Tenacity of gender yield gaps in agricultural development: the case of smallholder groundnut productivity in Malawi
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
0 likes•52 views
This presentation was given by Edward Bikketi (ICRISAT), as part of the Annual Gender Scientific Conference hosted by the CGIAR Collaborative Platform for Gender Research. The event took place on 25-27 September 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and co-organized with KIT Royal Tropical Institute. Read more: http://gender.cgiar.org/gender_events/annual-conference-2018/
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
Similar to Tenacity of gender yield gaps in agricultural development: the case of smallholder groundnut productivity in Malawi
Similar to Tenacity of gender yield gaps in agricultural development: the case of smallholder groundnut productivity in Malawi (20)
More from CGIAR
More from CGIAR (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Tenacity of gender yield gaps in agricultural development: the case of smallholder groundnut productivity in Malawi
- 1. ICRISAT-ESA Tenacity of Gender Yield Gaps in Agricultural Development ; The Case of Smallholder Groundnut Productivity in Malawi Presented by Edward Bikketi, Esther Njuguna –Mungai, Muricho Geoffrey, Leif Jensen, Johnny Edna and Thuranira Elias
- 2. Importance of Investigating the Gender Yield Gap 1. To highlight context-specific gender relations and roles that are shaping agricultural productivity. 2. Facilitates probing of specific factors/predictors causing productivity differentials between men and women. 3. Enables future agricultural interventions to strategize and prioritize areas of intervention.
- 3. Research Questions Is there a yield gap in agricultural productivity of groundnuts between men and women? I. What is the magnitude and how can it be characterized? II. What are the major factors/predictors responsible for the gap? III. What are the implications for development of interventions?
- 4. Conceptual framework Gender gap in groundnut production Household Headship and composition Layered rights and access to resources Decision Making, Agency Participation interests Kinship Structure, insititutions Variety and Seed Replacement
- 5. Methodology 1. A multi-stage sampling method was used. First, the three districts were purposively sampled based groundnut producers in Malawi and kinship structures (one of the districts patrilineal while two of them matrilineal kinship structure). 2. A list of groundnut producing matrilineal and patrilineal households was prepared and a random sample of 181 (124 matrilineal and 57 patrilineal) was selected from the sample frame. (A total of 285 respondents were involved in the survey) 3. Sex-disaggregated data were analysed using STATA, MS Excel, and Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) softwares to acquire descriptive and inferential statistics.
- 7. Respondents Profile Districts Mangochi (FMH) Mchinji (FHH) Mzimba (MHH) Respondents Biodata No. of villages 25 31 40 No. of respondents 72 100 113 Lineage system Matrilineal Matrilineal Patrilineal Gender Male: 0% Female: 100% Male: 51% Female: 49% Male: 52% Female: 48% Average age 37.1 years 45.5 years 47.2 years Ethnic tribes Yao Chewa Tumbuka Education Average No of Years Schooling 5.97 13.31 9.52 Land Sizes Average land sizes (ha) 0.342 0.404 0.270
- 8. Synopsis of G-nut R&D in Malawi 1982 Organised G-nut research initiatives 1990 (50,000 ha) 400kg/ha 2010 (270,000 ha) 1026 kg/ha Seed Production Model with Contracted Framers Buy Back Scheme of Seed from contracted farmers Public -Private Partnership Distribution Model: Agro-dealers, Seed Companies and Seed Banks 2010-2012: 400 tons of preferred certified seed (CG7) under FISP G-nuts becomes the second top income earner for smallholder
- 9. Selected Descriptives Based on Kinship Structure Dependent Variable Matrilineal (N= 168) Patrilineal (113) Mean Mean Mean Difference Yields (kg/ha) 778.779 572.479 206.3*** High soil fertility (1=Yes; 0=No) 0.250 0.336 -0.086 Medium soil fertility (1=Yes; 0=No) 0.696 0.646 0.050 Low soil fertility (1=Yes; 0=No) 0.054 0.018 0.036 Plot size (ha) 0.349 0.278 0.070*** Male labour rate (hrs/ha) 414.477 603.008 -188.531*** Female labour rate (hrs/ha) 724.539 579.981 144.557**
- 10. Selected Descriptives Based on Gender of Plot Manager Dependent Variable Male Managers (N=74) Female Managers (N=152) Jointly Managed (N=55) Mean Mean Mean F-Statistic Yields (kg/ha) 623.334 682.786 829.360 1.653 Plot ownership (1= Yes ; 0=No) 0.486 0.737 0.509 9.145*** Male labour rate (hrs/ha) 520.982 382.361 747.280 12.833*** Female labour rate (hrs/ha) 464.798 793.829 585.514 10.629***
- 11. Decomposition Results – Kinship Yeild Gap Yield differential (kg/ha) Results Matrilineal households 449.054*** (46.760) Patrilineal households 308.130*** (53.264) Difference (kg/ha) 140.923* (0.294) Difference (%) 36.661* (20.180) 36.6% Decomposition share (%) Endowments 39.042 (0.455) Coefficients 165.414** (0.455) Interaction -104.455 (0.286) Decomposition details: Predictors/Drivers Endowments Coefficients Interaction Soil fertility -0.003 (0.030) 0.283** (0.140) -0.072 (0.058) Plot size 0.077 (0.081) 1.281** (0.549) -0.208* (0.107) Female labour 0.193 (0.147) -8.861*** (1.695) -0.212 (0.161)
- 12. Drivers of the Kinship Yield Gap The analysis show that soil fertility, plot size and female labour are the significant factors determining the returns to resources (coefficients). Soil fertility and plot size are positively related with differences in the coefficients, female labour is negatively related to coefficients This implies that: 1. Patrilineal households need to improve fertility on plots allocated for groundnuts 2. Increase plots and plot-size allocated for groundnuts An interplay of how kinship structures govern rights of access to and control of resources and culturally engender crop enterprises. 1. patrilineal households cultivate groundnut on poorly fertile and small plots compared to their matrilineal households 2. Groundnuts is not a key cash crop in patrilineal households thus, female labour is less efficient is mainly allocated to groundnut plots.
- 13. Decomposition of the Gender Yield Gap Yield differential (kg/ha) Matrilineal Kinship Female managed plots 348.266*** (52.033) Male managed plots 570.546*** (85.431) Difference (kg/ha) -222.280** (0.129) Difference/gap (%) 49.362** (0.212) 49% Decomposition Variable Endowments Coefficients Interaction Total -4.743*** (1.493) 0.871 (0.956) 3.378* (1.765) Share in total gap (%) 960.907 -176.540 -684.367 Decomposition details: Plot ownership -0.768** (0.335) 0.260* (0.151) 1.145** (0.517) Male labour -3.060** (1.335) -7.106** (2.827) 3.280** (1.350)
- 14. Drivers of the Gender Yield Gap in Matrilineal Contexts 1. The factors that significantly affect the endowment source of the gender yield gap in matrilineal households are the plot ownership and male labour force used in the plot. 2. These two factors are negatively related to the endowment source i.e. they are likely to reduce the endowment contribution to widening gender yield gap. 3. Therefore, closing the gender yield gap in these matrilineal households requires increasing the productivity of female managed plots through strategies to increase female labour efficiency and equity in security of land tenure.
- 15. Drivers of the Gender Yield Gap in Patrilineal Contexts Yield differential (kg/ha) Patrilineal Kinship Female managed plots 345.737***(105.924) Male managed plots 198.542***(75.343) Difference (kg/ha) 147.195(0.849) Difference/gap (%) 55.468 (48.771) 55% Decomposition Variable Endowments Coefficients Interaction Total -1.569 (1.092) 0.866 (1.578) 1.258 (1.866) Share in total gap (%) -282.901 156.043 226.858 Decomposition details: Plot ownership -0.481 (0.459) -0.984 (0.849) 0.635 (0.559) Male labour 0.038 (0.130) 1.107 (5.257) -0.018 (0.099)
- 16. Gendered Productivity by Kinship, Plot Manager and Districts 726.48 784.37 643.22 1121.98 478.81 645.66 585.51 0.00 200.00 400.00 600.00 800.00 1000.00 1200.00 Female manager Male Manager Female manager Jointly Managed Male Manager Female manager Jointly Managed Mangochi (Matrilineal- FMH) Mchinji (Matrilineal-FHH) Mzimba (Patrilineal-MHH) Kgs/Ha
- 17. Conclusions 1. The findings indicate that there are two types of yield gaps that exist a kinship yield gap of 36% and a gender yield gap of 49%. 2. The results also show that significant drivers of the kinship yield gap are(soil fertility, plot size and female labour efficiency), and the gender gap (land ownership and male labour efficiency). 3. kinship structures shape household headship which in turn uniquely shapes access to and control of resources, and thus, women’s and men’s agency, which further influences yield differentials. 4. Feminisation of agriculture in the southern region is on the rise with the high out- migration of men to South Africa for wage-work as they escape from their roles and status ascribed by matrilineal customs. 5. An untapped youth dividend exists in all study areas.
- 18. Implications for Development Interventions Rationalising of development interventions based on local realities 1. Understanding of local realities, structures, opportunities and constraints that rural contexts offer is a prerequisite for rationalising agricultural development interventions. 2. The gender system both contexts uncovers the gender-specific and gender- intensified constraints (Kabeer 2010) that the study posits are systemic components that are more resistant to change. 3. There is an urgent need for policies, strategies and investments into partnerships that can harness the untapped youth dividend across the agricultural value chains.
Editor's Notes
- These roles and relations are responsive to changing norms, resources, policies and globalisation effects Specific drivers/predictors provide an entry point to close the gap
- Previous Studies: UN Women, World bank and UNDP (2015) estimates the annual cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity was estimated at $100 million in Malawi, $105 million in Tanzania and $68 Million in Uganda annually. This gap purportedly exists because of: Unequal access to key agricultural inputs, and the fact that it persists suggests that the underlying constraints are still ineffectively tackled by agricultural policy strategies of the three countries. Agricultural productivity is the gross value of output (in local currency of a country) produced per hectare of land (UN Women, World bank, UNDP, 2015).
- This study conceptualises gender as a lens, a conceptual tool with the potential to hasten transformation of a society towards gender equity (Cornwall 2007; Warren 2007). This allows for integration of concepts, theories and approaches to allow different meanings to emerge. Data was collected based on the six concepts that we hypothesised are responsible for the gender yield gap in groundnuts production
- The study used mixed methods to collect Inter-household, Intra-household and Plot-level data, however in this presentation we stick to quantitative data and analysis. Special interest in one of the matrilineal districts (Mangochi) is that there is a lot of male outmigration for off-farm livelihoods to south Africa
- Total of 285 respondents were involved in the survey an additional 35 farmers were interviewed in five focus group discussion (7 farmers per group, two FGDs of male farmers only and three groups of female farmers only), 2 case histories (one each for the matrilineal and patrilineal), 6 Key informant interviews for extension staff and NASFAM managers in the three districts (one extension staff and NASFAM manager for each district).
- Agricultural Productivity = the gross value of the output (local currency) produced per hectare of land Organised groundnut research initiatives kicked of in 1982 Farm input subsidy program (FISP).
- The analysis is interpreted from the perspective of female farmers while kinship is interpreted from the perspective of patrilineal lineage. Marriage in most contexts of Malawi is ubiquitous and the cultural systems in place determine residency and inheritance Labour rate = persons hours invested on the plot for all activities of that season (Land preparation, Planting, Weeding, Harvesting, Threshing and Storage)
- The analysis is interpreted from the perspective of female farmers while kinship is interpreted from the perspective of patrilineal lineage. Marriage in most contexts of Malawi is ubiquitous and the cultural systems in place determine residency and inheritance
- The average predicted groundnut yield for matrilineal households after controlling for the observed characteristics was about 449 kg/ha compared to 308 kg/ha for patrilineal households. The difference was about 141 kg/ha and this kinship yield gap was statistically significant at 1% level. The decomposition share of the kinship yield gap shows that about 39% of this gap emanates from the differences in the amounts (endowments) of the resources (observables). While almost 165% of the gap is because of differences in returns to endowments (coefficients) between the two groups of households (matrilineal and patrilineal). On the other hand, -140% of the yield gap is associated with the interaction between endowments and coefficients.
- The significant driver of the gender yield gap in matrilineal households is resource endowment that also accounted for almost 961% of this gender yield gap and the interaction between resource endowment and the coefficients (returns to resources) that accounted for -684% of the gap. The positive and significant endowment source implies that differences in endowment between male and female managers in matrilineal households increases the gender yield gap – it increases the productivity of the male plots and reduces that of female managed plots.
- No significant difference indicated in the endowments, coefficients and interactions however the yeild differences resonate with findings from the kinship yield gap.
- kinship structures shape household headship which in turn uniquely shapes access to and control of resources, and thus, women’s and men’s agency, which further influences yield differentials, as the results clearly show that the plot manager contributes significantly to the gender gap and the kinship yield gap. Feminisation of agriculture as a gendered agrarian change can lead to two scenarios 1) the potential of increasing deficits in overall agricultural production due to less participation in agricultural production because of lack labour and increased work load 2) abandoning agriculture and due to reliance on remittances. Either way agricultural productivity will underperform.