Determinants of Women's Decision-Making Power in Pest and Disease Management: Evidence From Uganda

Using quantitative data from a household survey carried out in Rubanda district, Southwestern Uganda among smallholder farmers of potato, this paper examines determinants of intra-household decision-making of women in relation to pest and disease management in a cropping season. Pests and diseases cause significant crop losses and contribute to household food insecurity in most of sub-Saharan Africa. Their management is therefore key in enhancing food security. While there are many pest and disease management practises, little is known about women's autonomy in decision-making on this topic. The survey collected quantitative data from 260 households (130 men and 130 women). To get a more accurate proxy for decision-making power, a weighted index and linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between decision-making power of women in pest and disease management and socio-demographic characteristics. We found that farming experience, use of hired labour and membership to a farmers group, were positively associated with woman's autonomy in decision-making during pest and disease management. Our data also show that higher levels of education, farm income and age consistently improve women authority. The implications of the study are that, women should equally be targeted during pest and disease management interventions such as training.

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Factors That Matter for Financial Inclusion: Evidence from Sub-Sharan Africa - The Zimbabwe Case

Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies ◽

10.36941/ajis-2021-0152 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 48

Author(s):

David Mhlanga

Keyword(s):

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽

Multinomial Logit Model ◽

Financial Inclusion ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Farm Income ◽

Smallholder Farming ◽

Hand Off ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

The Government

The study intended to investigate the factors that are important in influencing the financial inclusion of smallholder farming households in Sub-Saharan Africa with a specific focus on Zimbabwe. Motivated by the fact that there is an increase in the evidence of the importance of financial inclusion in fighting poverty and the fact that by merely having a bank account, financial inclusion cannot be guaranteed, the study went further to interrogate factors that influence smallholder farmers to have a transaction account, to borrow and to have insurance. Since the dependent variable of financial inclusion had more than two categories, with three unordered categories, transaction account, savings/credit account, and insurance, the multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the determinants of financial inclusion from these three categories of the dependent variable. The multinomial logit model results, with insurance as the reference category, indicated that the size of the household, transaction costs, gender and agricultural extension service were the factors influencing the demand for a household to open a transaction account. On the other hand, off-farm income and age of the household were the only two factors significantly influencing households to borrow. Therefore, it is imperative for, the government of Zimbabwe to come up with more policies that encourage farmers to participate in the formal financial market as financial inclusion can help to fight poverty and the general developments of societies. Received: 28 April 2021 / Accepted: 31 August 2021 / Published: 5 November 2021

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A Spatially Explicit Approach for Targeting Resource-Poor Smallholders to Improve Their Participation in Agribusiness: A Case of Nyando and Vihiga County in Western Kenya

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi9100612 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 612

Author(s):

Mwehe Mathenge ◽

Ben G. J. S. Sonneveld ◽

Jacqueline E. W. Broerse

Keyword(s):

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Local Level ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Local Context ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Western Kenya ◽

Household Decision ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Poor Households ◽

Resource Poor

The majority of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa face myriad challenges to participating in agribusiness markets. However, how the spatially explicit factors interact to influence household decision choices at the local level is not well understood. This paper’s objective is to identify, map, and analyze spatial dependency and heterogeneity in factors that impede poor smallholders from participating in agribusiness markets. Using the researcher-administered survey questionnaires, we collected geo-referenced data from 392 households in Western Kenya. We used three spatial geostatistics methods in Geographic Information System to analyze data—Global Moran’s I, Cluster and Outliers Analysis, and geographically weighted regression. Results show that factors impeding smallholder farmers exhibited local spatial autocorrelation that was linked to the local context. We identified distinct local spatial clusters (hot spots and cold spots clusters) that were spatially and statistically significant. Results affirm that spatially explicit factors play a crucial role in influencing the farming decisions of smallholder households. The paper has demonstrated that geospatial analysis using geographically disaggregated data and methods could help in the identification of resource-poor households and neighborhoods. To improve poor smallholders’ participation in agribusiness, we recommend policymakers to design spatially targeted interventions that are embedded in the local context and informed by locally expressed needs.

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The Role of Women in Production and Management of RTB Crops in Rwanda and Burundi: Do Men Decide, and Women Work?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11164304 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (16) ◽

pp. 4304 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Joshua Sikhu Okonya ◽

Netsayi Noris Mudege ◽

Anne M. Rietveld ◽

Anastase Nduwayezu ◽

Déo Kantungeko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Sweet Potato ◽

Gender Norms ◽

Household Head ◽

Household Survey ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Farm Income ◽

Joint Decision ◽

Credit Access ◽

Cash Crops

This paper evaluates the determinants of decision-making in relation to the production of four crops (banana, cassava, potato, and sweet potato). Understanding the division of labor and decision-making in crop management may lead to designing better interventions targeted at improving efficiency in smallholder agriculture. In 2014, the research team conducted a quantitative household survey with heads of households involving 261 women and 144 men in Burundi and 184 women and 222 men in Rwanda. Most of the decisions and labor provision during the production of both cash crops (potato and banana) and food crops (sweet potato and cassava) were done jointly by men and women in male-headed households. Higher values for ‘credit access’, ‘land size’, and ‘farming as the main occupation of the household head’ increased the frequency of joint decision-making in male-headed households. A decline in the amount of farm income reduced the participation of men as decision-makers. A reduction in total household income and proximity to the market was correlated with joint decision-making. Gender norms also contributed to the lower participation of women in both decision-making and labor provision in banana and potato cultivation. Although a large proportion of decisions were made jointly, women perceived that men participate more in decision-making processes within the household during the production of cash crops. Increased participation by women in decision-making will require an active and practical strategy which can encourage adjustments to existing traditional gender norms that recognize men as the main decision-makers at both the household and community levels.

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Contracting and gender equity in Tanzania: using a value chain approach to understand the role of gender in organic spice certification

Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems ◽

10.1017/s1742170517000151 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 60-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Renee Bullock ◽

Amos Gyau ◽

Dagmar Mithoefer ◽

Marilyn Swisher

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Gender Equity ◽

Value Chain ◽

Institutional Economics ◽

New Institutional Economics ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Value Chain Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Household Decision

AbstractValue chain development (VCD) initiatives within the horticultural and organic sectors in Africa are promising strategies to improve smallholder welfare. Contracting institutional arrangements are a common feature of VCD initiatives and are increasing in number in sub-Saharan Africa as a way to source organic products from smallholder producers. The objective of this study is to better understand men and women's participation in spice producing households that sell under contract and in conventional market chains in the East Usambaras, Tanzania. We draw on New Institutional Economics, political economy and the value chain analysis framework to assess the potential role of contracting to promote gender equity among smallholder organic horticultural producers. We describe intra-household decision making over resources and marketing, access to benefits of contracting, and labor distribution between men and women in contracting and non-contracting households. We then extend the gender analysis to evaluate the role of gender in contracting and conventional value chains operating within the community and district. Using a cross-sectional research design and data collected through 13 focus group discussions, 54 personal interviews and 156 household questionnaires, we show that contracting reduces transaction costs in the chain compared with the conventional trade. However, norms in the wider political economic context give rise to gendered patterns of participation in both household and chain activities in contracting and non-contracting households. Our findings suggest that contracting does not provide significant opportunities for women in married households to participate and benefit based on limited participation in decision-making and access to trainings. Divorced women and widows gain access to contract employment opportunities to earn income. This study highlights the importance of understanding gender relations in the household and community to guide the development of gender equitable VCD initiatives and contracting approaches.

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Production, post-harvest management and gender dynamics among smallholder peanut farmers in Haiti

Agriculture & Food Security ◽

10.1186/s40066-021-00311-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Genti Kostandini ◽

James Rhoads ◽

Gregory E. MacDonald ◽

Eftila Tanellari ◽

Rob Johnson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Household Survey ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Aflatoxin Contamination ◽

Farm Income ◽

Limited Information ◽

Small Female ◽

Post Harvest ◽

Female Headed Households

Abstract Background Peanut is an important crop for farmers in Haiti. Currently, very limited information is available on farmers’ yields, production practices as well as post-harvest practices that reduce aflatoxin prevalence and increase food security. Methods A household survey from Haiti and regression analysis are used to examine peanut production among small female and male-headed households in terms of yield and post-harvest practices (use of tarps for drying and sorting) which are very important for preventing aflatoxins. Results We find that yields are low (average 270 kg/ha) compared to more developed countries (more than 2000 kg/ha) and there is substantial room for improvement. Female-headed households have lower yields compared to male-headed households and farming on a slope imposes a penalty on peanut yields. We did not find significant differences between male and female-headed households on post-harvest practices when it comes to the use of a tarp for drying peanuts, but households where decisions were made jointly are more likely to use a tarp. Conclusions There is substantial room for improving peanut yields among smallholder farmers in Haiti. Households with more access to capital, as measured by off-farm income and receiving remittances, are associated with an increase the likelihood of tarp use, which may reduce levels of aflatoxin contamination. In addition, saving more seed and joint decisions are associated with an increased level of sorting efforts, which will lower aflatoxin prevalence and increase food security.

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An Empirically Derived Conceptual Framework to Assess Dis-Adoption of Conservation Agriculture: Multiple Drivers and Institutional Deficiencies

Journal of Sustainable Development ◽

10.5539/jsd.v12n5p48 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 48

Author(s):

Edna L. Chinseu ◽

Lindsay C. Stringer ◽

Andrew J. Dougill

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Institutional Arrangements ◽

Cultural Dimensions ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

National Policies ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Agricultural Innovations

Efforts of national governments and international agencies aimed at alleviating hunger and poverty are often undermined by lack of long-term adoption of agricultural innovations. Studies commonly explain farmers’ adoption decisions using household general determinants, yet decision-making, particularly for under-resourced smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, is a complex process. Using the case of conservation agriculture [CA], this article analyses dis-adoption of agricultural technologies by examining multiple domains of Malawi’s CA innovation system and how these influence farmer decision-making. It analyses institutional arrangements of CA promoters, national policies and farmers’ experiences. From this, we empirically derive a multifaceted dis-adoption drivers’ framework to explain CA dis-adoption in smallholder farming systems. Our findings reveal that adverse features in national policies, institutional arrangements, technological attributes and social cultural dimensions all lead to unfavourable experiences of CA for smallholder farmers, which can culminate in dis-adoption. The CA dis-adoption drivers’ framework we develop in this study provides a useful troubleshooting tool. It can be used to guide improvements in the design and implementation of project-based interventions seeking long-term adoption of agricultural innovations across sub-Saharan Africa.

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Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers Adoption of Eucalyptus Woodlot in Wogera District, North Gondar Zone, Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia

International Journal of Scientific Research and Management ◽

10.18535/ijsrm/v6i7.em07 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (07) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tegegne Derbe ◽

Sisay Yehuala ◽

Genanew Agitew

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Data ◽

Econometric Model ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Household Survey ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Sampling Procedure ◽

Institutional Factors ◽

Farm Size ◽

Binary Logit ◽

North Gondar Zone

Eucalyptus is familiar specious in various weather conditions of the world. Eucalyptus woodlot planation in wogera district become increased since 1970. The study was to examine the determinant factors for the adoption of eucalyptus woodlots by smallholder farmers in Wogera district. Three stage sampling procedure was used to select 118 sample respondent farmers from three purposively selected Kebeles of the district. Household survey was used to collect quantitative data. Econometric model (binary logit model) was employed to analyze the quantitative data. Adoption of eucalyptus woodlot was affected negatively by family size and fertility of land, and positively affected by farm size, access to market, and farmers’ perception towards eucalyptus woodlot production. It is concluded that adoption of eucalyptus woodlot plantation was affected mainly by socio-economic and institutional factors. Therefore, attention should be given to manage the identified factors and change smallholder farmer’s attitude towards eucalyptus woodlot plantation.

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