in ethiopia malawi uganda and united republic of tanzania for example female farmers deploy fewer male household labourers than do malemanaged farms world bank and one they are less likely to own cell phones than men and are at a particular disadvantage in accessing icts where they are available they may be prevented by cultural attitudes from using rural access points frequented by men and their ability to upgrade their skills is impaired by more limited literacy and educational attainment as well as time and mobility constraints these gender differences may reduce female farmers access to more lucrative markets by limiting their access to market information or their ability to transport inputs and farm produce