ABSTRACT
This chapter examines various aspects of the Farming Systems Research and Extension (FSR/E) methodology and the need to incorporate gender issues by using the results from projects in Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi. A conceptual framework for the diagnosis and analysis of intra-household dynamics in FSR/E was used to guide the review of these project results. The major inputs in agricultural production were land and labor; little fertilizer or chemicals were used in the farming systems. When labor data by gender were included in the baseline study of the farming system, it was found that females contributed one-half the labor on major agricultural crops and more than half on minor crops. Ali farming system studies in tropical Africa show tight labor constraints at certain periods of the crop calendar. The farming systems mode emphasizes the complete farming system rather than individual crops.
