Women play a critical but disadvantaged role in Ethiopia's coffee production sector. They account for over 40% of agricultural labor but have less decision-making power, access to land, extension services, and inputs. As a result, the plots solely managed by women have lower productivity. Women are mainly involved in harvesting and temporary processing work. They sell smaller amounts of coffee than men and earn less income, which is mostly spent on food and consumption. Policies are needed to improve women's access to education, resources, markets, employment, and technologies to enhance their productivity and participation in the coffee value chain.

1. Gender and Cash Crops:
The Case of Coffee Production in Ethiopia
Mekdim Dereje, Ermias Engida, Bart Minten, Silvia Possenti and Fanaye Tadesse
IFPRI/ESSP
Getfam Hotel
June 17, 2016
Addis Ababa
1
ETHIOPIAN DEVELOPMENT
RESEARCH INSTITUTE

2. 2
1. Introduction
• Women play a critical role in agriculture.
• They account for more than 40% of the agricultural
labor force in developing countries
• Disadvantaged in access to
– agricultural assets, inputs and services,
– Access to market, credit, and employment
opportunities.
• Hence: they rely on a reduced productivity potential,
engaging less in cash crop production.

3. 3
1. Introduction
• In Ethiopia, men control the marketing and income
from cash crops such as coffee, wheat and teff.
• Women dominate the cultivation of vegetable and
horticultural crops for home consumption.
• Objective: Assess the role of women in the coffee
value chain, more in particular at the production level.

4. Data
• Producer survey fielded in February 2014:
- Focus on the major 12 coffee producing zones.
- 5 strata based on the 5 coffee varieties of Ethiopia
- Total of 1,600 coffee farmers were randomly sampled
with an even distribution among each variety (320
farmers each strata)
• Processor survey to collect information on sales,
employment, etc.
– Covered cooperatives, red and dry cherry processors

5. 2. Gender and decision making in coffee areas
• Out of 1,600 households surveyed, only 5 percent are female-
headed households.
• Land management decisions:
- 3.5 percent of the parcels are managed by women
- 47 percent is managed by men
- 48 percent is jointly managed by both men and women
• A higher percentage of female certificate holders are found to
be decision makers on their plots.

6. 2. Gender and decision making ... Cont’d
53%
3%
44%
Responsibility of farming on the
plot
Man Woman Both
47%
48%
3%
2%
Right to decide what to grow on
parcel
Man Both Woman Community(outside hh)

7. 2. Gender and decision making ... Cont’d
• Men take the decision making on most plot and for all crops.
• Women have relatively more role on fruits/veg and less
destant plots.
Crop category Man Woman Joint
Coffee 0.46 0.03 0.49
Chat 0.57 0.02 0.40
Fruits/vegetables 0.43 0.04 0.51
Staple crops 0.48 0.03 0.47
Oilseeds & pulses 0.48 0.05 0.46
Total 0.48 0.03 0.48
Crop category Man Woman Joint
Coffee 0.46 0.03 0.49
Chat 0.57 0.02 0.40
Fruits/vegetables 0.43 0.04 0.51
Staple crops 0.48 0.03 0.47
Oilseeds & pulses 0.48 0.05 0.46
Total 0.48 0.03 0.48

8. 3. Gender, Extension, and input use in coffee
• Access to Extension:
o 38 percent of the households were not visited by
extension agents
o In 47 percent of the households, male members were
contacted by extension agents
o In only 15 percent of the households, female members
were contacted by extension agents.

9. 3. Gender, Extension, and input use ... Cont’d
Compost use on Coffee plots
Decision Maker
Compost use
(% plots)
Share of trees
compost is
applied on
Number of
observations
Man 14 8.6 1,526
Woman 16 8.1 111
Both 20 14 1,622

10. 3. Gender, Extension, and input use ... Cont’d
• Labor:
o men are highly engaged in most of the activities
o women are mainly engaged in harvesting and post-harvesting
activities
Male-Adult Female-Adult Child
Tree management 88 8 4
Mulching 84 12 5
Tilling/ hoeing 91 5 4
Manure and compost 63 30 8
Weeding 86 8 5
Chemical fertilizer 90 8 3
Harvesting 68 24 8
Post-harvest activities 58 37 5
Total time 78 16 6

11. 3. Gender, extension, and input use ... Cont’d
% of time allocated to coffee production by gender and zone
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sidama Yirgachefe Jimma Nekemte Harar
Male Female Children

12. 3. Gender, Extension, and input use ... Cont’d
- Labor used on coffee plots is higher when:
o Women have more land tenure security or hold plot
certification.
o Women make production decision.
o Women manage/control the plots.

13. 3.1 Women’s participation in coffee processing
Temporary workers at
processing mills
Permanent workers at
processing mills
49.4
38.2
47.4
Drying bed
mangement
Others Total
7.8
2.5
4.7
12.9
1.1 0.3 1.6
11.5
4.4

14. 4. Gender and Productivity
• Plots solely manged by women have a lower level of
productivity due to:
o Differences in access to inputs and intensity of input
application such as land and labor;
o Smaller size of plots and consequent less efficiency
gain from economies of scale;
o poor quality of land and plot management (e.g.
Stumping);

15. Percentage of coffee sold
5. Gender and Sales
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Adult men Adult woman Child Mix
Dry cherry Red cherry

16. 5. Gender and Sales ... Cont’d
• Women’s sales activities are positively correlated with labor
participation and the percentage of land area managed by
them.
• The quantity of coffee women sell per transaction is much
lower than the amount men sell.
• The percentage of male coffee sellers who use own and other
donkey is much higher than the female sellers.

17. 5. Gender and Sales ... Cont’d
• The income obtained from the sales of coffee is used for:
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Repayment of
debts
Agricultural input Purchase food Education-health
expenditure
Purchase
consumption
good
Male Female

18. • The findings of the study highlight women’s
o Limited role in decision-making
o Lack of access to resources: e.g. Land
o Smaller input use and extension
o Significant involvement in temporary jobs
o Lower productivity and lower sales
6. Conclusions

19. Recommendations
• Need of policies that focus on fostering:
o Access to education and access to productive resources such as
land (including certificates)
o Access to markets and services
o More safe employment opportunities
o The adoption of labor saving technologies

20. THANK YOU