Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101

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Journal of Rural Studies

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jrurstud

Understanding collective action and women's empowerment in

potato farmer groups in Ntcheu and Dedza in Malawi
Netsayi N. Mudege a, *, Ted Nyekanyeka a, Eliya Kapalasa a, Tafadzwa Chevo b, Paul Demo a
a
International Potato Center, Kenya
b
University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper explores the potential for potato farmer groups to empower women in Malawi. It does this by
Received 13 March 2015 examining how social and gender norms in communities, including the distribution of power, resources
Received in revised form and responsibilities, may have an impact on the ability of farmer groups to empower female group
5 August 2015
participants. In total, 35 sex-disaggregated focus group discussions with farmers, and 4 interviews with
Accepted 13 September 2015
Available online 24 October 2015
extension officers were conducted in Dedza and Ntcheu districts. Data on social and gender norms that
may promote or constrain the participation of both men and women in groups and limit their benefits
were collected and analyzed. A social relations approach, focusing on gender relations, was used to
Keywords:
Malawi
analyze the data. A key finding was that, underlying gender and cultural norms may affect the ability of
Gender women to participate actively in groups as well as to take advantage of the empowerment potential of
Farmer groups groups. Findings suggest that while farmer groups have the potential to empower women, reproduction
Agricultural extension of societal gender roles within groups may result in male bias, constraining the ability of groups to
Empowerment empower women. Key implications are that agricultural research organizations interested in women's
Participation empowerment should work closely with partners who have experience in women's empowerment
because farmer group participation may not empower women if underlying social issues that result in
gender inequality are not addressed.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Agricultural extension services in Malawi are provided to
smallholder farmers mostly through organized farmer groups/
clubs (Masangano and Mthinda, 2012). This is perceived as a way of
limiting the possibility of extension workers giving preference to
progressive farmers, who are usually male. When extension ser-
vices are provided to farmers in groups, it is taken as a proxy to
indicate that farmers have equal access to extension services. It has
been suggested that group approaches to extension services are
more effective when dealing with women because of high illiteracy
levels among women (Meinzen-Dick et al., 2011). Jiggins et al.
(1997) indicate that, in many cultures group extension ap-
proaches are more effective in providing opportunities for women
because they calm ‘fears of male extension agents, husbands and
women about transgressing norms of approved social contact.’ This
* Corresponding author. International Potato Center, Sub-Sahara Africa Regional
Office, ILRI Campus, Old Naivasha Road, PO Box 25171-00603, Nairobi, Kenya.
E-mail addresses: netsayi@yahoo.co.uk, n.mudege@cgiar.org (N.N. Mudege).
paper explores the potential for potato farmer groups to empower
women in Malawi. It does this by examining how social and gender
norms in communities, may have an impact on the ability of farmer
groups to empower female group participants. These social and
gender norms include those practices related to the distribution of
power, resources and responsibilities. This paper is significant
because there is a push by government to reach rural farmers
through community based approaches such as farmer groups and
yet not much is known about their impact on enhancing gender
equality (Jafry and Sulaiman, 2013) and empowerment. Very few
studies have analyzed the empowerment potential of groups from a
gender perspective.
Agricultural extension services for smallholder farmers in
Malawi are evolving from a primary focus on food security to
encompass commercialization and entrepreneurship, as well as
farmer empowerment (Masangano and Mthinda, 2012). Official
rhetoric in Malawi emphasizes farmer empowerment but it is not
clear what the government means by empowerment. Mudege et al.
(2015) and Masangano and Mthinda (2012) note that extension
services are to a larger extent still topedown. Extension workers

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.002
0743-0167/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
92 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101
are still regarded as conduits of knowledge from research organi-
zations to farmers. In Malawi extension services are also criticized
for focusing mostly on input support programs instead of agricul-
tural extension (Chinsinga, 2010) which means farmers may lack
the information they need to make informed decisions. In addition,
Mudege et al. (2015) notes that extension services are still male
biased. Social and gender norms within many communities
sometimes result in the marginalization of women from accessing
extension services.
Despite some limitations, especially regarding the participation
and empowerment of women, working in groups has the potential
of strengthening farmers' voices. Farmers' organizations (FOs) are
usually regarded as empowering farmers through providing spaces
to influence policy makers' and research organizations' decisions as
well as to influence the public (Penunia, 2011). Empowerment
through civil society groups, which FOs are part of, may lead to
what Gaventa (2005 referred to in Mudege and Kwangwari,
2013:239) describes as ‘the rejection of hegemonic spaces and
ideologies, and the creation of public spaces where individuals and
communities can participate and influence the distribution of re-
sources.’ Improving women's participation in these organizations
would therefore empower them through strengthening their voices
and enabling them to be heard.
Empowerment is a very complex concept, but it can be defined
as the process by which people and organizations or groups who
are powerless become aware of the power dynamics at work in
their lives and develop the skills and capacities for gaining some
reasonable control over their lives (Rowlands, 1997). Rowlands
(1997) also states that ‘empowerment is more than just partici-
pating in decision making: … [it] must involve undoing negative
social constructions so that people can see themselves as having
the capacity and the right to act and influence decisions.’ When
people are empowered they are able ‘to translate their choices into
desired actions and outcomes,’ resulting in effective agency (Alsop
and Heinsohn, 2005:6). Effective agency is critical in understanding
empowerment because it allows people to transition from a feeling
of being able to effect change, to actually engaging in actions and
decisions that can result in change.
It is important to note that the idea of empowerment is un-
derstood differently depending on ideological standpoints. Some
consider empowerment at an individual level. For instance,
Gutie
rrez (1990: 149) regards empowerment as a ‘process of
increasing personal, interpersonal or political power so that in-
dividuals can take action to improve their life situation.’ When
individuals feel that they can act on a situation and can improve a
situation through their own action, they can be regarded as
empowered. Women in Development (WID) approaches are based
on the idea that increasing women's ability to bargain within
households and communities may improve women's position in
society and, thus, to promote women's empowerment, WID focuses
on projects and programs that improve women's incomes. How-
ever, simply targeting individuals' empowerment presupposes in-
dividual autonomy and freewill, and does not fully incorporate
limitations that may be imposed on individual empowerment by
social norms and gendered institutions. For example Mabsout and
Van Staveren (2010) talk about gendered institutions and state
that institutions play a big role in determining household bargai-
ning outcomes. For instance, they note that ‘when most of the
bargaining outcome is determined at institutional level rather than
individual/household level, it is likely that improving individual/
household level bargaining power is not very effective in increasing
women's bargaining outcomes (Mabsout and Van Staveren, 2010:
793e4). It is therefore critical to look at other extra-household in-
stitutions (including social norms, or other forms of organization
such as farmer groups) that may have an impact on women's
empowerment and their ability to negotiate favorable gender
outcomes within the home. Gender and Development (GAD) ap-
proaches consider such extra-household institutions.
Gender and Development (GAD) approaches focus on institu-
tional change and transformation, and are based on the view that
women's empowerment can only be understood in relation to men.
In this case, empowerment is a relational concept in the sense that
it implies ‘changing power relations among people or groups’
(Alsop and Heinsohn, 2005). Thus, empowerment becomes a pro-
cess and an outcome in which existing social structures that
disadvantage women and/or other groups are challenged and
changed. GAD postulates that women's position is rooted in socio-
economic and political structures which place women in a disad-
vantaged position, and suggests that women need to self-organize
at different levels in order to challenge these structures (Tasli,
2007). From this perspective, farmer groups, as part of civil soci-
ety, provide opportunities for collective action and are potentially
empowering and able to democratize development and include
neglected groups.
Offering an antithesis to the empowerment potential of partic-
ipatory institutions such as farmer groups and community groups,
Agarwal (2001) introduced the concept of ‘participatory exclu-
sions’, which refers to ‘exclusions within seemingly participatory
institutions’ such as farmers' groups and community groups.
Because of exclusionary tendencies, community groups may fail to
empower people. In this regard, for groups to empower men and
women they need to address deep-seated social and gender norms
governing unequal relations in communities including gender re-
lations that may exclude certain groups of people from partici-
pating and benefiting. Using data from Malawi, this paper seeks to
understand whether potato farmer groups in Malawi can empower
women by focusing on the role played by social gender norms in
mediating the empowerment potential of participating in groups.
2. Context
The research on which this paper is based was carried out in
Malawi's Ntcheu and Dedza districts, where many farmers produce
Solanum tuberosum L., referred to as Irish potato/potato in Malawi.
Dedza and Ntcheu districts are two of the five major potato-
producing areas in Malawi. Potato in Malawi is produced by
smallholder farmers (Kateta et al., 2015). In main potato growing
districts, potato is the most important cash crop for farmers and the
second most important food crop after maize (Minot, 2010). In
terms of diets, production and trade, when potato and sweet potato
are combined in statistics, potato ranks third after maize and cas-
sava among important food crops (see Minot, 2010). FEWSNET
(2006) disaggregates potato and sweet potato, ranking potato
fourth after cassava, maize and sweet potato where production of
major food crops in Malawi is concerned.
Not many studies have been conducted on gender and potato
farming in Malawi, but FAO (2011) notes that female-headed
households lack male labor and cash needed to successfully culti-
vate cash crops such as maize and tobacco. Assa et al. (2012) note
that 62% of potato farmers in Dedza are men. Many women
involved in potato farming are engaged as part of households
headed by men. Despite the perception that potato is a men's crop,
this paper focuses on potato because women still regard potato as a
key crop (Mudege et al., 2015).
Malawi experiences a huge shortage of agricultural extension
workers. The government agricultural extension worker to farmer
ratio is estimated at 1:1500, double the target for effective exten-
sion services, which is set at 1:750 (Mulwafu and Krishnankutty,
2012). This means that extension workers are too thinly spread to
effectively train and have greater engagement with individual
 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101 93

farmers. Consequently, the government promotes pluralistic agri- Malawi ranks better than many countries in terms of gender
cultural extension services involving NGOs, the private sector and equality, there is still room for improvement. Malawi sits at number
promotion of lead farmers. Using the lead farmer approach, lead 38 out of the 86 countries with information for the Social In-
farmers are targeted with training and they, in turn, train other stitutions and Gender Index, and its Gender inequality index for
farmers who are in groups, thereby facilitating the spread of in- 2011 was placed at 0.549 (genderindex.org). The calculation of SIGI
formation to a wide range of farmers. is based on five key drivers of gender inequality namely: Discrim-
Driven by both necessity and the desire to be more inclusive, the inatory Family Code; Restricted Physical Integrity; Son Bias;
government, and other extension services providers encourage the Restricted resources and entitlements (access to land, property,
formation of farmer groups. For example, private sector, govern- bank loans and credit); and Restricted Civil Liberties (access to
ment and research organizations involved in agriculture based public spaces and political voice).
value chain development also promote a group approach to mar-
keting and training. It is believed that in groups, farmers may be
3. Methodology and theoretical underpinnings (social
able to negotiate favorable terms of trade. A study by Masangano
relations approach)
and Mthinda (2012) estimates that close to 34% of organizations
providing extension services in Malawi use a group/community
This paper is based on a gender analysis of potato seed systems
approach to extension. Farmers who are organized in groups are
that was conducted in Dedza and Ntcheu districts in Malawi in
more likely to get access to government and extension resources,
2013. The study used an International Potato Center (CIP)-led Irish
including information, than those who are not in groups (see
Aid funded project on ‘Improving Food Security through enhanced
Masangano and Miles, 2004 case on adoption of Kalima dry bean in
Potato Productivity Technology Development and Supply Chain in
Malawi).
Malawi’, as an entry point. The gender analysis was meant to aid in
Although extension workers promote group formation, farmers
the understanding of gender dynamics in potato seed systems, in
often determine the rules for inclusion in their group, which means
order to help CIP and the CGIAR Research Program, Roots Tubers
other community members, may be excluded. There are no offi-
and Bananas (RTB) to design gender-responsive potato seed sys-
cially determined group sizes. In Ntcheu and Dedza, group sizes for
tems interventions. A gender analysis can be described as a study of
groups that participated in the study ranged from 12 members to
the differences in, among other things, conditions, needs, partici-
58 members. The two potato associations, formulated from an
pation rates, access to resources and development, control of assets
amalgamation of groups, had 170 people and 250 members
and decision-making powers between women and men, and their
respectively.
assigned gender roles (European Commission, 1998). Gender
Malawi has both patrilineal and matrilineal land inheritance
analysis formulates the basis of a GAD approach. GAD approaches
and ownership patterns. More than 50% of the settlements in Dedza
seek to intervene and address gender ‘inequalities in women's and
and Ntcheu are matrilineal, with more than 92.7% and 84.2% of the
men's social roles in relation to development’ (March et al., 1999).
matrilineal households being uxorilocal (men move to live in their
The paper borrows heavily from Rowlands's (1997) three di-
wives' villages upon marriage) in Dedza and Ntcheu respectively
mensions of empowerment illustrated in figure below:
(Berge et al., 2013). In uxorilocal matrilineal systems, men access
Personal empowerment relates to individuals developing psy-
land through their wives upon marriage (Berge et al., 2013). In
chological mechanisms to deal with internalized oppression and
virilocal matrilineal unions, women access land through their
increasingly believing that they can act in their own interest to
husbands when they move to their husbands' homes upon mar-
improve things. Collective empowerment relates to a situation
riage. On the other hand, in patrilineal communities women move
where ‘individuals work together to achieve a more extensive
to their husbands' villages and access land through their husbands.
impact than they could have had alone’ (Rowlands, 1997:15). The
Dedza is dominated by Chewa people while Ntcheu is dominated
relational dimension refers to the ability to influence decisions and
by the Ngoni. Segal (2014) notes the Ngoni are historically patri-
the power to negotiate. The framework is used to look at the
lineal while the Chewa are predominantly matrilineal. It has been
empowerment potential of farmer groups for women in Dedza and
noted however that the Ngoni of Ntcheu managed to assimilate to
Ntcheu (Fig. 1).
Chewa matrilineal traditions. In addition, government policies of
The paper also uses a social relations approach (SRA) also rooted
president Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda tried to foster national unity
around Chewa ethnicity (Segal, 2014). This also had an added effect
of diluting the cultural traditions of the Central Ngoni (e.g. in
Ntcheu) who now mix matrilineal and patrilineal patterns. How
these systems (patrilineal and matrilineal) affect men's and
women's participation in groups and other activities aimed at
empowering farmers and villagers is unclear.
It is often assumed that because women in matrilineal systems
own the land, they have automatic control over land and resources.
But ownership does not automatically translate to control; neither
does it automatically influence intra-household bargaining power
(Kathewera-Banda et al., 2011). For instance, although in matri-
lineal systems women can make some decisions over land, the
men's clan and maternal uncles often have the final say when big
decisions are made (Kathewera-Banda et al., 2011). Men also often
make most of the decisions involving the use of money, such as
decisions on the purchase of inputs like seed, fertilizer and pesti-
cides (Mathiassen et al., 2007). Barkvoll (2009) reports high prev-
alence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) with close to 22.9% of
currently married women experiencing IPV. IPV may be a form of
social control of men over women. This shows that although Fig. 1. Three dimensions of empowerment.
94 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101
in GAD and is in line with Rowlands's (1997) approach. The SRA is
suitable for this study because it regards communities and orga-
nizational culture ‘mainly in terms of how members relate to each
other: what bargains they make, what bargaining power they have,
what they get in return when they act with self-interest, when they
act altruistically’ (March et al., 1999:23). A social relations approach
allows researchers to dig deeper into people's relationships. As
noted by Hillenbrand et al. (2014:355), social relations that people
depend on for survival can actually increase ‘inequality and un-
equal access to resources’.
SRA focuses on the gendered nature of institutions and also
looks at the relationship between policies and practices
(Hillenbrand et al., 2014). Both informal and formal rules that
govern institutions may have gender implications. Focusing on
institutions, including formal and informal rules and regulations,
and distribution of power, resources and responsibilities, allows
researchers not only to look within households but also at social
structures and institutions that result in gender inequality. Since an
SRA approach is able to look beyond who does what in households
(gender division of labor), it is able to offer a deeper analysis that
gives an insight into women's aspirations and perceptions of
empowerment. By allowing a close analysis of, among others, the
distribution of power and resources, social norms and rules of
engagement, and gender dynamics of institutions such as markets,
community and families, SRA allows researchers to understand the
structural and underlying factors related to gender inequality.
3.1. Data collection and analysis
Sex-disaggregated Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with men
and women group members and non-group members were used to
collect data. In order to understand the ability of civil society farmer
groups to benefit women, it was necessary to study what happens
to men in those groups as well as within the community in general.
Sharp et al. (2003) note that in understanding empowerment
through GAD-related strategies, it is shortsighted to assume that all
men benefit from the system. Some men are marginalized and
would benefit if the system changed. In line with this, sex-
disaggregated Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with men and
women group members were selected to highlight the validity and
importance of female and male farmers' experiences, ideas and
needs. It was also important to talk to those who were not group
members to understand why they were not in farmer groups as
well as to understand other norms operating within the commu-
nity that could affect the functioning or the appeal of groups.
Furthermore, FGDs helped to explore other social differences in the
community such as those based on economic differences. For
instance, focus group participants were able to express opinions
independent of other group members, which meant that in the
same group people could have different opinions depending on
their experiences and social positions.
In total, 35 FGDs (19 with women and 16 with men) and 4 in-
dividual interviews with extension officers were conducted in
Ntcheu and Dedza. The focus groups' participants averaged ten per
group, totaling close to 350 farmers participating in the study.
Discussions and interviews were conducted in the Chichewa lan-
guage, recorded and later transcribed and translated into English.
Qualitative approaches were chosen in order to allow researchers
to dig deeper into ‘the complexities of people's social and cultural
experiences and the dynamics of their households and commu-
nities' (Slater, 2010, p. 641).
Potato farmer groups targeted in this study were those that CIP
and its partners were already working with. Extension officers and
community leaders such as lead farmers helped us to identify and
recruit male and female potato farmers who did not belong to
potato farmer groups. Recruitment was done through announce-
ments at community meetings as well as by word of mouth from
potato farmer group members. Farmers were informed that
participation was voluntary and refusing to participate in the study
would not result in them being penalized.
The Principal Investigator created a coding tree identifying
different themes that were used to manually code the data in Excel,
ensuring that all data were coded in a sex-disaggregated way and
then analyzed. The themes formed column headings of the coding
matrix while each transcript was coded in a row. Using a thematic
scheme from the SRA, analysis focused on norms governing
behavior of different actors within groups, the distribution of po-
wer and resources within groups, and implications of that.
Analyzed also were differences between men and women as well as
between the two districts. Limited quantitative analysis involving
frequency counts was also used.
4. Results
The results section is divided into three sub-sections. The first
section focuses on personal empowerment, with particular atten-
tion on whether farmer groups encouraged women's personal
empowerment. The second section focuses on collective empow-
erment and looks at whether groups allowed men and women to
meet broader empowerment goals, including economic empow-
erment, as well as challenging power and domination. The third
section focuses on the relational dimension of empowerment
which is regarded as a crosscutting dimension and looks at how
women are constantly trying to influence decisions and negotiate
for favorable outcomes within their families, farmer groups and
beyond.
4.1. Does participation in famer groups result in personal
empowerment for men and women?
Farmer groups involved in the study provided information on
the number of male and female group members. Fig. 2 shows that,
unlike Ntcheu, Dedza has more women than men participating in
groups.
In Ntcheu, the Chinsanzo and Nansato groups which had a high
proportion of female members compared to male members was
formed as a result of intervention from extension workers who
insisted that women be part of groups. Chinkuvu irrigation club
which also had a high number of women was formed by ‘widows’
who wanted to find help to look after orphans left in their care.
However, in many villages in Dedza, nearby trading centers affor-
ded men other income generating opportunities out of agricultural
production, and this gave women a chance to join agricultural
groups. Participants in Dedza also mentioned high rates of male
out-migration to explain why more women participated in farmer
groups. When asked why more women than men in their com-
munity participated in groups, some Dedza women indicated that
they benefited from social and emotional support, especially where
marital problems were concerned and they also wanted to fight
poverty. There was also a belief that women are more trustworthy
than men and more willing to work together for a common good.
However in some FGDs in Dedza, men in uxorilocal matrilineal
unions expressed uncertainty over their ability to fully benefit from
improved agricultural production technologies, which made them
more likely to pursue other income generation opportunities than
join agricultural groups. For instance, in one group some men
mentioned that since they moved to stay at their wives' homes,
they often did not have control over the proceeds from marketed
agricultural crops. In the same community, a group of women
stated that men were not committed to investing in their marital
 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101
Fig. 2. Group membership by sex by farmer group/club.
homes because of fear of losing everything in the event of a divorce.
Women therefore felt that it was their duty to join farmer groups so
that they could learn about farming and improve their homes. The
opposite was true of Ntcheu where man felt that they dominated
decisions related to agriculture, managed agricultural income and
therefore needed to join farmer groups to learn about farming.
Group participants were asked why their potato farmer groups
were formed:
Access to markets and to potato seed was mentioned in both
men's and women's groups as a reason for group formation.
However when asked why they had joined groups, both men and
women mentioned the desire to access farming information as a
key reason. Only women mentioned reasons related to social
support/social recognition (prestige) as well as trying to end
family problems as reasons why groups were formed. In discus-
sions, women's reasons for involvement in groups were often
different from men's reasons. Men mostly mentioned reasons
related to accessing new technologies, but women were mostly
interested in becoming less dependent on men for the provision of
their families' basic needs by improving their livelihoods through
collective action or having other people to share and discuss
problems with (Fig. 3).
Discussions with both men and women groups demonstrated
that single and widowed women were likely to join groups because
the absence of men created spaces for women to participate. Data
also show that while some women in male-headed households
joined groups because they had developed confidence in their
ability to change their lives, others joined so that they could access
farming knowledge and other resources such as seed and fertilizers
without heavily depending on their husbands. Women saw a po-
tential to be empowered through participation in groups.
Belonging to groups sometimes helped women to become self-
reliant through the support of other group members.
In Ntcheu when men were asked why participation of women
in groups was low, men were of the opinion that women do not
participate because of lack of confidence, laziness, unsupportive
husbands and powerlessness, as well as lack of interest. These
reasons are important to consider carefully because they reflect
men's awareness of some operational gender dynamics that
95
negatively affect the participation of women such as the need for
permission from their husbands, although they may not neces-
sarily see the need to transform those dynamics. Some men, such
as the one who suggested that women did not participate because
they ‘are just too lazy to meet the requirements for club mem-
bership’ (Male FGD participant, Kambilonjo, Ntcheu), display a
lack of understanding of the deeper socio-economic issues that
may affect women. It is important to note that some women also
cited lack of confidence and lack of power and supportive
husbands.
The role of supportive husbands in terms of women's partici-
pation in groups cannot be overemphasized. Women who did not
have supportive husbands but belonged to potato farmer groups
may have already experienced some form of transformation to be
able to join groups, and were sometimes referred to as those ‘who
can stand their ground’ in the face of men's opposition. While
women who joined groups despite opposition from the husbands
can be regarded as having attained some level of empowerment,
simply regarding all women in groups as empowered and those
outside of groups as disempowered is shortsighted. Some groups
mentioned that they had more women in their groups because they
had been told by the extension officer to include women. In such
groups, although the number of women was high, women did not
actively participate in group activities. This illustrates that personal
empowerment is affected by social roles. Gender roles that gave
more power to men acted as a barrier for women who wanted to
join farmer groups and for those who had joined to participate
more effectively. This constraint was most felt in Ntcheu, which is
dominated by the Ngoni while in Dedza women often did not feel
restricted to join groups and participate. This may point to more
culturally defined gender restrictive norms among the Ngoni than
among the Chewa.
While deep-seated social norms that restrict women from
joining and participating in groups are sometimes challenged, they
still regulate the behavior of men and women in Dedza and Ntcheu
farmer groups. For instance, some men who belonged to potato
groups resisted the idea of their wives joining the group because of
their strong belief that men are the heads of households and should
represent their families when in contact with outside agencies. In
96 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101
Fig. 3. Reasons for group formation by sex of FGD and district.
Ntcheu, there was a general belief that when the husband was a
group member then the wife automatically became a member even
if the wife was not registered as a member. The woman (wife) could
attend group meetings if the husband was away. Thus, women,
especially those who participated in the same group as their hus-
bands, did not have the power to make decisions even on how
much they wanted to participate in group activities. Some male
participants also alluded to the domestic roles that women are
responsible for as one of the reasons why women could not
participate in group activities since they had a duty to take care of
the home instead.
In some cases, the potential for groups to empower women was
limited by lack of access to information. Some women did not know
when groups were being formed. For example, some groups
mentioned that when they formed the groups they approached the
household heads, who are mostly men, to become group members.
This was mainly because of the social implications of approaching a
woman while leaving out her husband. Some participants felt that
if a man approaches someone's wife about joining a group that
could lead to a confrontation with the husband or even destroy the
marriage. There was a strong feeling among male participants that
information about new groups being formed should be channeled
through the husbands since he was the head of the household. As
one male group member pointed out inviting women to join groups
require a more careful approach
Participant: We should be careful of how we invite married
women to join clubs. The man is the head of the house and we
should approach the husband first. If we are not careful about
this we will destroy marriages. (Male FGD participant, Kambi-
lonjo, Ntcheu)
Social norms related to appropriate social contact may affect
women's participation in groups by skewing the recruitment pro-
cess in favor of men. Those engaged in group formation were
mostly men, and social rules and norms limited their interaction
with women in the community. Thus, although groups may be
regarded as inclusive, the way information about group formation
is disseminated sometimes leaves out those who may benefit from
group participation and are interested. This may explain why many
single, widowed and divorced women were able to actively
participate in groups; unlike married women, they could be
approached directly during the formation of groups.
4.1.1. Participation of women in leadership and group decision
making
Having a woman in a leadership position may be a sign of per-
sonal empowerment. Therefore, the lower numbers of women in
leadership positions in potato farmer groups may be a reflection of
the fact that women who are in groups are generally not empow-
ered and have not achieved personal empowerment. In both Dedza
and Ntcheu, group leadership followed a clear gendered pattern. As
shown in Table 1, more men than women were likely to be chair-
persons of farmer groups.
The chairperson was often the point of contact between farmers'
groups and external organizations such as private companies that
bought potato from farmers. External organizations often worked
closely with men because most chairpersons were men. Mudege
et al. (2015) also mention that training targeted group leaders,
particularly chairpersons, which meant that women were often
underrepresented among those who usually received training
directly from extension officers. The role of chairperson was that of
a powerful gatekeeper. When asked, many groups did not explain
why women were not elected to be group chairpersons. Instead,
they stated that they were electing women to the position of vice
chairperson to meet gender considerations of women in leadership
or to ensure that women also had easy access to information as well
as someone to approach more freely if they had any problems. In
some instances, particularly in Dedza, groups often mentioned that
the extension officer had told them to make sure that when they
select leaders they should mix men and women. Women were
however overrepresented in the position of secretary. Some groups
mentioned that they elected women as secretaries so that they
could write minutes for the group as well as encourage other
women. Women were also regarded as more trustworthy than
men, so they could be elected for the position of treasurer.
Support from male group members was critical to ensuring that
women occupied higher leadership positions within groups. In
groups with both men and women almost equally represented,
men played an active role in encouraging women to be involved in
leadership. The support of a husband could also encourage a
woman to successfully occupy a leadership position. One woman
stated that she had not experienced any problems since taking up
the position of vice chairperson in a potato group because her
family had realized the benefits of potato farming and. As a vice
chairperson of the group she continued to learn new ways of
improving her family farm.
 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101
Table 1
Distribution of leadership positions among groups.
Dedza
Men Women
Chairperson 8 3
Vice chairperson 3 4
Secretary 2 6
Vice secretary 2 1
Treasurer 4 3
Committee members
4.1.2. Does participation empower women?
Women faced certain social barriers which prevented them
from taking leadership positions. For example, some women did
not take up leadership positions if elected for fear that their hus-
bands would not be supportive. A female extension officer said:
I think women are sometimes afraid of their husbands … When
she joins [a group], she may be elected to a leadership position,
but when she tells that to her husband there may be conflict.
There is a woman in a cooperative down there who was elected,
but when she had to go to represent the group in Lilongwe her
husband forbade her. … For them [women] to go and represent
the group away for probably a week is impossible … she [the
woman who was elected] still went to Lilongwe against her
husband's orders but the husband was not happy about that
(Female Extension Officer).
Although the example above depicts an empowered woman
who was able to attend a meeting in spite of her husband's
disapproval, this is not the norm. The perception by women that, if
elected to leadership positions, they may be prevented by their
husbands from discharging their duties, as well as the acknowl-
edgment, by both men and women, of the limitations on women's
effective agency, militates against women being elected to lead
groups.
Groups which did not have women in leadership positions,
particularly in the position of chairperson, were asked why women
were not in leadership and the responses are summarized below:
Women's refusal of leadership positions was frequently
mentioned by both men and women's groups as one of the reasons
why women were not equitably represented in leadership posi-
tions. However, men and women raised different reasons why
women refused. For instance, in a group with only men in leader-
ship positions, it was mentioned that women had refused to take
up leadership posts because they thought they would not manage.
It was believed that women often lacked leadership skills and were
shy to freely express themselves in group meetings, leading to them
refusing leadership positions when offered. On the other hand,
women's groups often pointed out social constraints that included
housework and care responsibilities that greatly limit their time,
limited education, restrictions on women's physical mobility, and
norms that designate men as decision makers in the home,
including deciding what women can and cannot do (Table 2).
Lack of mobility on the part of women was an important barrier
to occupying group leadership positions even in groups were
women were the majority of members. Groups often mentioned
that it was easy for men to travel long distances using their bicycles
while women lacked that mobility. Group demands, especially
those related to traveling far, sometimes increased the reluctance of
men to let their wives lead groups. In some instances, women
themselves felt that they could not manage as leaders because the
transport system was not reliable and did not allow for easy and
efficient traveling.
97
Ntcheu Total number of groups
Men Women
5 1 17
3 3 13
4 2 14
3 1 7
4 2 13
8 5 13 (none in Dedza)
In some cases, respondents mentioned that household chores
limited the available time for women to attend group meetings. In
one farmer group with eight women and four men, the positions of
chairperson and vice chairperson were occupied by men. There
were two reasons given for this: 1) men could run around and were
highly mobile whereas, for example, if a woman had a sick child she
could not travel in order to look after the child; and 2) men were
few and giving them power would motivate them to continue
coming to the group. In another group, which was female-
dominated, women stated that it was not good that the chair-
person was a man but they had chosen him because he could lead
the group well, and because women had their domestic engage-
ments to consider. This illustrates that even when women feel
empowered, structural realities such as those related to high do-
mestic labor burdens means that they cannot fully take advantage
of being empowered. High domestic labor burdens also meant that
sometimes when leaders were chosen, women were not there to
vote other women into the positions.
In one farmer group with 19 women and 10 men, the women
mentioned that they chose a male chairperson because men were
more intelligent than women, and that it was in their culture to
respect men. Men were more often regarded as bringing good ideas
and therefore could occupy the position of chairperson with ease.
This illustrates that although farmer groups are expected to pro-
mote women's empowerment through increasing women's group
membership, they do not have the skills, capacity and willingness
to address social relations; they may, in fact, entrench already held
beliefs about the subordinate position of women. Therefore, even
though women regarded groups as empowering them to improve
their livelihoods, the groups did not really offer them much op-
portunity to address strategic gender issues such as challenging
social norms that promoted gender inequality.
4.2. Collective empowerment
As mentioned earlier, collective empowerment relates to a sit-
uation where ‘individuals work together to achieve a more exten-
sive impact than they could have had alone’ (Rowlands, 1997).
While Masangano and Mthinda (2012) in Malawi stated that groups
were usually not empowering because extension approaches were
topedown, the current study found possibilities of collective
empowerment through groups. Although in many instances groups
were formed as a result of external influence such as that of
extension officers, both male and female farmers who were potato
group members mentioned that they joined groups in order to
benefit from collective action. When asked whether they were
benefiting from group membership, both male and female farmers
often mentioned that they had access to seed and new technology
that other non-group members did not have.
As group members, farmers could easily gain access to new
technologies because groups were often targeted with training and
technology dissemination. Farmers often mentioned that the
technology they accessed through group membership helped them
98 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101

Table 2
Reason for lack of women in leadership positions.

Reason Men Women Explanation by men Explanation by women

Women not elected
Men started the organization
Women refuse post when
appointed
Men should lead and are more
intelligent and capable than women
Men have a lot of free time and
are highly mobile than women
2 2
Women are too weak to lead.

It is easy for men to travel.
1 1
By the time women joined, men had
taken up all the positions.
5 4
Women refuse because they are shy,
lack confidence, and are too weak to
be leaders.

Women may think their husbands
will not approve.
1 5
Women are too weak to lead.
1 4
Men can easily travel by bicycles;
men are highly mobile.

Women do not attend meetings
when leaders are elected because
they have other household tasks to
attend to.

We elected men to encourage them
to join groups and work with us.

Men bring new ideas and are more
intelligent than women.

By the time women joined, men had
taken up all the positions.

Women do not have time because
they have a lot of domestic tasks to
do.

Women lack education.

Women have to ask for permission
from their husbands before
accepting leadership positions.

Women have limited mobility.

It is our culture to respect men.

Men are more intelligent than
women and should lead.

Men bring new ideas and women do
not.

Women are not educated therefore
are not capable of leading.

Men have a lot of time to attend
meetings (no domestic tasks such as
looking after sick children).

to increase potato productivity and improve their lives. In addition,
groups helped farmers to address problems related to the shortage
of labor or access to land because farmers shared labor costs and
land. Sometimes group members with suitable land temporarily
donated it, and, at other times, all members contributed money to
rent land. However, although groups helped women to meet their
goals in terms of accessing technology, they did not target the
structural causes that restricted women from participating as
empowered members of the group. Gender inequality was often
reproduced within these groups.
4.2.1. Economic empowerment through collective action
In many cases, potato groups focused on seed production and
marketing of ware potato, but potato associations, which usually
consisted of a collection of farmer groups, were mostly started as a
way for farmers to market their potato. These potato associations
especially focused on accessing bigger and higher value markets.
Although they were not always successful, when they managed to
gain access to markets the benefits were very noticeable. Women
farmers who belonged to a potato association mentioned that
before joining associations they felt ‘oppressed when marketing …
potato.’ They were not able to benefit from potato farming because
their customers, mostly vendors, often bought the potatoes at
artificially low prices. After joining the association, the farmers
were happy with potato prices and they could easily access markets
from as far as Blantyre (second largest city in Malawi). Both male
and female group members as well as non-group members
acknowledged the positive benefit of group marketing as opposed
to marketing individually. Despite the potential of associations to
help farmers market their potato, groups did not often succeed in
gaining access to markets. During focus group discussions, farmers
often pointed out that they were disappointed and frustrated by
their group's inability to access markets.
When asked about women's benefit, farmers often mentioned
that women who farmed potato on their own benefited more than
those who farmed with their spouses. Some husbands spent money
from selling the produce without sharing with their wives. In one
case a wife went away to visit and the husband sold the potato and
spent all the money in her absence. Thus, even among those who
belonged to groups, gender relations determined who benefited
from their work efforts. Increased profits from agricultural pro-
duction have however seen women increasingly challenging the
unfair distribution of income from agricultural produce.
In all this, it seems that private companies who bought potatoes
from farmer groups were often not concerned with women's
empowerment. A representative of one big private company
operating in the area mentioned that the company was interested
in the following four things:
1. Farmers were well organized
2. Farmer group had a bank account
3. Farmer group could supply about 25 metric tons of potatoes per
month
4. Farmer group members were trained and could supply good
quality potatoes.
Private companies were not concerned about whether men,
women, youths and other vulnerable groups were involved and
benefiting in group marketing as long as the groups met these four
prerequisites. Discussions with farmers showed that in some cases,
when both husband and wife belonged to the same group, their
share of the money earned was given to household heads who, in
many cases, were men. Women's access to this money would then
depend on whether their husbands were willing to share or not,
and therefore some women did not have the power to access and
control income from potato sales.
4.3. Relational empowerment: challenging gender norms through
collective action
Both men and women used phrases like ‘we are like family,’ ‘we
are like brothers’ and ‘we care about each other,’ to describe the
 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101
relationship between and among group members. Some farmers
mentioned that if they had problems they could call upon group
members to help. Women often stated that group members were
committed and cared for each other, and, when one of them was
falling behind, other group members would try to encourage the
person. In addition, group members could jointly look for seed and
fertilizer, which made it easier for women to access good quality
seed and fertilizer. Some benefits went beyond the more obvious
ones. Some women mentioned that they received social support
from groups in other areas of their lives, for example, help in
looking after orphans or sick people.
Almost all groups mentioned domestic violence as a concern in
their villages. Women's groups particularly mentioned violence
after the marketing of cash crops such as potato as men wanted to
impose their control over agricultural income. At least four focus
groups mentioned women being beaten by their husbands while
other focus groups simply referred to arguments and fighting be-
tween husbands and wives during and after potato marketing. To
deal with this, some groups mentioned that they had rules against
domestic violence and members who engaged in domestic violence
were sanctioned. In one focus group with men, a participant
mentioned that in their area there are organizations that teach
women their rights and protect them from domestic violence, and
encourage families to plan and work together, and this enabled
women to benefit from money earned.
Women in groups often perceived men who belonged to groups
as less abusive to their wives than men who did not belong to
groups. The perceived lower level of wife-abuse by men who
belonged to groups was often attributed to the fact that groups
were also targeted with training on human rights issues by other
organizations. Because groups were targeted by different kinds of
human rights organizations, some of which sensitized farmers on
different issues including gender, farmer groups were able to pro-
vide social support to members against domestic violence and
abuse. Some group charters had clauses against domestic violence
which stipulated that offenders would be expelled from the group.
Thus, belonging to groups gave women power to challenge some
discriminatory practices such as gender-based violence because in
groups gender-based violence became a public issue and was not
hidden in the home.
5. Discussion and conclusion
Parpart (2004) emphasizes collective, grassroots participatory
action e the power to work with others ‘to control resources, to
determine agendas and to make decisions’ e as critical to women's
empowerment. Organizations that enable women and other
marginalized groups to challenge inequality and build their ca-
pacity to redress it can be regarded as empowering. However, the
current group structures in which men dominate leadership posi-
tions means that groups may reinforce women's subordinate sta-
tus. For instance, both men and women in Ntcheu expressed doubt
on women's ability to lead groups. Some women were shy and less
confident because of their perceived lack of education. In a critical
review, Quisumbing and Pandolfelli (2010) state that groups that
are able to empower women often go the extra mile, for example by
training women and equipping them with leadership and other
skills they need, otherwise groups may continue to marginalize
women's voices. Some women who joined groups were among
those who had achieved some form of personal empowerment, but
gender relations often permeated groups, resulting in male bias in
group processes.
Westermann et al. (2005:1784) note that collective action can
be gender-blind in the sense that it may reinforce ‘male-domi-
nated power structures and excludes women from participation
99
and decision making.’ Evidence from Ntcheu and Dedza shows
that while participation in groups is certainly not disempowering,
the nature of the groups does not allow for a significant move-
ment towards more equitable decision making and control of
resources between men and women. The groups reproduced so-
cietal gender relations, for instance, in some cases men received
the money from group marketed products on behalf of their
wives.
5.1. Economic empowerment
One of the key issues mentioned was the use of farmer groups to
negotiate for better potato prices. However, studies elsewhere have
questioned the ability of groups to achieve this objective. Pinto
(2009) notes that in some countries ‘the universe of the co-
operatives is still village-based.’ This appears to be the case with
Dedza and Ntcheu where group members did not have the skills
needed to identify new markets, exploit them and grow their
business. To address this limitation, extension officers could pro-
vide farmer training on market development.
The ability of farmer groups to empower members is also
influenced by social and economic processes operating within the
community. For instance, in Ntcheu and Dedza social and cultural
practices that designated men as household heads limited
women's participation in farmer groups. Additionally, they also
limited the effective participation of women who were in the
same groups as their husbands. As Malhotra et al. (2002) notes, to
empower women institutions that support patriarchal structures
need to be transformed. This study demonstrates that for groups
to empower women there is need for approaches that address
what is happening at the community household levels as well as
at group level. If, for instance, social norms that regard men as
decision makers within households or that promote gender-based
violence within families are not challenged and do not change, the
power of groups to effect transformative changes that result in
women's empowerment may be limited. The study corroborates
Rowlands's (1997) assertion that the empowerment of women
demands a holistic approach which involves cultural, economic
and political changes as well as changes in the power dynamics
between men and women. This paper makes a case for working
with men to raise their gender-awareness because they are often
looked upon to give permission to their wives to participate in
group activities.
5.2. Relational
Regardless of whether or not groups succeeded in increasing
farmer incomes and productivity, they still empowered women
through offering them protection from domestic violence. For
example, statements by men and women that gender-based
violence decreased in households headed by men who were
group members because groups received training on gender-based
violence and some groups had rules against domestic violence,
show that women had managed to make a private issue public. In
theory, women could approach the group to deal with husbands
who were abusive. As Ferguson and Kepe (2011) argue, these social
impacts of groups are important even if groups fail to achieve other
economic indicators of success.
5.3. Collective empowerment
To some extent, women found groups empowering because
they helped them to be self-reliant, gain access to inputs and
improve production. Although this kind of empowerment may not
transform gender relations, it helps women to meet their practical
100 N.N. Mudege et al. / Journal of Rural Studies 42 (2015) 91e101
gender interests. Slater (2010:640) notes that ‘achieving gender
needs (those needs related to day-to-day survival) and strategic
gender interests (interests related to the achievement of long-term
goals) is rarely mutually exclusive, it becomes clear that the
different processes of empowerment can be two sides of the same
coin.’ Practitioners should, however, bear in mind that simply
inviting women to join farmer organizations may not benefit them,
especially if the organizations are male-biased in terms of access to
information and training. There may be a need to challenge the
distribution of resources and benefits within groups for the groups
to reach a point where they can start moving towards addressing
women's strategic interests.
It may be useful to explore the formation of women-only groups
to ensure that women also receive training and gain experience in
leadership. Earlier studies noted that in spite of the lack of
involvement of women in agricultural groups, ‘women's groups are
more successful in reaching smallholder farmers than are, collec-
tively, the extension methods of personal visits, field visits, dem-
onstrations, meetings and day training courses’(Sigman et al.,
1994:39). In Kenya, Karaya et al. (2013) concluded that women's
groups promoted female famers' empowerment by enabling them
to pool resources for common good and to demand and access
technologies and extension information for improved agricultural
production and household food security. However, in the case of
Malawi, where women's mobility is limited, the ability of women-
only groups to take advantage of training opportunities outside the
community is not assured.
The extent to which farmer groups are able to influence the
research agenda (effective agency) is not clear from this study. This
is because some groups are formed by extension officers to enable
topedown training and to disseminate technologies that have
already been developed by research organizations. In this respect,
farmer groups may not be able to influence research agendas
because they are set up as vehicles to facilitate the adoption of
technology with no mechanisms for them to influence research
agendas of scientists and their institutions.
Researchers need to help policy makers and practitioners to
operationalize the concept of empowerment so that empower-
ment goes beyond counting women participating in activities to
ensuring that the activities are in themselves empowering.
Rather than simply focusing on participation or access to agri-
cultural knowledge and information, agricultural research orga-
nizations that are interested in women's empowerment should
work closely with partners who have experience in addressing
social issues related to gender inequality so that they may come
up with interventions that have the potential to empower
women.
Conflict of interest
I confirm that there is no conflict of interest in relation to this
article and the research on which it is based. I also conform that this
paper is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants
included in the study.
Acknowledgments and credits
The research was conducted with funding from the CGIAR
Research Program Roots Tubers and Bananas under the project
Integrating gender in RTB thematic research to enhance develop-
ment outcomes.
Additional funding came from the Irish Aid under the Interna-
tional Potato Center led project on Improving Food Security
through enhanced Potato Productivity Technology Development
and Supply Chain in Malawi.
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