Review on Gender Roles in Livestock Value Chain in Ethiopia

This paper is reviewed based on livestock value chain from gender perspectives in Ethiopia. Livestock are generally considered a key resource for rural livelihoods and they also play significant economic and cultural roles in the country. They can also be an entry point to promote gender empowerment in rural areas because livestock activities are a daily occupation and animal products such as milk, butter and meat are produced, processed and marketed in the country, with men and women contribution for the work. For these reasons, it is important to review gender roles and access to, control over and benefit from the resources along the livestock value chain and factors affecting women participation in livestock value chain in the country. The paper is reviewed based on a desk research of the synthesis and site-specific/country level studies from the livestock commodities’ value chain conducted in Ethiopia. Accordingly, both men and women play a significant role along the stages of livestock value chain in the country. Women mostly participated in gathering feed and provide feed to the livestock, watering, take care of the sick and young animals, contribute to cleaning the animal shelter, milking and contribute to sale of the livestock products. Men are specifically involved in herding, cutting forage, marketing and taking livestock to health centers. Livestock ownership between men and women is strongly related to social, cultural and economic factors. It also depends on the kind of livestock they raise. Large livestock are owned by men while smaller animals such as goats, sheep and poultry are mostly owned by women. Although small ruminants are often owned by women, it is the men who are responsible for their disposal and thus in charge of making decisions related to their sale. Gender related factors such as poor technical skills in animal care, limited veterinary services, limited access to markets and poor marketing skills, limited access to financial and extension services, high illiteracy levels and social expectations in the community, less ownership and benefits from the productive assets tend to affect women’s participation to livestock value chain. Therefore, to contribute to household security, women should be supported as livestock owners, processors and users of benefits as men for strengthening their decision making power at the household level and also, to reduce poverty, women should be supported economically as well as socially.