Rural women's participation in the development process has been the focus of intensive debates by most international fora in the past years. There are good reasons to focus on, and to emphasize rural women's participation in development. The most fundamental reason is that they play crucial roles in both subsistence and market food production in Africa. Not only are women the majority in rural areas in Africa, but they are responsible for more than 50% of all productive activities, even in those households where men are present.