Marginal producers or breadwinners : Women's cropping strategies and access to agricultural key resources in Boulgou province, Burkina Faso

This paper focuses on women’s role as food producers in subsistence agricultural systems in southeastern Burkina Faso. It challenges the narrative that describes women as marginal producers of major food crops like millet. Based on a detailed study at the village level of land use, the intra-household distribution of key resources such as labour and land is investigated. It links female production strategies with women’s responsibilities within the household, particularly in their own hearth-hold. Contrary to the locally dominant perception, one that presents women as marginal producers, the actual land use pattern in the study village reveals that women cultivate as much as 37% of the total cultivated area. Regarding crop choices, it is further revealed that women do not solely grow groundnuts but allocate a considerable proportion of their land to millet. This millet is primarily used for hearth-hold consumption