Women in agriculture in Southern Africa: Land ownership, labour and social structures

Women in southern Africa have historically been the primary providers for households, particularly during the era of mass male labour migration to South African mines. During this period, women assumed dual roles as both primary farmers and heads of households, which elevated their importance within families and communities. This de facto reality challenges the stereotypical and static perceptions of women's roles in everyday life. However, despite their significant contributions to agriculture, women in the region face systemic barriers to land ownership, access, and control. While women spend considerable time working on the land, their exclusion from land ownership limits their ability to exercise rights and responsibilities associated with property ownership. This exclusion is infantilising, as it undermines their capacity to fulfil community responsibilities, despite their critical roles as primary farmers. Drawing on extensive literature and ethnographic observations of agriculture and land reform programmes in Lesotho and South Africa, this paper argues that the de facto status of women as primary farmers in rural areas is not only undervalued but also actively undermined by systemic inequalities. Using an intersectionality approach, the study reveals how race, gender, and class compound rural women's exclusion from land ownership. By emphasising the intersection of these issues, the study underscores the need for policies and reforms that recognise and address the multifaceted challenges faced by women in agriculture. Ultimately, the paper calls for a revaluation of women's contributions to agriculture and the dismantling of structural barriers that perpetuate their marginalisation in land ownership and agricultural productivity.