The role of women's associations in agricultural development : a case study of Gitarama, Rwanda

This item was digitized as part of a project to share McGill's intellectual legacy with the public. If you are the copyright holder or a relative of the copyright holder who is deceased, you may request withdrawal by emailing escholarship.library@mcgill.ca. The full policy for eScholarship may be accessed here: mcgill.ca The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of membership in women's rural associations on farm productivity. A survey of 320 women was carried out in the Prefecture of Gitarama in Rwanda, in order to obtain primary data and test the hypothesis. The survey results indicate that women's associations contribute to an increased yield compared to NON-MEMBERS. In the case of credit and technical assistance, women in general received low support. Being a member of an association provides additional income to the member, but this is not the main reason to join the association. Social reasons, such as not having to work alone and being able to exchange views with other women, prevail over the economic reasons. Mutual aid is considered an important factor when considering joining the association. The survey results revealed that MEMBERS in general are more literate, are slightly older, have larger families and spend a higher percentage of their income on investments than NON-MEMBERS. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)