Labor input of women tobacco farmers in Tabora, Tanzania

Background Literature on African women tobacco farmers in many countries suggests they are the most overworked members of their economies. The study presented here attempts to quantify the amount of labor women tobacco farmers exert in tobacco, maize and a third crop. Methods Stratified sampling, cross-classified tables, multiple linear regression were applied. A sample of 408 women tobacco farmers from the Tabora region of Tanzania were selected and interviewed. Women labor input was measured in man-days and was compared with the man-days of adult males and children's labor input. Results The results show that 251 man-days per year are spent on farming activities; 42 percent of these are undertaken by women farmers. 78 percent of time devoted to farming is earmarked for tobacco farming. Out of the 198 days devoted to tobacco farming, 43 percent is undertaken by women. The contribution to labor input by children is only 5 percent. When classified by type of agricultural activities, men spend more time in land clearing and planting, while women spend more time in weeding and harvesting. When classified by age, older women spend more time than younger women. Using a multiple linear regression, the determinants of the magnitude of women labor input were identified. The results show that women who spend more time in tobacco farming are relatively old; they get less or no remittance; they reside far from major towns; they do not have much wealth, and they have little access to alternative employment. Conclusions These variables indicate that women tobacco farmers are poor. Further, the amount of time women spend in tobacco farming appears to be very high; this is likely to lead to tobacco related health hazards.