WOMEN AND SMALL BUSINESS (microenterprise) The Income-Generating Project for Marginal Farmers and Landless

positive. The features that characterize rural women’s work — labour intensity, local materials and local markets — also constrain product diversification and market expansion. Other constraints include lack of field-tested appropriate technology, interference by men in the use of capital reserves, lack of infrastructure and transportation, lack of managerial skills, direct and indirect competition with formal enterprises and lack of access to credit and financial services. IFAD has overcome these obstacles in three ways: principally through its loan projects, through technical assistance grants, and by helping focus the attention of national governments, donors and NGOs on improving existing activities and creating new opportunities. Lack of land for farming is perhaps the severest constraint faced by the rural poor, and one that affects more women than men. In rural areas, there are very few employment opportunities; moreover, work as casual and seasonal labourers in agriculture or construction may not be an option for women. For those with little or no land, some of IFAD’s projects have provided strong support for non-farming activities, such as marketing, processing, and other microenterprises . Self-employment 2 in small-scale businesses presents a constructive option for income generation. In many developing countries, a high percentage of small-scale businesses that cater to local needs are controlled or owned by women. In Latin America, women own between one-third and one-half of all small rural enterprises. Women’s enterprises tend to be relatively small, have informal structures, flexibility, low capital needs, modest educational requirements, high labour intensity, and depend on local raw materials. They are also characterized by their dependence on family labour and limited technical and managerial skills. Commonly, these enterprises are not registered, maintain no business records and do not have access to credit from formal credit institutions. Rural women are active participants in retail trade and marketing, particularly where trade is traditional and not highly commercialized. In many parts of Asia, women market foods such as vegetables; in West Africa, they distribute most major commodities; and in the Caribbean, women account for nearly all local marketing. Through their marketing efforts, women provide valuable links among farmers, intermediaries and consumers. Petty trade, often thought of in the past as non-productive, in fact serves to stimulate the production and consumption linkages in the local economy. IFAD has successfully facilitated a variety of microenterprise developments among the rural poor by helping both men and women form groups in order to gain WOMEN AND SMALL BUSINESS (microenterprise)