WOMEN IN DONOR SUPPORTED AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS ESTABLISHED IN ZAMBIA IN RESPONSE TO THE MEXICO DECLARATION.

Prior to the advent of colonialism, agricultural production systems in Zambia were communally oriented. Males and females complemented each other in agriculture. At colonialism, males began to reign supreme in farming while females were relegated to an inferior status. This was due to the fact that colonialists did not perceive women as farmers but as housewives. Hence, they were marginalising female farmers, a situation that was perpetuated even at independence in 1964. In 1975, a conference organized by the United Nations Organisation to discuss the status of women world-wide was held in Mexico. Arising out of the conference, the period 1976-1985 was declared as the International Women?s Decade. World-wide, governments began to establish bodies responsible for the promotion of women?s interests. These included donor supported agricultural projects. The purpose of this article was to analyse the extent to which donor supported agricultural projects that were established in Zambia in response to the Mexico declaration addressed the challenges faced by female farmers in the country. Resting heavily upon primary sources of information, the article argued that some women derived benefits from these projects. It was further argued that in the projects that incorporated male and female members, it was males that reaped more benefits than females. It was suggested that efforts made to support women in farming during the decade impacted on agricultural policy planning in the decade?s aftermath. Ultimately, in the National Agricultural Policy (2004-2015) and the Fifth National Development Plan (2006-2010), there were clauses for the inclusion of women in the country?s agricultural agenda.