Households In Zambia Research Articles

Design and Techno-economic Analysis of an Improved Multipurpose Cooker Stove

In response to the growing concerns surrounding the adverse health and environmental impacts of inefficient and hazardous traditional cooking fuels and stoves, this research aims to design and assess the performance of an improved multipurpose cooker stove. The study focuses on Zambia, a country deeply affected by air pollution and deforestation due to charcoal and firewood production using inefficient cooking stoves called Mbaula. The primary objective is to create an economically viable and environmentally friendly cooking stove that addresses the sustainability challenges of traditional cooking practices. The research is guided by key objectives. The study outlines the design process of the improved multipurpose cooker stove, emphasizing the incorporation of sustainable design principles. The improved multipurpose cooker stove demonstrated a thermal efficiency of 87.49%, significantly higher than the 11.88% thermal efficiency of traditional stoves. This improvement in efficiency is crucial for reducing fuel consumption and maximizing heat transfer during cooking processes. In addition, the research findings showed that the improved multipurpose cooker stove consumed 0.3643 kg/L less fuel compared to traditional stoves. This fuel savings not only reduces the cost of raw materials but also contributes to environmental sustainability by lowering deforestation rates and air pollution. Despite the initial investment cost of the improved cooker stove, the long-term operation costs are lower due to reduced fuel consumption and maintenance expenses. The study's findings and recommendations hold promise for addressing critical challenges related to clean cooking solutions, environmental preservation, and the well-being of households in Zambia and similar contexts.

The Contribution of the Agricultural Food Security Pack Programme to Beneficiary Households in Zambia: A Case Study of Mpulungu District

Small-scale farming provides most of the food produced in Southern Africa. Unfortunately, most vulnerable-but-viable small-scale farmers in Zambia are affected by household food insecurity despite the Zambian government providing them with farming inputs under the food security pack programme. This study investigated the effects of the programme on maize crop production among 147 vulnerable-but-viable farming households in Mpulungu District, using a mixed-methods approach. The study results revealed improved land cultivation, maize crop productivity and access to food by family members after respondents entered the programme. These results imply that the programme contributed positively to the achievement of the aforementioned positive successes, despite the beneficiaries receiving farming inputs late, i.e., outside the planting period. Notwithstanding the many positive effects achieved by the programme, there were some challenges, namely, the late receipt of farming inputs by most beneficiaries, failure by the Zambian government to release timely funds to suppliers of farming inputs, imposition of some male beneficiaries into the programme by politicians, and low literacy levels among most beneficiaries. The study concludes that despite the challenges encountered in the programme implementation, the food security pack programme had positive effects on maize crop production among most of the benefiting vulnerable-but-viable small-scale farmers in Mpulungu District. Therefore, the study recommends scaling up the programme and increasing the number of programme beneficiaries, timely distribution of inputs and budget profiling by the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services — a lead ministry for implementing the programme.

Impact of Agroforestry Adoption among Smallholder Farmers’ Households in Zambia: An Expenditure Approach

The environmental, economic, and social effects of climate change are expected to be profound for smallholder farmers, especially in developing countries like Zambia, whose way of life is largely dependent on the natural world. Many developing countries have realized that climate-smart agricultural practices such as agroforestry are a solution to existing problems caused by climate change. Agroforestry technologies incorporate tree crops in farming systems that benefit farmers with fodder for animals and fruits, reduce erosion, and reclaim soil fertility. This study investigated the impacts of agroforestry adoption on smallholder farmers’ crop productivity and household expenditure in Nyimba district, Zambia. The study further explored the factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry among smallholder farmers in the study area. Data was collected from July to August of 2022 from 325 randomly selected smallholder farmers’ households in four villages in the Nyimba district of Zambia. A binary logistic regression model was used in this study to determine factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry among smallholder farmers. The results revealed that smallholder farmers’ household head education level, access to extension services, household size, access to credit, farming experience, farmland size, and distance to the nearest market had an influence on agroforestry adoption. Propensity score matching was performed to determine the impacts of agroforestry adoption on smallholder farmers’ household expenditure and crop productivity. The results revealed that smallholder farmers’ household adopters had 1,929.040 kilograms of crop yield (Zea mays L.) higher than non-adopters by 817.43 kilograms. Household expenditure for smallholder farmers adopters was ZMW 8,873.47 higher than non-adopters by ZMW 5,617.91 in the study area. The findings imply that smallholder farmers’ households should implement agroforestry in the long term to improve their household welfare. Therefore, the study suggested that efforts should be focused concomitantly on the diffusion of agroforestry options and the lifting of their adoption barriers among smallholder farmers

Old Wine in New Skins? Community Markets for Conservation and its Performance in Northern Zambia

This study examined the performance of the Community Markets for Conservation(COMACO), an integrated conservation and development program, in achieving its twin goals of conservation and increased income among rural households in Zambia. It narrows the knowledge gap on achievements of reformulated ICDPs focused on markets. Random sampling was used to select 143 respondents while purposive sampling was employed to recruit focus group discussants and key informant interviewees. Data was collected through structured and semi structured interviews, focus group discussions, field observations, and desk analysis. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis while quantitative data was analyzed using chi-square tests and measures of central tendency. Results show a significant relationship (χ2 = 143.0; p ≤ .0001) between market linkages and levels of conservation agriculture (CA)practice among COMACO households. We found that 72% of COMACO households linked to markets and provided with agricultural inputs had adopted CA. The dependency on COMACO for markets by farmers is unsustainable. There is little evidence on COMACOs success in reducing deforestation. COMACO’s ban on charcoal production and herbicide and mineral fertilizer use seem unrealistic given the low access to clean domestic energy and the high weed burden of CA. We conclude that the COMACO model is a repackaging of old ideas on ICDPs which yield mixed results and is in this sense is simply old wine in new skins. We recommend farmer training in value addition of their produce, branding, and linkages to markets so that they could sell to other aggregators and not be dependent on COMACO.

The impact of power outages on households in Zambia

As global average temperatures rise, so does the frequency and intensity of El Niño-induced droughts, which in turn threaten the reliability of hydropower. 1.4 billion people live in countries where hydropower constitutes more than a quarter of the electricity production and which have experienced El Niño droughts, meaning many more power outages can be expected around the world. Little research has been conducted on the impact of power outages on mental health. This study takes Zambia as its case study to examine the impact that El Niño droughts have had on the lives of householders connected to a highly hydropower-dependant electricity grid, and includes the impact it has had on their physical and self-reported mental health. Using 54 online responses to a survey, we found that the greatest impacts of outages spoiled food, compromised entertainment, compromised ability to work and limitation in cooking options. More than a fifth of respondents reported experiencing self-reported depression to a major degree or all of the time due to power outages, with individuals writing their own responses that they felt debilitated, experienced reduced communication and reduced activities, and stress. Using Bayesian inference, we found that changes in sleeping patterns arising from power outages was a statistically significant predictor of self-reported depression. 63% of surveyed households were willing to pay approximately USD 0.10/kWh as of the end of 2019, about double the tariff that they did, to ensure reliable electricity supply. Household income was a statistically significant predictor of willingness to pay more.

Maize and groundnut crop production among rural households in Zambia: Implications in the management of aflatoxins

Maize and groundnut are important crops for both commercial and smallholder farming in Zambia, whose production is being threatened by their susceptibility to aflatoxin contamination. Despite this threat, there is limited knowledge of household growers' behaviour and applications related to suitable agricultural management practices, as well as growers’ perception and knowledge of aflatoxins and their effects. This limited knowledge has major implications for acute human health effects such as liver cirrhosis and death, cancer, stunting in children, immune system suppression, impaired food conversion, and reduced livestock productivity and/or increased livestock mortality.This cross-sectional survey of smallholder household growers in Zambia was conducted to identify the gaps in the knowledge and application of aflatoxin-associated agricultural management practices. A sample of 3865 maize- and groundnut-producing smallholder farm households were selected in 27 priority districts implementing the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)/First 1000 Most Critical Days Programme (MCDP) Phase II. Among the five pre-harvest management practices for maize and groundnuts – namely, controlling weeds, timely planting, controlling pests, and applying basal and top-dressing fertilisers – few households (8%) reported practising all of them. Among the recommended techniques for harvesting and handling maize and groundnuts, the most common harvest-management practices under maize production were drying (95.2% of households) and sorting at harvest (72%). In contrast, very few households (2%) practised at least three of four maize harvest management practices. Similarly, very few households (10%) practised at least 4 of the 6 groundnut harvest-management measures. Comparatively, post-harvest and storage management practices were more commonly practised, although most households did not practise all six post-harvest and storage management measures.Overall, very few households (1% for maize and 4% for groundnuts) were observed to be practising at least 12 of the 14 recommended management practices, implying that there are considerable gaps in the implementation of aflatoxin-related management practices along all stages of maize and groundnut production, consequently posing a significant threat to health and contributing to malnutrition levels in Zambia.As such, there is a need to develop tailored interventions and trainings for farming households, extension officers, and frontline health workers to prevent and manage aflatoxin contamination at different stages of crop production. Furthermore, the elimination of policy constraints, practical barriers of affordability and consumer awareness, and the value attached to the commercial product of Aflasafe, noted to reduce aflatoxin contamination by 80–100%, are of utmost urgency.

Smallholder farmers' willingness to pay for two‐wheel tractor‐based mechanisation services in Zambia and Zimbabwe

AbstractMechanisation is back among top development policy priorities for transforming African smallholder agriculture. Yet previous and ongoing efforts ubiquitously suffer from lack of scientific information on end‐user effective demand for different types of mechanical innovations to inform public investment or business development programmes. We assess smallholder farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) for two‐wheel tractor (2WT)‐based ripping, direct seeding and transportation using a random sample of 2800 smallholder households in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Applying the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak Mechanism (BDM) experimental auctions, we find that at least 50% of sample households in Zambia and Zimbabwe were willing to pay more than the prevailing market prices for ripping. In nominal terms, sample households in Zimbabwe were willing to pay more than those in Zambia for the different services. Empirical results suggest that wealth is the strongest driver of WTP for tillage and seeding 2WT services while labour availability and using animal draft power reduce it. These findings imply a need to (i) raise awareness and create demand for 2WT‐based services in an inclusive business manner that does not create perverse incentives and (ii) better target mechanisation to operations with comparative advantage, using approaches that bundle 2WT‐based and other mechanisation services with asset‐agnostic credit schemes or other interventions meant to overcome asset‐mediated barriers.

Does community HIV combination prevention (HPTN 071 (PopART)) impact healthcare inequity?

Abstract Background This research explores the impact of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 071 combination prevention (PopART) trial on horizontal inequity in Zambia and South Africa. Evidence suggests there is often inequality in healthcare utilisation in relation to socioeconomic characteristics, such as wealth. This paper is the first to address such distributional outcomes and inequities in a randomised trial setting. Methods We utilise horizontal inequity as a key performance metric to make value judgements with regards to the distribution of healthcare utilisation in a health system. Additionally, we supplement this index by estimating the impact of PopART on inequality in healthcare utilisation and HIV prevalence, estimating concentration curves and indices. Results We find a pro-rich inequity in healthcare utilisation, as ranked by wealth, before and after the trial is implemented. Pro-rich implies, for example, the 20% poorest make up less than 20% of healthcare utilisation. This suggests the trial enabled the wealthier subset of the population to take better advantage of accessing healthcare. Conclusions Given the high prevalence of HIV in lower-income households in Zambia and South Africa, these results strengthen the case for interventions tailored to informing poorer households about the benefits of prevention and after-care. Key messages • The PopART trial demonstrates as with any intervention, there is a risk of exacerbating an underlying inequity. Policies directed at these problems specifically may help alleviate such burdens. • This paper shows one example of a distributional imbalance in the HIV population. Given the absence of work on RCT interventions, the findings may also be used to inform future trial design.

Wild foods from forests: Quantities collected across Zambia

Abstract Forests provide an immense range of benefits to people, many of which are not prioritized by forest policy because they are difficult to quantify. Wild foods from forests enhance the quality of diets for those who consume them and provide income for those who sell or trade them. The quantity of wild food collected is challenging to measure because of non‐standard units, seasonal differences in collection patterns and large numbers of species. To provide initial estimates of collection volume in Zambia and pilot new methods, we surveyed 209 households across 14 villages randomly selected within 5 study areas covering all four agro‐ecological areas between 6 August and 27 October, 2019. For each study area, we conducted a focus group to identify the most commonly collected species within each of nine food product types (mushrooms, insects, green leafy vegetables, tubers, fruits, nuts, wild meat, wild fish, and aquatic plants). All but one surveyed household collected some wild foods; on average, each household collected five types of food product, most commonly mushrooms, fruits and green leafy vegetables. Volume collected varied markedly by household, product type and study area. Rural households in Zambia are estimated to collect over 380 million litres, 380,000 m3, of wild foods annually. We estimate that 88% of these wild foods are collected directly from forests. Accounting for uncertainties, we estimate the volume of wild foods collected from forests to be at least 238,000 m3 per year, 125% of the volume of sawnwood produced, or about 12 million large (20 L) collecting buckets. Volume collected was not strongly correlated with metrics of wealth, indicating ubiquitous consumption of wild foods; however, the most food insecure collected particularly high volumes of wild food. Pilot market surveys found local value chains for wild foods, indicating a potential for economic contribution. Our results underscore the value of data that can be disaggregated locally and indicate that national estimates of quantities of wild food collected from forests would be highly useful for designing forest policy and management strategies. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

The Impact of Power Outages on Households in Zambia

The Impact of Power Outages on Households in Zambia

Learning from the resourceness blind spot for service innovation at the base of the pyramid

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether and why the base of the pyramid (BOP) actors display passive innovation resistance because of which they reject service innovations without evaluation and forfeit potential to improve their well-being. The resourceness concept, referring to the outcome of how actors appraise and integrate resources in pursuit of a purpose at hand, is used as a theoretical lens to investigate the everyday consumption behaviour of BOP households and helps to investigate how and why passive innovation resistance occurs. The outcomes of the study help address important theoretical and practical considerations for the development of successful new service concepts at the BOP.Design/methodology/approachNarrative interviews with 29 households in Zambia provide data, from which patterns in how potential resources do or do not become real are identified and related to the concept of passive innovation.FindingsEconomic, social and other factors in the BOP context clearly influence non-random patterns of resource integration which are correlated with passive innovation resistance. This can lead to service innovations being ignored and/or misunderstood prior to evaluation for adoption. This is a risk to the potential positive impact of service innovation for poverty alleviation at the BOP.Practical implicationsService innovation at the BOP must begin with a deep understanding of “how” and “why” consumers typically appraise and integrate potential resources to achieve a beneficial outcome in their context. To overcome the barrier of passive innovation resistance, marketing education must stimulate an understanding of potential benefits and motivation towards the change associated with the adoption of service innovation.Social implicationsThe findings support more successful service innovation strategies for the BOP, which can provide vital infrastructure for the alleviation of poverty.Originality/valueThe application of a service-dominant logic perspective in the BOP context and the conceptual linkage between resourceness and passive innovation resistance is novel. Valuable insights are gained for service practitioners at the BOP and for further conceptual development of innovation resistance in the BOP context.

Modelling the Costs and Benefits of Modern Energy Cooking Services—Methods and Case Studies

Globally, 2.8 billion people still cook with biomass, resulting in health, environmental, and social challenges; electric cooking is a key option for a transition to modern energy cooking services. However, electric cooking is assumed to be too expensive, grids can be unreliable and the connection capacity of mini-grids and solar home systems is widely assumed to be insufficient. Developments in higher performance and lower cost batteries and solar photovoltaics can help, but they raise questions of affordability and environmental impacts. The range of issues is wide, and existing studies do not capture them coherently. A new suite of models is outlined that represents the technical, economic, human, and environmental benefits and impacts of delivering electric cooking services, with a life-cycle perspective. This paper represents the first time this diverse range of approaches has been brought together. The paper illustrates their use through combined application to case studies for transitions of households from traditional fuels to electric cooking: for urban grid-connected households in Zambia; for mini-grid connected households in Tanzania; and for off-grid households in Kenya. The results show that electric cooking can be cost-effective, and they demonstrate overall reductions in human and ecological impacts but point out potential impact ‘hotspots’. The network analysis shows that electric cooking can be accommodated to a significant extent on existing grids, due partly to diversity effects in the nature and timing of cooking practices.

Moral navigation and child fostering in Chiawa, Zambia

AbstractThis article explores the movement of children between households in Zambia as a site of ‘moral navigation’. Moral navigation extends Henrik Vigh's concept of social navigation from contexts of conflict and migration to more socially stable contexts in which well-being depends critically on people's ability to manage relationships. The live, dynamic and mobile character of these relationships means that they require active, real-time cultivation and response. While having practical objectives, these negotiations are also moral, articulated with ideas of what ought to be, and seeking to fulfil sometimes competing ethical projects. Life history interviews present three main perspectives: recollections of times in childhood spent away from birth parents; birth parents’ reflections on having a child living with others; and adults’ accounts of taking in other people's children. Strong norms of kinship unity and solidarity notwithstanding, in practice terms of engagement are differentiated through gender, marital, social and economic status, plus relational and geographical proximity. The pursuit of personal benefit contains the seeds of both contradiction and convergence with the collective good, as a relational understanding of moral selves sees one's own gain as proper, rightful and virtuous when it is realized in and through providing for others.

Evaluation of nutritional properties, and consumer preferences of legume-fortified cassava leaves for low-income households in Zambia

Cassava leaves have the potential to improve dietary diversity, the intake of protein and micronutrient of members of low-income households. The study aimed at evaluating nutritional properties, an...

Using smartphone app collected data to explore the link between mechanization and intra-household allocation of time in Zambia

Digital tools may help to study socioeconomic aspects of agricultural development that are difficult to measure such as the effects of new policies and technologies on the intra-household allocation of time. As farm technologies target different crops and tasks, they can affect the time-use of men, women, boys, and girls differently. Development strategies that overlook such effects can have negative consequences for vulnerable household members. In this paper, the time-use patterns associated with different levels of agricultural mechanization during land preparation in smallholder farming households in Zambia were investigated. A novel data collection method was used: a pictorial smartphone application that allows real-time recording of time-use, which eliminates recall bias. Existing studies analyzing the intra-household allocation of resources often focus on adult males and females. This study paid particular attention to boys and girls as well as adults. The study addressed seasonal variations. Compositional data analysis was used to account for the co-dependence and sum constraint of time-use data. The study suggests a strong gender differentiation for land preparation activities among mechanized households; for households using manual labor, such differentiation was not found. There is some evidence that the surplus time associated with mechanization is used for off-farm and domestic work. The study cannot confirm concerns about negative second-round effects: mechanized land preparation is not associated with a higher workload for women and children during weeding and harvesting/processing. The study provides a proof-of-concept that smartphone applications can be used to collect socioeconomic data that are difficult to measure but of high relevance.

Does agricultural diversification build economic resilience to drought and flood? Evidence from poor households in Zambia

The adverse effects of weather extremes produce widespread damage and cause severe alterations in the normal functioning of household agricultural production in Zambia. Extreme weather events such as floods and drought are expected to increase in intensity and frequency due to climate change. Coupled with high poverty levels and limited institutional capacity, the country is highly vulnerable to the impact of extreme events. We quantify the effects of economic diversification on agricultural productivity of poor farm households with a skew-normal regression approach while accounting for drought and flood shocks. Our analysis finds that economic diversification is a strategy to increase agricultural productivity and mitigate the adverse impact of droughts and floods on agricultural households. The results also support the country's policies to encourage hybrid maize production and to provide crop seeds and fertiliser to poor farmers. This paper provides a framework to plan and inform interventions to enhance household economic resilience to weather shocks through agricultural diversification in Zambia and other countries.

Ameliorating Food and Nutrition Security in Farm Households: Does Informatization Matter?

Improving food and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa’s farm households has become a prominent priority subject for researchers and policymakers alike. Interestingly, it is realized through enhancement in dietary diversity and quality. To this end, better access to food and information is considered a prerequisite. Given that mobile phone coverage offers new prospects for increasing rural households’ access to information, can informatization (mobile phone used as a concrete example) possibly influence dietary diversity and quality? Cross-sectional data collected from farm households in Zambia is used to address this topic by applying the ordinary least square and endogenous switching regression (ESR). Household dietary diversity score was constructed based on a 7-days recall approach to measure consumption patterns. Our robust regression result indicates that mobile phone use positively and significantly influences dietary diversity and quality. Particularly, gender-disaggregated regression reveals that male-headed households have stronger positive associations than their counterparts. We also find that in comparison to non-adopters, adopters consume three more foods weekly. This is attributable to the income gains and increased frequency in information access on account of mobile phone adoption. Conversely, average consumption would increase by two more foods weekly if mobile phones were adopted in non-adopting households. Therefore, our study puts forwards substantial empirical evidence to warrant policy formulation directed at promoting informatization among farm households. Eventually, this could possibly recuperate dynamism in agricultural food production as food and nutrition security in farm households ameliorates.

Evaluation of nutritional properties of cassava-legumes snacks for domestic consumption—Consumer acceptance and willingness to pay in Zambia

High-quality cassava flour (HQCF) is a cheaper alternative to wheat in the production of snacks. This study assessed the nutritional properties and consumer acceptability of cassava-legume snacks in Zambia. Cassava snacks were made from 100% HQCF, 50:50 cassava-soybean flour blend, 50:50 cassava-cowpea flour blend and 100% wheat flour as the control. The samples were analyzed for nutritional, functional and anti-nutritional properties using standard laboratory methods. Also, a well-outlined questionnaire was used to collect data on consumer preferences. The results showed a significant (P 0.05). There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in ash, protein and fat contents but a decrease in total sugars, amylose and starch contents of the legume-fortified snacks when compared with 100% cassava snacks. Cassava-legume snacks had a high acceptance in Kasama, Kaoma and Mansa districts, with a better preference for the cowpea variant of tidbit. There was a positive linear relationship between snack sensory characteristics (aroma, taste and texture) and consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP). The results show that snacks that are acceptable, affordable, nutritious and of excellent preference characteristics can be produced from cassava and legumes for households in Zambia.

Aflatoxin Contamination of Non-cultivated Fruits in Zambia.

Wild fruits are an important food and income source for many households in Zambia. Non-cultivated plants may be as susceptible as crops to aflatoxin contamination. Concentrations of aflatoxins in commonly consumed wild fruits from markets and characteristics of associated aflatoxin-producers need to be determined to assess the aflatoxin risk posed by handling, processing, storage, and consumption. Samples of Schinziophyton rautanenii (n = 22), Vangueriopsis lanciflora (n = 7), Thespesia garckeana (n = 17), Parinari curatellifolia (n = 17), Ziziphus spp. (n = 10), Adansonia digitata (n = 9), and Tamarindus indica (n = 23) were assayed for aflatoxin using lateral-flow immunochromatography from 2016 to 2017. Aflatoxins were above Zambia’s regulatory limit (10 μg/kg) in S. rautanenii (average = 57 μg/kg), V. lanciflora (average = 12 μg/kg), and T. garckeana (average = 11 μg/kg). The L strain morphotype of Aspergillus flavus was the most frequent member of Aspergillus section Flavi in market samples, although Aspergillus parasiticus and fungi with S morphology were also found. All fruits except T. indica supported both growth (mean = 3.1 × 108 CFU/g) and aflatoxin production (mean = 35,375 μg/kg) by aflatoxigenic Aspergillus section Flavi. Innate resistance to aflatoxin producers was displayed by T. indica. For the other fruits, environment and infecting fungi appeared to have the greatest potential to influence aflatoxin concentrations in markets. This is the first report of aflatoxins and aflatoxin-producers on native fruits in Zambia and suggests mitigation is required.

Of Trackers and Tractors. Using a Smartphone App and Compositional Data Analysis to Explore the Link Between Mechanization and Intra-Household Allocation of Time in Zambia

Digital tools may help to study socioeconomic aspects of agricultural development that are difficult to measure such as the effects of new technologies, policies and practices on the intra-household allocation of time. As new technologies, policies and practices may target different crops and tasks, they can affect time-use of men, women, boys and girls differently. Development strategies that overlook such effects can fail or have negative consequences for vulnerable household members. In this paper, the effects of agricultural mechanization on time-use in smallholder farming households in Zambia were investigated. For this, a novel data collection method was used: a pictorial smartphone application that allows real-time recording of time-use to eliminate recall bias. Existing studies analyzing intra-household allocation of resources often focus on adult males and females. This study paid particular attention to boys and girls. The study also addressed seasonal variations. For data analysis, compositional data analysis was used, which yields higher accuracy than univariate analysis by accounting for the co-dependence and sum constraint of time-use data. The study found that women benefit relatively more from mechanization with regard to time-use during land preparation, which leads to gender differentiation; for households using manual labor, such differentiation was not found. There was some evidence that the time "saved" is used for off-farm and domestic work. No negative second-round effects (such as higher labor burdens) during weeding and harvesting/processing and no negative effects on children were found. The study debunks some myths related to gender roles in African smallholder agriculture, opens the field to more studies on technology adoption and time-use and suggests that gender roles are changing with agricultural transformation.