Access to Labor in Rural Mali

Reconceptualization of the rural household in West Africa has emphasized dynamic processes that determine household form and function. This article examines the role of the household in mobilizing farm labor. Negotiating within the framework of the household to gain access to labor is itself a process that transforms the household. Within households individuals have different production interests related to their social status. In a case study village 50 km southeast of Bamako, Mali with a rainfed sorghum/millet based cropping system, it was found that individual farm workers have very different work patterns, managing their own farms and working for others.