IMPACT OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION ON ECONOMIC ASSET ACCUMULATION OF SMALLHOLDER RICE FARMERS PARTICIPATING IN USAID MARKETS II PROGRAMME IN NIGERIA’S KANO STATE

Abstract

Women's control of assets is linked to favorable development outcomes at the household and individual levels, which is crucial for poverty alleviation. The goal of this study was to give agricultural development programs advice on how to incorporate gender and assets into intervention design, implementation and assessment. The research empirically used Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique to isolate the impact of gender discrimination on economic asset acquisition among USAID MARKETS II rice farmers in Nigeria’s Kano State. A cross-sectional data of 2018 rice cropping season obtained through a structured questionnaire complemented with interview schedule using easy cost-route approach from 189 participating farmers selected through a multistage sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. From the empirical evidences it was established that gender differential had both effect and impact on economic capital acquisition of the two gender groups with a disadvantage or negative consequence on the women farmers. Besides, in isolating the impact of the gender differential, it was observed that gender discrimination due to gender inequality in access and control to productive resources majorly accounts for the gap in the economic capital acquisition, thus affected women economic capital accumulation. Thus, the study suggests a mechanism of gender budget mainstreaming in order to establish gender equality and equity, thereby enhancing the growth and development of the farm economy and the aggregate economy of the state in particular and the nation in general.