Restricted Access and Land Control in Tea Farming as a Threat to Gender Equity in Singorwet Ward, Bomet County

Abstract

In many developing countries assignment of agricultural responsibilities is based on social and cultural norms. In Africa and Kenya, women take on most of the roles that involve spending long hours and use of lots of energy. The research objectives were to examine the effect of restricted access and land control in tea farming on gender equity in Singorwet ward of Bomet County. A cross-sectional study design was used and a sample size of 532 tea farmers’ respondents (comprising 431 male tea farmers and 101 female tea farmers), two directors, and 10 farm laborers were involved in this study. Purposive sampling was used to pick two director zones in the Singorwet ward and stratified random sampling to pick five tea-buying centers within Singorwet Zone and Mugango Zone. Questionnaires, interviews, and observation schedules were used for data collection. From the findings, all major decisions on tea farming rest with the men, as well as all gender equity indices and access to and control of financial services in tea farming. The overall gender parity ratio stood at 0.2 which was in favor of men. This was also evident in directorship where woman directors appeared under nomination and not election. This study recommends thorough community awareness programs on land rights within the Kenyan Constitution 2010.