Gender Role, Input Use and Technical Efficiency among Rice Farmers at Ahafo Ano North District in Ashanti Region of Ghana

Abstract

This paper examined gender role, input use and technical efficiency between male and female rice farmers. Similar studies have been conducted, however, the relationships between gender role, input use and farmer efficiency remains neglected and under researched. The question addressed in this study is ‘Does gender role influence input use and farmer efficiency? Structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data from one hundred (100) households, and stochastic frontier model was used to estimate the technical efficiency levels among male and female rice farmers. Our study finds labour, land and fertilizer significant contributors to higher output and yield, and that male labour input tends to promote higher rice output than that of their female counterparts. We also show that males are more efficient in rice production than their female counterparts. Furthermore, farm labour, extension contacts and land size tend to reduce inefficiency in rice production in the study area. Since labour participation was found to be among the variables that contributed to the differences in farm output and efficiency, the study suggests the promotion of multipurpose labour-saving household and farm tools to free up females labour time to improve female output and efficiency to ensure food security in in Ghana.