A Descriptive Overview of Traditional farms and farm Households in Zaire

This article provides a descriptive overview of a number of characteristics of farms and farm households in traditional Zairian agriculture. Information is provided regarding household size, farm size, crops cultivated, livestock, participation by men and women in various agricultural activities, overall participation in agriculture and in nonagricultural activities by age and sex, and utilization of nonhousehold labor inputs. In addition, regression analysis reveals that household labor inputs, household size and composition, and geographic location are all important determinants of area under cultivation. At the margin, women's contribution to area cultivated is nearly twice as great as that of men.