Me. Gisbert et al., GENDER ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH LABOR MIGRATION AND DEPENDENCE ON OFF-FARM INCOME IN RURAL BOLIVIA, Human organization, 53(2), 1994, pp. 110-122
Central Bolivia resembles many areas of Latin America, where farm fami
lies are heavily dependent on off-farm income. Satisfying this need fr
equently involves migration by males seeking employment, and creates c
onditions of chronic labor scarcity on the farm. As a result, land man
agement often suffers, and a self-perpetuating cycle of impoverishment
and environmental degradation is established. Because women assume al
most all farm management duties in areas experiencing high rates of ma
le wage labor migration, they are often the major agents and major vic
tims of this cycle. A key to breaking the cycle is the empowerment of
rural women to overcome the effects of labor scarcity by replacing ind
ividual family survival strategies with collective action.