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Examining the Gender Productivity Gap among Farm Households in Mali

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11732/
https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejaa008
doi:10.1093/jae/ejaa008
 
Title Examining the Gender Productivity Gap among Farm Households in Mali
 
Creator Singbo, A
Njuguna-Mungai, E
Yila, J O
Sissoko, K
Tabo, R
 
Subject Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
Gender Research
Mali
 
Description AbstractThis paper decomposes the gender agricultural productivity gap and measures
the factors that influence the gap between male and female agricultural
plot managers in Mali. The Oaxaca–Blinder approach and the recentred influence
function (RIF) decompositionmethodology are applied to a nationally representative
survey of Mali. The results show that the agricultural productivity of female plot
managers is 20.18%lower than that of male plot managers. Additionally, while more
than half (56%) of the agricultural productivity gap is influenced by female-specific
structural disadvantages, 44% of the gap is due to an endowment effect. Socioeconomic
characteristics such as the educational level and age of the plot manager,
environmental factors and agricultural production practices, i.e., the differential
use of inputs (organic or inorganic fertiliser and improved seeds) and the use of
hired female workers seem to affect the female-specific structural disadvantages.
To reduce or close the gender productivity gap, the underlying causes of femalespecific
structural disadvantages must be addressed to enable female farmers to
obtain the same returns as men. Traditional means of addressing the gender gap,
such as providing education for women in rural areas and facilitating rural women’
access to extension services and improved seeds, can mitigate the endowment
deficit. This paper highlights the need to develop a better understanding of the
factors influencing the structural disadvantages faced by female farmers inMali that
could feed into the development ofmore effective policies to address the gender gap
in agricultural productivity, improving productivity and gender equity and reducing
poverty.
 
Publisher Oxford University Press
 
Date 2020
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/11732/1/Examining-the-Gender-Productivity-Gap-among-Farm-Households-in-Mali.pdf
Singbo, A and Njuguna-Mungai, E and Yila, J O and Sissoko, K and Tabo, R (2020) Examining the Gender Productivity Gap among Farm Households in Mali. Journal of African Economies (TSI). pp. 1-34. ISSN 0963-8024