In many cultures the division of roles is particularly strongly marked. In Hainan，China，for example，the women are responsible for drying traditional upland rice. Photo：Huang Yongfang

Key terms

Gender

Gender is not determined biologically；it is a central organising principle of societies and often governs the processes of production and reproduction，consumption and distribution. Gender issues focus on the relationships between men and women，the various roles of women，their access to and control over resources，the division of labour between men and women，their interests and needs. All these things affect the mutual relationships of household members，family wellbeing，planning，production and many other aspects of everyday life.

Participatory Plant Breeding

Farmers and professional breeders differ in the knowledge they possess and in the breeding techniques they use. Participatory breeding means using methods to which farmers，breeders，scientists and other interested groups contribute their knowledge. Such methods started to develop some two decades ago.

Farmers’Rights

Farmers have always saved part of their harvest as seed or grain to be planted the following year. This was and is a central element of agriculture-and the legitimate right of farmers. It is a right that came under serious threat in the mid-1980s when the first patents on plants and plant material were registered. In 2001 the right was established as part of the “Farmers’Rights” included in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture （see 3.4 “Farmers’ Rights and agrobiodiversity”）.

In the mountain areas of Nepal，women collect fodder for the animals，feed and graze them，clean the sheds and compost the dung. Children，mainly girls，take the animals for grazing. Elderly women are responsible for milking and prepare butter and ghee，a type of butterfat. The older men take decisions on the marketing of produce and the breeding of animals（Tulachan and Neupane，in：FAO，2004）.

In most traditional and modern farming systems there is a fixed division of labour，as in Nepal. Men and women may be responsible for different crops or for different tasks related to a crop. In many cases men plough the fields while women prepare the seedbeds with hoes. Weeding is often a task for women and children，while spraying or fertiliser application is mainly carried out by men. For harvesting all available hands are needed. Gardens are usually run by women.

Men tend to focus on market-oriented cash crop production，while women are often responsible for the family’s subsistence needs. A study from Mali shows that this applies not only where very different plants，such as manioc and coffee，are concerned；labour can be divided in this way for one and the same plant. In the Bafoulabé region in the west of Mali rice was traditionally a “women’s plant”.It was grown along the riverbanks or in fields that were under water in the rainy season. The women worked the fields either on their own or in groups. They possessed a vast store of knowledge about the native varieties they cultivated and could distinguish between 30 varieties on the basis of growing cycle，growth type，plant height，number of stalks，yield，grain size，shape and colour，cooking characteristics，uses and the taste of the end product. The men knew very little about the traditional varieties of rice but were firmly in control of the cultivation of three improved varieties of rice that had been introduced into the village.

Women and children often look after the smaller livestock species while men are responsible for cattle，buffalo，yaks or camels. How roles are assigned and who takes decisions relevant to agrobiodiversity will depend on the specific situations and culture. Depending on gender roles，the man or the woman may be the agrobiodiversity conserver，or they may share the task between them.

Nutrition and health needs are most often the responsibility of women. It is therefore usually women who hold the knowledge of the plants and animals that serve these needs，whether with regard to their culinary，nutritional and curative properties or in connection with their agronomic and environmentally related characteristics. The variety of plants and animals contributing to subsistence is generally far larger than the range of products sold in the markets. When addressing agrobiodiversity conservation issues，therefore，it is primarily women who must be reached.

Women are responsible for looking after the offspring of large livestock as well as smaller animals such as small ruminants and chicken. Photo：Sylvia Reinhardt