Gendered Perceptions In Maize Supply Chains Evidence From Uganda

In situations with imperfect information, the way that value chain actors perceive each other is an important determinant of the value chain's structure and performance. Inaccurate perceptions may result in inefficient value chains, and systematic bias in perceptions may affect nclusiveness. In a case study on perceptions in Ugandan maize supply chains, a random sample of farmers were asked to rate upstream and downstream value chain actors-agro-input dealers, traders, and processors-on a set of important attributes that included ease of access, quality of services rendered, price competitiveness, and overall reputation. These value chain actors were then tracked and asked to assess themselves on the same set of attributes. We find that input dealers, traders, and processors assess themselves more favourably than farmers do. We also focus on heterogeneity in perceptions related to gender and find that for self- assessments, the gender of the value chain actor does not matter. However, the difference between how actors assess themselves and how farmers perceive them is larger for male than for female farmers, as female farmers appear to rate dealers, traders, and processors signicantly higher in several dimensions. The gender of the actor being rated does not affect the rating they receive, and gender-based homophily among women is not present in rating behaviour.

In many developing countries, agricultural extension services are generally biased towards men, with information targeted mainly to male members of a farming household and in formats that are rarely tailored to female members. Nevertheless, female farmers may also benefit from such services as this may affect their ability to make informed decisions, resulting in increased farm productivity, household income, and welfare. We conduct a gendered field experiment among maize-farming households in eastern Uganda to test whether video-enabled extension messaging affects outcomes related to maize cultivation. In this experiment, men, women, and couples are shown randomly assigned videos about improved maize management practices in which male, female, or both male and female actors are featured. We first vary exposure to the videos by gender to test the effects of changes in intra-household information asymmetries, investigating whether involving women as recipients of information increases their ability to participate in household decision-making, and thus their involvement in household production choices. We then vary exposure to the gender of the actors in the videos to test for role-model effects, exploring whether involving women as information messengers challenges the idea that decision-making is a predominantly male domain, in turn affecting women’s outcomes. Results show that targeting women with information increases their knowledge about improved maize management practices, their role in agricultural decision-making, the adoption of recommended practices and inputs, production-related outcomes, and the quantity of maize women sell to the market. Results for the role-model effects are mixed, and are evident more in joint household outcomes than individual women’s outcomes. Overall, our findings suggest that in the context of our study, extension efforts aimed at directly addressing intra-household information asymmetries may be a first-best means of empowering women in agriculture. Other, more subtle means that seek to influence perceptions and norms about gendered roles in the household may not generate expected effects or work via expected impact pathways, though they remain worth further exploration.

In rural societies with strong gender norms and customs, small informal agribusinesses may often be one of the few ways in which women can independently generate revenue. However, previous research has indicated that female run business may be perceived less favorably compared to their male counterparts. In this paper, we examine potential consequences of these biased perceptions on business transactions. In particular, we test whether the gender of the seller has an impact on buyers’ negotiation strategies and eventual outcomes in bilateral price negotiations. We use a lab-in-the-field experiment in eastern Uganda, where a representative sample of smallholder maize farmers are offered the opportunity to bargain over a bag of improved maize seed variety from a male or female seller. We find that buyers confronted with a female seller are less likely to accept the initial offer price and respond with a lower counter-bid price than farmers faced with a male seller. Negotiations take an average of one round longer when the seller is a woman and the transaction price is almost 9 percent lower. For comparison, we also look at the effect of the starting price on the same bargaining outcomes and find that the gender disadvantage is roughly equal to a 20 percent higher starting price.

Many development programs that aim to alleviate poverty and improve investments in human capital consider women’s empowerment a key pathway by which to achieve impact and often target women as their main beneficiaries. Despite this, women’s empowerment dimensions are often not rigorously measured and are at times merely assumed. This paper starts by reflecting on the concept and measurement of women’s empowerment and then reviews some of the structural interventions that aim to influence underlying gender norms in society and eradicate gender discrimination. It then proceeds to review the evidence of the impact of three types of interventions—cash transfer programs, agricultural interventions, and microfinance programs—on women’s empowerment, nutrition, or both. Qualitative evidence on conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs generally points to positive impacts on women’s empowerment, although quantitative research findings are more heterogenous. CCT programs produce mixed results on long-term nutritional status, and very limited evidence exists of their impacts on micronutrient status. The little evidence available on unconditional cash transters (UCT) indicates mixed impacts on women’s empowerment and positive impacts on nutrition; however, recent reviews comparing CCT and UCT programs have found little difference in terms of their effects on stunting and they have found that conditionality is less important than other factors, such as access to healthcare and child age and sex. Evidence of cash transfer program impacts depending on the gender of the transfer recipient or on the conditionality is also mixed, although CCTs with non-health conditionalities seem to have negative impacts on nutritional status. The impacts of programs based on the gender of the transfer recipient show mixed results, but almost no experimental evidence exists of testing gender-differentiated impacts of a single program. Agricultural interventions—specifically home gardening and dairy projects—show mixed impacts on women’s empowerment measures such as time, workload, and control over income; but they demonstrate very little impact on nutrition. Implementation modalities are shown to determine differential impacts in terms of empowerment and nutrition outcomes. With regard to the impact of microfinance on women’s empowerment, evidence is also mixed, although more recent reviews do not find any impact on women’s empowerment. The impact of microfinance on nutritional status is mixed, with no evidence of impact on micronutrient status. Across all three types of programs (cash transfer programs, agricultural interventions, and microfinance programs), very little evidence exists on pathways of impact, and evidence is often biased toward a particular region. The paper ends with a discussion of the findings and remaining evidence gaps and an outline of recommendations for research.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) produced a 2011 report on women in agriculture with a clear and urgent message: agriculture underperforms because half of all farmers—women—lack equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. This book builds on the report’s conclusions by providing, for a non-specialist audience, a compendium of what we know now about gender gaps in agriculture.

Very often, efforts to improve value chains miss out half of the population - the female half. It is men who sell the products and who keep the money from those sales. The women, who do much of the work but are not recognized for it, often have to work even harder to meet ever-increasing quality requirements. But they see few of the benefits. How to change this? This book explains how development organizations and private entrepreneurs have found ways to improve the position of women in value chains - especially small scale women farmers and primary processors. It outlines five broad strategies for doing this: (1) working with women on typical "women's products" such as shea, poultry and dairy; (2) opening up opportunities for women to work on what are traditionally "men's commodities" or in men's domains; (3) supporting women and men in organizing for change by building capacity, organization, sensitization and access to finance; (4) using standards and certification to promote gender equity, and (5) promoting gender-responsible business. The book draws on dozens of cases from all over the world, covering a wide range of crops and livestock products. These include traditional subsistence products (such as rice), small-scale cash items (honey, vegetables) as well as export commodities (artichokes, coffee) and biofuels (jatropha). The book includes a range of tools and methodologies for analyzing and developing value chains with gender in mind. By bringing together the two fields of gender and value chains, this book offers a set of compelling arguments for addressing gender in value chain development.

This book aims to expand feminist theory to include the study of rural women, while recognizing that many rural women no longer depend exclusively on agriculture or the land for their livelihoods. It emphasizes the depth and value of women's knowledge with the natural environment.

Small farmers and traders often lack the market information they need to earn the most from their crop sales. This paper analyzes the effects of an action research experiment in central Malawi, in which four groups of smallholder farmers were provided with maize and soybean price information from a local commodity exchange during the 2019 marketing season, while four other groups of smallholder farmers did not receive this information. Using data from a panel survey of 399 farmers and 78 traders conducted before and after the main marketing season and using kernel propensity score matching approach to account for possible differences between the treated and non-treated farmers, we estimate the effects of the intervention on a number of outcome indicators. A before versus after analysis was also employed to evaluate changes in traders’ marketing outcomes. We find positive but statistically insignificant effects on maize and soybean selling prices, sales through structured markets and levels of commercialization after the intervention. We also find a negative and statistically significant effect on the quantity of maize sold by farmers, suggesting paradoxically that providing farmers with price information reduced their sales volumes. The proportion of traders aware of structured markets and their share of sales through structured markets also increased significantly after the intervention. The quantity of maize sold by traders as well as the selling prices for maize and soy-bean also increased significantly, although this may be due to factors other than the intervention. The study concludes that provision of price information alone is not enough to facilitate small farmers’ and traders’ use of structured markets. Greater effort is needed to sensitize farmers and traders on the quality and quantity requirements as well as the operations of structured markets.

While Tanzania has been at the forefront of creating a positive legal framework and political context for gender equality, certain legal, regulatory, and administrative barriers still hinder women's full participation in private sector development. This report analyzes these barriers and makes recommendations for needed change, to ensure women's full contribution to private sector development and economic growth in Tanzania. Building on intensive stakeholder consultations and the findings of numerous studies, notably the MKURABITA diagnostic and the 2003/4 Investment Climate Assessments for Tanzania and Zanzibar, this report examines these gender-related barriers to growth and investment. It highlights legal and administrative constraints that have a disproportionately negative effect on female-headed businesses, and makes recommendations for needed reforms. Addressing these issues would not only help unlock the full economic potential of women, but would help improve the environment for all businesses in Tanzania. While Tanzania's economic growth has been strong, this report finds that if the country were to bring female secondary schooling and female total years of schooling to the same level as now enjoyed by males, this could produce up to an additional annual percentage point of growth - a valuable contribution to achieving the 6-8 percent annual growth targets of the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP or MKUKUTA).