"Gender" is a concept used in social sciences to look at roles and activities of men and women. These roles are often socially defined, and shaped by the traditions and beliefs of a particular culture. While women contribute between 60-80 % of agricultural production in developing countries, women farmers are least likely to benefit from agricultural extension services and technologies that could improve their production. Therefore, theoretical and methodological work in gender analysis in agriculture has been expanding. Gender analysis tries to take account of roles on other fronts in the lives of farmers since an understanding of the overall commitment of time and energy is pre-requisite to a better identification of farmers' needs.

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