Women in African Agriculture: Integrating Women Into Value Chains to Build a Stronger Sector

ZEF Working Paper Series 175

42 Pages Posted: 6 Nov 2018

See all articles by Georgina Njiraini

Georgina Njiraini

University of Bonn - Center for Development Research (ZEF)

Marther Ngigi

Machakos University

Evelyn Baraké

Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA)

Date Written: October 15, 2018

Abstract

Women are under-acknowledged participants in Africa’s agriculture and food sector, supplying a large share of the labor, but facing significant obstacles, including unequal access to land, traditional division of labor, restrictions on mobility, unequal educational attainment, financial exclusion, and gender norms. As a result, women are being constrained to lower productivity jobs and earning less than men. Their underrepresented persists all along agricultural value chains. These inequalities translate into lower welfare outcomes for women in addition to inefficient productivity gaps with negative consequences for food security on the continent. Technical and institutional innovations in agricultural value chains must therefore be developed and implemented in a way that considers the particular constraints faced by women in agriculture in order to be fully effective and to avoid further solidifying gender roles and gaps. These could include suitable labor-saving technologies, financial innovations, mechanisms for collective action, and an improved access for women to extension services.

Keywords: Women, Gender, Agriculture, Value Chains, Productivity, Inequality

JEL Classification: J16, Q00, Q13, Q15, Q16

Suggested Citation

Njiraini, Georgina and Ngigi, Marther and Baraké, Evelyn, Women in African Agriculture: Integrating Women Into Value Chains to Build a Stronger Sector (October 15, 2018). ZEF Working Paper Series 175, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3266365

Georgina Njiraini (Contact Author)

University of Bonn - Center for Development Research (ZEF) ( email )

Walter-Flex-Str. 3
Bonn, NRW 53113
Germany

Marther Ngigi

Machakos University ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.mksu.ac.ke/

Evelyn Baraké

Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) ( email )

366 Adelaide St East, Unit 324
Toronto, Ontario M5A 3X9
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.cancea.ca/

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