Citation
Priorities For Women's Programmes

Material Information

Title:
Priorities For Women's Programmes
Creator:
Spring, Anita
Women in Agricultural Development Project in Malawi
Place of Publication:
Lilongwe, Malawi
Publisher:
Women in Agricultural Development Project, USAID
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Physical Description:
90 p. in various pagings : ; 30 cm.

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Malawi--Lilongwe ( fast )
Women in development ( fast )
Women--Education ( fast )
Women farmers ( fast )
Genre:
international intergovernmental publication ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
Malawi

Notes

Abstract:
Anita Spring wrote a report describing what are the main priorities for the Women's Programme in Malawi. She was assisted by the Department of Agricultural Development and the Women's Programme in making this report possible. Farm Home Assistants and Field Assistants were also very helpful in the report creation as well. "In 1981, the Department of Agricultural Development converted the Home Economics Section under the Farm HOme Economist to the Women's Programmes Section under a Women's Programme Office (WPO). The post of WPO and AWPO at ADD level was converted from the Assistant Training Office in the Training Section". The responsibility in the training section was to supervise FHAs, DTCs, RTCs, and FIs. In the first parts of the report, Anita Spring documents the TO and PO grades of the Bunda College of Agriculture. The college has a 3-year diploma and a 5-year degree. The school has admitted 204 women to the diploma programme and 33 women in degree programmes. Anita Spring writes that the problems come from when the graduate women try to look for jobs. Women seem to be restricted to the teaching and agriculture in secondary schools, selected jobs in the Women's Programme, Principals at RTCs. Farm Home Assistants (FHA) have been trained at Thuchila Farm Institute (TFI). The average number of graduating from this programme is 22 per year. One of the problems from the FHA course is that all the crop practicals are in person even though the ox-ploughs, ridgers are available at TFI. FHAs are trained in Thucila and are supposed to be knowledgeable about vegetable and poultry production, their training in these areas is minimal. FAs in Colby College approximately 2300 students graduate from the college only 2% of graduates were women. Male and females take the same subjects except that males take farm merchandise. Women interviewed felt that the main career that was open to them was FHA and not Field Assistant. FHAs and Female Fas in Natural Resources College courses are being finalized. In the college, the number of dormitories reserved for women is only 9.7% of all of the dormitories. Anita Spring makes a list of suggestions in training and including more women into the programmes. Some of these suggestions including marketing to recruit more female students. Anita Spring mentions how to alter the current in-service training workshop, internal training. She also lists the workshops that are available and what topics they cover. The second half of the report is suggestions for name change, career structure, Farm Home Assistants, Female Field Assistants, WPO/HQ, NPOS, AWPOs, duties, and responsibilities of women's programmes staff, staff training, in-country training, external training, reorientating the FHA and syllabus training, proposed courses on agriculture and home economics for DTCs, RTCs, and FIs, reorientating other staff to the concerns of women's programmes and participation, data on project services and women's participation, researching on women and farming enterprises, WPOs and "fact-finding", women's groups and income-generating activities, women's in Farmers' Club, suggestions for strengthening women's groups and IGAs, appropriate technology, suggestions for coordination with food and nutrition section, extension aids, and examples of forms for obtaining basic information. Anita Spring continues to discuss a 5-year plan for the Women's progrommes which includes revised monitoring and evaluation, forms for monitoring, policy objectives, strategic objectives, responsibilities, duties, and job descriptions. There is also a section that describes the good problem-solving methodology and principal steps in overcoming problems through discussion with farmers. There is also a step by step manual for the evaluation of the Women's programmes.
Creation/Production Credits:
Chitedze Agricultural Research Station, P.O Box 158, Lilongwe
General Note:
Calls itself "Part II;" "Part I" entitled: Women farmers in Malawi.
Biographical:
Dr. Anita Spring has devoted her life to research in topics such as international agricultural development; food security; entrepreneurship and African business; women/gender in international development; environment and resource management since the 1970s. She has conducted research and produced many publications at several prestigious universities including Cornell University, San Francisco State University, and recently the University of Florida. She is currently a professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology, and director of the Sub-Saharan Africa Business Environment Report (SABER) Project at the University of Florida.

Record Information

Source Institution:
University of Florida
Rights Management:
All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.
Resource Identifier:
17158134 ( OCLC )