Women Empowerment for Improved Small- Scale Fisheries Development in Togo = 토고 소규모 어업개발을 위한 여성 어업인의 역할 강화에 대한 연구

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Women dominates (60%) the Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) of Togo which would serve as a valid conduit to empower them and reduce poverty. However, their participation across the small-scale fisheries value chain is disadvantaged by social barriers which generates many challenges and inequalities in access to material, financial and natural resources as also witnessed in other part of the world. Thus, women are consigned to the post-harvest segment of the fish value chain where they continue to experience challenges including, but not limited to acute lack of financial resources to acquire catch and for the subsequent disposal by marketing to eke-out a living. It is against this context that the goal of the study is to propose a logical pathway to empowering Togolese womenfolk in small-scale fisheries for strong participation to meet the full potential of the sub-sector (especially significant poverty reduction and households wellbeing). Concrete steps or objectives towards the goal include; to develop modalities for building the capacity of women in order to instill a sense of confidence for negotiation and management decision making; and to provide a contextualised framework for building an empowered and resilient women groups with reliable access to finance. In doing so, we used the expanded definition of the fish value chain (ranging from participation in access to resource negotiations onto disposal of the fish product by marketing) to assess women’s participation and socio-economic performance as well as the challenges and opportunities for empowerment therein. The participatory field study defined women’s current status and the status to which they aspire as buttressed by international good practices such as; the code of conduct of responsible fisheries; the small-scale fisheries guidelines and the sustainable development goals as they relate to women. The “Theory of Change” conceptual framework was then applied to determine the needed logical processes to empower Togolese women in the small-scale fisheries value chain for poverty reduction. Some 71% of the sample confirmed an ineffective inclusion of women in access to fisheries resource decision making. Results also confirmed that women face many challenges such as limited access to finance, social restrictions, limited ownership of fishing equipment and inadequate post-harvest infrastructure. For example, 90% of women do not participate in any form of capture operations owing to social restrictions such as cultural norms and taboos. Consequently, the hypothesis that Togolese women have the required means to fully participate in SSF and wholly contribute to poverty reduction and household wellbeing is rejected. It is critical that strong participation of women is ensured facilitated by an official co-management plan and projects dedicate to women issues. Deconstructing taboos and barriers to participation will reduce male dominance in the value chain and allow ample space for women’s participation.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1. Introduction 1
• 1.0. Background 1
• 1.1. Country Economic and Social Context 2
• 1.1.1. Geographic Location 2
• 1.1.2. Economic Environment 3
• 1.1.3. Demographic and Socio-economic Indicators 6
• 1.1.4. Poverty Situation 8
• 1.2. Research Goal and Objectives 10
• 1.2.1. Research Goal 10
• 1.2.2. Research Objectives 10
• 1.3. Research Questions 11
• 1.3.1. Principal Question 11
• 1.3.2. Sub-questions 11
• 1.4. Hypothesis 12
• 1.5. Significance of Study 12
• 1.5.1. Justification 13
• 1.6. Thesis Structure 14
• Chapter 2. An Overview of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of Togo 15
• 2.1. Description of the ecosystems 15
• 2.2. Institutional Framework and Fisheries Governance 16
• 2.2.1. Fisheries Institutions 16
• 2.2.2. The Legal Framework 17
• 2.2.3. Policy Instruments (Programs, Strategies, Management Plans) 18
• 2.2.4. Accession to International Instruments 20
• 2.2.5. Membership in Regional Fisheries Organizations 20
• 2.2.6. Projects in Progress 21
• 2.3. Types of Fisheries 23
• 2.3.1. Marine Small Scale fishing 23
• 2.3.2. Marine Industrial Fishing 25
• 2.3.3. Lagoon fishing 26
• 2.3.4. Inland fisheries 26
• 2.3.5. Aquaculture 28
• 2.4. Importance of Fisheries in the Economy 29
• Chapter 3. Methodology 34
• 3.1. Study Area 34
• 3.1.1. Brief Description of Communities 35
• 3.2. Study Approach 36
• 3.2.1. Value Chain Analytical Framework 37
• 3.2.1.1. Questionnaire Development and Primary Data Collection 38
• 3.2.1.1.1. Questionnaire Development 38
• 3.2.1.1.2. Expert Consultation 38
• 3.2.1.1.3. Observational Research (OR) 39
• 3.2.1.1.4. Sampling Procedure in the Field 39
• 3.2.1.2. Sampling 40
• 3.2.1.2.1. Secondary Data Collection 41
• 3.2.2. The Theory of Change Planning and Evaluation Process 42
• Chapter 4. Results 46
• 4.1. Fish Value chain in the Small-Scale Fisheries of Togo 57
• 4.2. Narrative of the Theory of Change Field Study Framework 59
• Chapter 5: Discussions and Recommendations 62
• 5.1. Discussions 62
• 5.1.1. Participation in Access to Resource Decision Making 63
• 5.1.2. Participation in Input Supply 64
• 5.1.3. Participation in Fish Capture 65
• 5.1.4. Participation in Acquisition of Catch 66
• 5.1.5. Participation in Handling and Processing 67
• 5.1.6. Participation in disposal by Marketing 68
• 5.2. Recommendation 69
• 5.3. Conclusion 75
• References 78
• Acknowledgment 91
• Bibliography 93
• Appendix: Questionnaires 94