Impact of Gender Difference on Crop Productivity: Cross-Sectional Data

Getinet Gezahegn Gebre

doi:10.7176/dcs/10-1-02

Abstract

The study examined impact of gender difference on Crop productivity in Decha woreda of south west Kafa zone, located at 23 Km from Bonga Town, and 473 km south west of Addis Ababa. The specific objectives were to assess the extent to which the agricultural production system is gender oriented; to examine access and control over productive resources; and to examine which households are disadvantageous in control over productive resources. Cross-sectional data collected from a total of 140 respondents were used in this study whereby 65 were female headed and 75 were male headed households. The data were analyzed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean, percentage, pie chart, bar graph, t-test and chi-square were used to summarize and compare the information between the two groups. Moreover, Cobb-Douglas (CD) production function was used to estimate the productivity difference in agriculture between male and female headed households. Results of the study showed that male headed households (MHH) own more of productive resources such as land, livestock, labor and other agricultural inputs as compared to female headed households (FHH). Moreover, the estimate of CD production function shows that livestock, herbicide use, land size and male labor were statistically significant for MHH while livestock, land size, herbicides use and female labor were significant variables for FHH. However, if FHH had equal access to the inputs as MHH, gross value of the output would be higher by 23.58% for FHH. This may suggest that FHH would be more productive than MHH if they had equal access to inputs as MHH. Additionally, accessing of FHH inputs that increase the productivity of agriculture such as herbicides, livestock and male labor; increasing the productivity of land; and introducing technologies that reduce the time and energy of women especially for enset processing. Keywords : Gender, Crop, Productivity, Efficiency DOI : 10.7176/DCS/10-1-02 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

Highlights

Agriculture is the major economic sector and the main source of livelihood for the majority of the people in Ethiopia
The main objectives of thesis are examined the impact of gender differences on crop productivity
The data used in this study were collected from 75 male headed households (MHH) and 65 female headed households (FHH) randomly selected from 6 PAs of the woreda

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Women’s contributions in rural Ethiopia have remained invisible; especially, female headed households are more invisible to researchers, donors and policy makers (Addis, 2010; Tiruwork, 2010) These situations have put women at disadvantageous position with respect to agricultural resources, leading to low productivity of female headed households. The end result of this study enables us to know the sources of crop productivity difference between men and women farmers working in a similar environment. According to Boserup (2009) made the classic feminist argument linking resources to productivity She concluded that the tendency towards a widening productivity gap is often exacerbated by cash crop cultivation among men, while women produce food crops for the family without cash income for investment in farming technique. +ve Have a bearing on farmers access to improved farm techniques and effective use of information available on technologies

RESULT

Findings

Conclusion