Effect of Technological Innovation on Gender Roles: The Case of Fruit Fly IPM Adoption on Women’s Decision-Making in Mango Production and Marketing in Kenya

Abstract

An increase in returns from agriculture as a result of new or improved technology is often perceived to escalate women's loss of control over agricultural production and ability to make marketing decision due to persistent gender disparities in access to production resources. The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and partners have developed integrated pest management (IPM) technology to suppress mango fruit flies on smallholder mango farm in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the impressive direct economic impacts of the technology, no study has been conducted to determine whether it has any impact on intra-household gender roles in mango production and marketing decision-making. Using a sample of 470 mango-growing households from Machakos County, we employed a two-limit Tobit difference-in-differences model on the women’s decision-making index to examine the impact of IPM technology adoption on intra-household decision-making in mango production and marketing activities. The results showed a decrease of 21.2% in the women's decision-making index due to the adoption of IPM technology. The index can be enhanced through women's access to training by extension officers, increased formal education, and direct intervention for women to increase their investment in mango production.