and savings services: Women
have less access than men to formal sources of credit,
such as banks or credit unions. They rarely have the
collateral required, usually land title. Therefore
women rely mostly on family, their savings, or money
lenders and informal groupings for financial survival.