The decline in per-capita agricultural production has been reversed somewhat in tropical
Africa by the structural adjustment programs which have increased producer prices, liberalized
marketing and devalued currencies. But the 300Jo of smallholder farm households which
are female-headed will not be assited much due to their special constraints of shortages of
labor and credit, lack of extension visits and appropriate labor-saving technologies. For
these households, the authors argue, improved extension services, credit for agricultural inputs,
small ruminant animals and poultry, labor-saving devices and craft inputs will be
necessary to increase their incomes and levels of living.
