Restricted Access and Land Control in Tea Farming as a Threat to Gender Equity in Singorwet Ward, Bomet County

Main Objective

To examine the effect of restricted access and land control in tea farming on gender equity in Singorwet ward of Bomet County.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of the study are to examine the number of men and women who own tea farms as well as the size of the owned land, identify the barriers that women face in access to and control over land and suggest the interventions that can increase more women access to and control over land.

The Moser Gender Planning Framework

The study is based on The Moser Gender Planning Framework by Caroline Moser (1993). The framework aims to ensure women’s liberation from subordinate positions and help them work toward equality, fairness, and empowerment. It thus realizes that the roles that women perform as per society serve to maintain their low status and thus wants to stir in women the need to move to a position of equity. The main concepts in the framework are women’s triple roles, gender needs, women in development, and gender and development. From this, the argument is that women have many roles that they have to accomplish and this sets them to require some needs termed as practical and strategic needs (Candida et al., 1999). These needs involve those basic needs that will not lead to any change in the existing gender relations. From this, it is evident that women’s roles present them with certain challenges that specific strategies have to be employed to help them manage or come out of them.

The framework brings into light the multiple roles of women and particularly how they affect access to and control over the household and social resources. This confirms that the roles confine women to the domestic sphere (Reproductive Roles) filled with unpaid work and reduces their participation in the tea farms (Productive roles), KTDA annual general meetings, and vying for tea area directorship positions (Community roles), therefore limiting their voice and benefits in smallholder tea farming (Moser, 1993).

Conceptual Framework

Land Ownership and Control

The land is one of the important assets that communities possess. It is considered a pillar in the economic growth of any country. It holds and lifts businesses, livelihoods, and investments. Furthermore, it is considered a sign/object of personal empowerment (IOM, 2016; Mishra & Sam, 2016; Montenegro et al., 2016). Land is a major property that is key to sustainable agriculture. This is because its purpose runs across crop growing, livestock management, fishing on it, tea growing, and hunting grounds (Madison, 2019; Zhang, Cheng, Cheng, & Wu, 2020). Societies in different parts of the world have certain lifestyles that perpetuate gender relations in agriculture such that one kind of gender may benefit over another. For example in Vietnam, unequal gender relations are witnessed through access to land, land size, cultivated land, and irrigated land.

Males have up to 91 percent of commercial agricultural farms under them and only 9 percent are owned by females (Alvarado et al., 2015; Khuat Thu Hong et al., 2015; Mohan, 2017). In terms of land size, female households can access sizes that are 27 percent smaller than what men can get. Due to the disadvantages that a particular gender encounters as a result of gender roles, the study explored the constraints that the roles place on men and women and how each of them has been copied under these roles.

Men and women participate in agricultural activities. Many studies that have been done in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific contend that women spend more time working than men accounting for 12 hours more than men. Women-based labor is sought out more than male-based labor.

Mitra (2018) observes that 80 percent of tea plantation workers involved in tea plucking in India are women. This duty of tea plucking is the kind of work that takes a lot of time and climaxes in the transportation of heavy loads of tea to the tea weighing center. Even with these many working hours, women have limited access to resources and services which affect their productivity and earnings and do not help in any way to reduce their burden of responsibility (Joshi & Martinez, 2017). Bose and Das (2017) remark that ownership of land is mostly under a male in the household with the title deed registered in the male’s name. This leaves the women in families with few chances of owning the land limiting it to periods of joint ownership or when the male head of the household has passed on and so the ownership passes on to the woman by extension.

Bose and Das (2017) claim that because of cash crops, tea being one of them, women have lost some level of ownership of productive land instead they have been driven to unproductive lands. Mohan (2017) points out that male dominance in land ownership started with the establishment of customary laws during the colonial era. This gave men at the time an opportunity to create a defensive wall around the traditions of the community which in essence gave way to the strengthening of African patriarchy. This placed women in a subordinate position where men had an upper hand in decisions and women were reduced to respecting what men passed. This has given rise to men being in control and accessing benefits from the land they own while women can only receive the benefits when men say so. This, therefore, explains why most women’s work is unpaid, unrecognized, and not valued. In most cases, women’s roles in agriculture build on the financial benefits of the male owners and farmers. Women end up in a disadvantaged position than men (Joshi & Martinez, 2017). The study opened up the land ownership issue vis-à-vis men and women and revealed a connection between ownership and benefits.

In many studies, therefore, the woman factor appears as the drive to inequality in issues concerning land rights. There are many issues at local, national, and international levels of society that limit women’s access to and control over land. The main issue is the thought that since men head households so should they own land among others (Anderson et al., 2017; Kenya Land Alliance- KLA, 2018; Mishra & Sam, 2016). This is well explained as customary law and practice. Though many strides have been made by various countries to enable equal rights in land access and control, more needs to be looked into. The various laws in the constitutions of some countries have embraced equality to be in tandem with international human rights standards and obligations, for instance, the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In Nepal, there is a great improvement in terms of the achievement of gender equality and women empowerment. It is government ratified in 1991 by the UN CEDAW. This has led to improved access to education, health, and employment by their women folk. But with all these efforts, limited access to resources seems to persist due to sociocultural practices (Anderson et al., 2017; Dworkin, 2017; Kathmandu, 2016; USAID, 2019).

Other countries like South Africa, Mozambique, Uganda, and Kenya among others have introduced articles into their constitutions that prohibit discrimination. The issue then becomes the ill-informed/little-informed women population on the available provisions that protect them. They then still stick to traditional practices where women are in the back seat (Dworkin et al., 2017; UN, 2019). In Ghana, for instance, land customarily was an asset owned by all community members but in its real sense, women are secondary in terms of ownership. There are customary laws that restrict full utilization of the asset, for example, the law passing the property through the male descendants (Kizito et al, 2018). Indeed land is tied to society, which has norms. These norms mostly traditionally regulate the assignment and ownership procedures of land (Chimhowu, 2019; Ayano, 2018; Killic, Deininger, & Moylan, 2021)

In Kenya, the Land Policy (2009), The Constitution (2010), and the Land Act (2012) are among the legislation on land. In all of them, there is recognition of equal land rights for men and women. But like other nations, the enforcement challenge, the awareness issue, and the existing customary law seem to bar full enjoyment of equal provision (Land Registration Act and Land Commission Act, 2012; Maneno, 2017). Suggestions have been made and adopted by countries on ways to boost women’s access to land. The first is to include women in decision-making, especially concerning the law, policy, and program development. For instance, the Botswana government developed an Agricultural Sector Gender Policy Framework with the main goal of promoting equality and equity in agricultural development processes. This led to improved women’s participation in agriculture as a whole. Uganda on the other hand adopted the Uganda National Land Policy Final Draft in 2011. This was with a focus on addressing pertinent women’s issues and ensuring the development of gender-sensitive land laws (Doss, Kieran, & Kilic, 2020; Hasanbasri, Kilic, Koolwal, & Moylan, 2021).

Secondly, boost enforcement and implementation of existing laws and policies to enable justice for all. It is worth noting, even from most literature, that countries have laws but the law is nothing without practice. Some studies, therefore, suggest the development of specialized courts, putting more funds into women’s courses, and ensuring that judicial decisions are not gender-biased. In Kenya for example, leaders at the local level are expected to uphold non-discriminatory law and are held responsible to ensure they defend women’s land rights at the grassroots. There are programs in Sub-Saharan Africa managed by UN Women tasked with awareness creation in communities about land rights and inheritance (UN Human Rights and UN Women, 2019). Thirdly, is about ensuring that various laws and policies on land are well explained and harmonized. This will allow the zipping of gaps that may be reasons for injustice to women. Some countries have managed to harmonize their land laws, for example, India, Kenya, Mozambique, and Namibia (Munyaradzi et al., 2018).

Sample Size and Sampling Techniques

The selection of sample size was based on Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) who suggested a sample size of between 10 percent and 30 percent of the targeted population for a descriptive study. For populations below 1000, Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) suggested 30 percent, while those above 1000 suggested 10 percent, respectively (Table 1).

The tea farmers’ sample size calculation was as outlined:

Purposive stratified random sampling was employed to get five zones based on sub-locations within two director zones in Singorwet ward and then tea buying centers were randomly selected within the zones. The target sample size was finally proportioned equally among the four tea-buying centers. Since there were no specific figures for the farm laborers in the study area the study opted to conduct an interview on this group purposively picking two from each buying center selected.

The factory staff (including managers) sample size calculation was as outlined:

All five managers were targeted while the remaining 40 were randomly selected to fill out the questionnaires. The two directors were targeted and interviewed in the Singorwet ward.

Data Collection

Primary and secondary methods of data collection were used. Questionnaires and interviews were used during primary data collection. The tools that were used in the study include questionnaires, interviews, and observations.

Data Analysis

The data collected were edited to check for any incomplete questions and presentation of inconsistent answers. After this, data were coded and summarized and then the analysis of the data was undertaken. Analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25 for quantitative data analysis.

Response Rate

This study gives an account of returned data collection tools. It answers whether interviews and questionnaires used produced representative data to make informed conclusions for the study. The results are as summarized in Table 2.

According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), a response rate below 40 percent is unreliable, a response rate of 40 percent to 50 percent is poor, a response rate of 50 percent to 60 percent is acceptable for analysis and reporting, a response rate of 60 percent to 70 percent is fair, 70 percent to 80 percent is good and above 80 percent is excellent. The interview return rate was 100 percent since all the two tea area directors and 10 sampled farm laborers who were the key informants were interviewed. Both questionnaire and interview response rates for this study fall above 80 percent and therefore excellent to be relied upon.

Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents

Demographic profiles discussed in this section include gender, marital status, level of education, main occupation, and level of household income from tea of the respondents.

Gender of the Respondents

The study established that the gender of the respondents is as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Gender of the respondents.

Source: Authors, 2019.

The study comprised only male directors, among tea farmers 81.0 percent were males and 19.0 percent were females, with factory staff 48.8 percent were males whereas 51.2 percent were females, and among farm laborers 20.0 percent were males and 80.0 percent were females. This finding shows that the information collected was representative especially among factory staff, with a ratio of 1:1 since both had an equal chance to air their views on examining the gender roles in tea farming and its effect on gender equity in Singorwet Ward of Bomet County. Contrary among directors 100.0 percent and tea farmers 80.0 percent being male shows opinion disparity which is also evident among farm laborers with a majority, 80.0 percent being women. The findings of the study concur with what is presented by Koyenikan and Ikharea (2014) who state that women are the majority in the agricultural labor force.

Marital Status of the Respondents

The study sought to find out the marital status of the respondents, the results were as presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Marital status of the respondents.

Source: Authors, 2019.

Marital status results show that a majority; 63.9 percent of tea farmers, 58.1 percent of factory staff, and all directors were mar-ried. Most (50.0 percent) farm laborers were single with only 30.0 percent who were married. This finding was important because it meant that all the views of the different categories of the respondents were captured. The dominant married in all categories except farm laborers was deemed better placed to outline gender roles. The findings agree with those presented by Muhamadi and Boz (2021) indicating that most farmers are married and engage together in farming activities. Single parents and unmarried seem to face financial strains and are less likely to have the requisite educational qualifications to compete for better employment and thus easily engage in tea farms as laborers (Granek et al., 2014). Among the tea farmers, the single ones exist and this affirms findings by Sam (2019), which state that single women are likely to draw more benefits and have control over farms than married ones.

Education Level of the Respondents per Gender

The level of education of the respondents was very important in the study as it determines how the community members examine the gender roles in tea farming and its effect on gender equity. The results are as presented in Table 3.

With regard to tea farmers’ level of education, 45.9 percent attained their highest education in tertiary colleges followed by primary carder 25.7 percent, secondary 21.6 percent, university level 3.7 percent, and lastly with no formal education 3.1 percent. Among factory staff, many had secondary-level education 46.5 percent, 39.5 percent with tertiary education, and 14.0 percent with a university degree. Farm laborers had no one with a university degree and the majority was with primary (30.0 percent) and secondary (30.0 percent) education. Those with no formal education were 20.0 percent and the remaining 20.0 percent had attained tertiary education.

From the education level findings of the study, it can be said that most of the respondents interviewed had basic primary or secondary education. The literacy can be linked with the level of awareness of gender roles and stereotypes associated. A higher number of female tea farmers have primary and secondary school qualifications. It was also observed that female factory staff are more exposed and learned compared to their male counterparts. The findings above concur with Fahad et al. (2018), which states that the education level of the farmer affects their perception of various things, gender equity included. It also affirms the findings by Kapur (2019) who states that the education level of farmers affects their productivity and utilization of new technologies in their farms.

The level of tea income of a population is an important aspect in ascertaining the effects of gender roles in tea farming. From the findings, male respondents in the categories seem to earn more than women, especially as the proceeds increase. This agrees with the findings by Mukoya and Mulinya (2018) who state that men have an upper hand in decision making including how proceeds from farms will be utilized.

The Effect of Restricted Access and Land Control in Tea Farming on Gender Equity

This objective was handled based on land ownership and size, land accessibility and control, as well as the number of years the men and women have been engaged in tea farming in relation to gender equity.

Land Ownership Size Per Gender

The study utilized tea farmers’ questionnaires to seek their views concerning land ownership and size per gender. The results are as summarized in Table 5.

It was noted that the majority (99.3 percent) of men owned land less than one acre followed by the group with more than five acres and then the group with one to five acres. On the other hand, no woman who owned more than five acres of land, 59.0 percent owned one to five acres with a handful (0.7 percent) who owned less than one acre. The findings above are in line with what Doss et al. (2015) indicate that most women in developing countries have small pieces of land, most not owned and have limited power in utilizing it.

Land Acquisition per Gender

Although all respondents indicated that they were farmers and owned land under their extended families, the study further interrogated how they acquired the land. Land acquisition helps to know the genesis of the land. Figure 3 gives a detailed overview of the results.

Figure 3

Land acquisition statuses of the respondents.

The majority of men and women inherited land from their parents which was admitted by 53.1 percent and 18.4 percent, respectively. 27.8 percent of men and 0.35 percent of women bought their lands. Culture influences this as parents pass their land to their children, especially to the boy child. The findings are consistent with what was unveiled by Gaddis, Lahoti, and Wenjie (2018), who found that land with other properties is concentrated on men in societies.

Distribution of Respondents per Year in Tea Farming

The majority (61.2 percent) were men who had been in tea farming for less than 5 years, 11.25 percent registered 6–10 years, 6.3 percent reported 11–15 years, and the remaining 2.4 percent had been in tea farming for over 15 years. On the other hand, many (18.4 percent) were women who admitted to having been in tea farming for 11–15 years and findings from the open-ended question show majority of this group were widows who inherited the farm from their late husbands. The findings are consistent with the observations by Maina et al. (2015) who noted that men compared to women take the upper hand in tea. Men engage more in Annual General Meetings with KTDA because they have a grower number and the necessary kilograms to influence decisions.

Figure 4

Gender distributions per year in tea farming.

Evidence on Restricted Access and Land Control on Tea Farming

Results captured from the tea farmers’ questionnaires soundly indicated that men (80.4 percent) were the decision makers because they were the owners of those lands. 19.6 percent of women who owned land were either those who inherited from their late husbands or those who bought. According to FAO (2009) and Yemisi and Idisi (2014), women who were displayed to have the power to utilize the land and benefit from tea income are those who are widows or single. The women who are married participate in tea farm activities but do not have a tea grower right to earn income directly to their accounts, rather they earn through their husband’s accounts. The results are summarized in Figure 5.

Figure 5

Rate of decision-making per gender.

Effect of Gender-based Restricted Access and Land Control in Tea Farming

The study further sought the effect of gender-based restricted access and land control. The tea farmers’ respondents were asked to rate their views based on a five-point Likert scale ranging from no extent to a very large extent on men’s own land and all major decisions on tea farming rested with them. The observations above concur with the study of Bose and Das (2017) which notes that gender differences still exist in terms of inheritance. Laws within cultures and religions encourage the support of one gender over another (Mohan, 2017). Results are as tabulated in Table 6.

The majority though said there was gender equity rated to a large extent 47.5 percent (n=242), to a very large extent 33.9 percent (n=173) that men owned land and all major decisions on tea farming rest with them. The few with the opinion that there was no gender equity still rated to a large extent 18.2 percent (n=93) that men owned land and all major decisions on tea farming rest with them.

According to Melville and Goddard (1968), the chi-square is used for the dependence of two categorical variables. There was a significant association between gender equity and menowned land and all major decisions on tea farming rest with them; X² (2, N=510) = 56.526^a, p=0.000 as detailed in Table 7. According to Roy (2008), owning land is key in making decisions towards the use of that land. Most societies have not embraced passing land to women, therefore women’s voice on farms is scarce.