ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the linkages between effects of the national political economy, including dependency and internal class formation, and efforts of peasant women to produce food crops in one area of Zaire. It suggests that women’s status in family and community is key to their ability to contribute to and benefit from increased production efforts. As in most African societies, Zairian women are active in production of food crops, both for home use and for sale. As the contributions of women to household income from outside sources increase substantially, changes in gender relations may occur. Major causes of hunger in the region are generally held to be overpopulation, erosion and maternal ignorance. The chapter examines the current organization of peasant farming in the interior of Kabare. Plantations producing export crops are described by many officials and expatriate advisors as the “modern”, “dynamic” sector.
