Household headship, mobility and food security in rural Tanzania: Insights for research and agricultural development in the global south

Dr. John Parkins, Professor of Sociology, University of Alberta

Wednesday, March 30 | 12:00-1:30 |  CUE 518

In this seminar I present results of two recent studies on the relationship between gender and food security in rural Tanzania. These studies were undertaken within a larger interdisciplinary project involving the adoption of dairy goats and root crops to enhance local food production in 120 rural households. Drawing on household survey data (n = 520), the first study provides conceptual and empirical refinements on gender and agriculture by examining how household food consumption is influenced by (1) household headship structures and (2) gender-specific differences in the ownership of household resources. The second study draws on 66 in-depth interviews and interpretive inquiry to identify gendered mobilities, including issues of culture and stigma that inhibits the integration of women into the agricultural sector.