Analyzing the impact of the Grow to Sell project on women´s participation in agriculture: A case study of M´bande group in Chikwawa, Malawi

Abstract

This study examines the impact of grow to sell on women’s participation in agriculture within the M’bande group in Chikwawa District, Malawi. The researcher has used a mixed method to allow qualitative and quantitative data to be analysed separately. A total of 55 study participants were selected based on their knowledge, experience and availability during data collection. In addition, the study used questionnaires to collect quantitative data. Furthermore focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data. Key informant interviews with four representatives of institutions complemented the qualitative information collected. Data analysis was carried out in two ways: quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in excel and qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings show that the Grow to Sell project has a greater impact on women participation in agriculture in terms of increased income, improved access to markets, increased capacity and increased decision making power. The study also found that limited land ownership rights, lack of trust, poor timing of service delivery and cultural resistance are some of the challenges that are still affecting active participation of women in agriculture. The research recommends further studies to see whether and what impact education in the frame of the project has had on women’s participation in agriculture. It also recommends to change the time when to deliver the extension services so that women are well covered.