Abstract
Female plot managers in Sub-Saharan Africa often realize significantly lower crop yields than their male counterparts. Even for legumes, which are often referred to as ‘women’s crops’, yields are significantly lower. This study investigated the underlying causes of this gender yield gap in groundnut production. The analysis is based on survey data from 228 farm households from two groundnut growing regions in Uganda. We used the Blinder-Oaxaca model to decompose factors that contribute to this yield gap. Results show 63% and 44% gender yield gaps for improved and local varieties, respectively, with female plot managers realizing less than their male counterparts. Improved groundnut seeds increase female plot manager’s yields but not the yields of male plot managers. Male advantage and female disadvantage combined account for more than 70% of the yield gap in both improved and local groundnut variety production and exceed pure productivity differences. Labor use differences between female and male plot managers and variety types explain the observed yield gap. Interventions and policies that increase women’s access to productive inputs including improved seed will significantly contribute to closing the yield gap, and thereby increase crop production, food security, as well as women’s incomes.
Highlights
The question of why male farmers across sub-Saharan Africa reportedly achieve higher productivity than their female counterparts has been the focus of a number of important studies in recent years (FAO, 2011) as it has direct effects on both food production as well as gender equity if the underlying causes are well understood (FAO, 2019, CONTACT Johnny Mugisha johnnymugisha@gmail.com Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics, Makerere University, P.O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda ß 2019 The Author(s)
Croppenstedt, Goldstein, & Rosas, 2013 found that female farmers had a lower output per unit of land and were much less likely to be active in commercial farming than their male counterparts
Our results show that the seed productivity trait index had a significantly (p .10) positive influence on yields of the female-managed plots of improved groundnut varieties, while this does not show for local varieties
Summary
The question of why male farmers across sub-Saharan Africa reportedly achieve higher productivity than their female counterparts has been the focus of a number of important studies in recent years (FAO, 2011) as it has direct effects on both food production as well as gender equity if the underlying causes are well understood Studies have measured gender gap in agriculture productivity using different indicators ranging from the sex of the household head to the sex of plot manager and the sex of the resource controller (Peterman, Quisumbing, Behrman, & Nkonya, 2011; Quisumbing, Payongayong, Aidoo, & Otsuka, 2001). Ali, Bowen, Deininger, and Duponchel (2016) reported that women-managed plots were on average 20%–30% less productive compared to plots managed by men This increases male – female income inequality in agriculture and leads to an overall unattained potential given that women comprise 50% of the total labor in agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. The observed fact that female farmers operate at lower productivity levels than their male counterparts, has been attributed to gender differences in access to inputs, resources and services (Croppenstedt et al, 2013). Other studies reported less active policies that would support women’s access to inputs and services such as fertilizers, credit, tenure security, market and extension services which affect plot management and marketing of agricultural produce (Horrell & Krishnan, 2007; Quisumbing et al, 2001; Tiruneh, Testfaye, Mwangi, & Verkuijl, 2001; Udry, Hoddinott, Alderman, & Haddad, 1995)
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