the use of fertilizer on local maize, which is a woman's crop (Gladwin, 1991).

          The failure to incorporate women's roles in implementing technological change has three interrelated consequences. First, there is loss of adaptive efficiency from not taking their operational knowledge into consideration; second, there is a reduction in women's household bargaining position accompanied by an increase in their work. Third, there are lower adoption rates due to their lack of access to technology and training and failure by the proponents of the technology to address women's time constraints (Muntemba and Blackden, 2000).

          Use of timely and appropriate extension services can result in higher yields (Saito and Weidman, 1990). Due to the social and cultural positioning of women it is evident that in most cases women do not get the benefits of extension services. Several factors account for this: 1) poor timing for extension services provision; 2) taboos surrounding male extension staff and female farmers interactions; 3) low literacy levels among women compared to men; 4) immobility on the part of women thus limiting their access to extension services; and 5) language differences.

          Some efforts to reach women through extension services have proved a success in Zimbabwe where a group approach was used in crop production, thereby attracting extension services (Muchena, 1994). Africa's vast potential is not tapped; many countries have great potential to produce food and traditional agriculture exports for themselves, their neighbors, the region and the international market. Consistent and transparent institutions are essential to success.

          Africa's witnessed institutional expansion and reform post-independence between 1960 and 1985. Newly inde

pendent governments invested in education. For example, at independence Botswana had only 40 graduates. In 1960, 90% of agriculture researchers in Africa were expatriates. Governments began to Africanize the civil service, increase school enrolments, and build universities. The first university in Zambia was built through material and financial donations from the public. Thousands of students in SSA were sent abroad for undergraduate degrees and graduate level training. Donors supported this human capital development through financing the construction of universities and creating faculties of agriculture. The number of extension workers in SSA increased from 21,000 in 1959 to 57,000 in 1980; universities increased from around 20 in 1960 to 160 in 1996 (Eicher, 1999). The number of full-time equivalent agriculture scientists increased from around 2000 in 1960 to 9000 in 1991.

          During 1985 to 1999 public universities were downsized as were research institutions and extension services as parastatals were privatized and foreign private investments were expanded (Eicher, 1999). This resulted from Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) instigated by the International Monetary Fund. These SAPs imposed conditionalities, which included downsizing the civil service.

          New private institutions (seed and fertilizer companies and universities) are now in stiff competition with public counterparts. In most countries universities are the weak links in agriculture they are still relatively young and because they have experienced drastic cuts in their budgets. Privatizing the agriculture sector has had adverse effects on agriculture production. The capacity of the private sector to boost agriculture production has been under scrutiny and indications are that governments still need to play a significant role to allow for public private partnerships.

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