IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v45y2014icp101-111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can agricultural input subsidies reduce the gender gap in modern maize adoption? Evidence from Malawi

Author

Listed:
  • Fisher, Monica
  • Kandiwa, Vongai

Abstract

Nationally representative data for Malawi were used to measure the gender gap in adoption of modern maize and to investigate how, if at all, Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Program (FISP) has impacted the gap. Regression results show the probability of adopting modern maize was 12% lower for wives in male-headed households, and 11% lower for female household heads, than for male farmers. Receipt of subsidized input coupons had no discernible effect on modern maize adoption for male farmers. Receiving a subsidy for both seed and fertilizer increased the probability of modern maize cultivation by 222% for female household heads, suggesting the FISP has likely reduced the gender gap in adoption of modern maize in Malawi.

Suggested Citation

  • Fisher, Monica & Kandiwa, Vongai, 2014. "Can agricultural input subsidies reduce the gender gap in modern maize adoption? Evidence from Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 101-111.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:101-111
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.01.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919214000219
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.01.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bellon, Mauricio R. & Adato, Michelle & Becerril, Javier & Mindek, Dubravka, 2006. "Poor farmers' perceived benefits from different types of maize germplasm: The case of creolization in lowland tropical Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 113-129, January.
    2. Hugo De Groote & Issiaka Dembélé, 1996. "Factors Influencing the Payments to Women in Malian Agriculture," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1340-1345.
    3. Fisher, Monica & Reimer, Jeffrey J. & Carr, Edward R., 2010. "Who Should be Interviewed in Surveys of Household Income?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 966-973, July.
    4. Place, Frank & Otsuka, Keijiro, 2001. "Tenure, Agricultural Investment, and Productivity in the Customary Tenure Sector of Malawi," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(1), pages 77-99, October.
    5. Doss, Cheryl R., 2001. "Designing Agricultural Technology for African Women Farmers: Lessons from 25 Years of Experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2075-2092, December.
    6. Andrew D. Foster & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2010. "Microeconomics of Technology Adoption," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 395-424, September.
    7. Smale, Melinda & Mason, Nicole M., 2012. "Demand for Maize Hybrids, Seed Subsidies, and Seed Decisionmakers in Zambia," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 123555, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    8. Feder, Gershon & Just, Richard E & Zilberman, David, 1985. "Adoption of Agricultural Innovations in Developing Countries: A Survey," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(2), pages 255-298, January.
    9. Deon Filmer & Lant Pritchett, 2001. "Estimating Wealth Effects Without Expenditure Data—Or Tears: An Application To Educational Enrollments In States Of India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 115-132, February.
    10. Peterman, Amber & Behrman, Julia & Quisumbing, Agnes, 2010. "A review of empirical evidence on gender differences in nonland agricultural inputs, technology, and services in developing countries," IFPRI discussion papers 975, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Doss, Cheryl R. & Morris, Michael L., 2001. "How does gender affect the adoption of agricultural innovations?: The case of improved maize technology in Ghana," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 27-39, June.
    12. Doss, Cheryl R., 2002. "Men's Crops? Women's Crops? The Gender Patterns of Cropping in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(11), pages 1987-2000, November.
    13. Chibwana, Christopher & Fisher, Monica & Shively, Gerald, 2012. "Cropland Allocation Effects of Agricultural Input Subsidies in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 124-133.
    14. Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Pandolfelli, Lauren, 2010. "Promising Approaches to Address the Needs of Poor Female Farmers: Resources, Constraints, and Interventions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 581-592, April.
    15. Ragasa, Catherine, 2012. "Gender and Institutional Dimensions of Agricultural Technology Adoption: A Review of Literature and Synthesis of 35 Case Studies," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126747, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Peterman, A., 2010. "A review of empirical evidence on gender differences in nonland agricultural inputs, technology, and services in developing countries," IWMI Working Papers H043605, International Water Management Institute.
    17. Rodney Lunduka & Jacob Ricker-Gilbert & Monica Fisher, 2013. "What are the farm-level impacts of Malawi's farm input subsidy program? A critical review," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(6), pages 563-579, November.
    18. Minten, Bart & Barrett, Christopher B., 2008. "Agricultural Technology, Productivity, and Poverty in Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 797-822, May.
    19. Amber Peterman & Agnes Quisumbing & Julia Behrman & Ephraim Nkonya, 2011. "Understanding the Complexities Surrounding Gender Differences in Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria and Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(10), pages 1482-1509.
    20. Ephraim Chirwa, 2005. "Adoption of fertiliser and hybrid seeds by smallholder maize farmers in Southern Malawi," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 1-12.
    21. Lunduka, Rodney & Fisher, Monica & Snapp, Sieglinde, 2012. "Could farmer interest in a diversity of seed attributes explain adoption plateaus for modern maize varieties in Malawi?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 504-510.
    22. World Bank, 2012. "World Development Report 2012 [Rapport sur le développement dans le monde 2012]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 4391.
    23. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lambrecht, Isabel & Vanlauwe, Bernard & Maertens, Miet, 2014. "What is the sense of gender targeting in agricultural extension programs? Evidence from eastern DR Congo," Working Papers 167158, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    2. Nielsen, Thea & Schunemann, Franziska & McNulty, Emily & Zeller, Manfred & Nkonya, Ephraim M. & Kato, Edward & Meyer, Stefan & Anderson, Weston & Zhu, Tingju & Queface, Antonio & Mapemba, Lawrence, 2015. "The food-energy-water security nexus: Definitions, policies, and methods in an application to Malawi and Mozambique:," IFPRI discussion papers 1480, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Ndiritu, S. Wagura & Kassie, Menale & Shiferaw, Bekele, 2014. "Are there systematic gender differences in the adoption of sustainable agricultural intensification practices? Evidence from Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(P1), pages 117-127.
    4. Ragasa, Catherine, 2012. "Gender and Institutional Dimensions of Agricultural Technology Adoption: A Review of Literature and Synthesis of 35 Case Studies," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126747, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Sophie Theis & Nicole Lefore & Ruth Meinzen-Dick & Elizabeth Bryan, 2018. "What happens after technology adoption? Gendered aspects of small-scale irrigation technologies in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(3), pages 671-684, September.
    6. Lambrecht, Isabel & Vanlauwe, Bernard & Maertens, Miet, 2014. "Agricultural extension in eastern DR Congo: Does Gender Matter?," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182731, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Raju Ghimire & Wen-Chi Huang, 2015. "Household wealth and adoption of improved maize varieties in Nepal: a double-hurdle approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 7(6), pages 1321-1335, December.
    8. Ragasa, Catherine & Mazunda, John, 2018. "The impact of agricultural extension services in the context of a heavily subsidized input system: The case of Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 25-47.
    9. Gouse, Marnus & Sengupta, Debdatta & Zambrano, Patricia & Zepeda, José Falck, 2016. "Genetically Modified Maize: Less Drudgery for Her, More Maize for Him? Evidence from Smallholder Maize Farmers in South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 27-38.
    10. Ngulube, James, 2017. "An economic evaluation of the Cotton Yield Programme in Zambia," Research Theses 276440, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    11. Kassie, Menale & Ndiritu, Simon Wagura & Stage, Jesper, 2014. "What Determines Gender Inequality in Household Food Security in Kenya? Application of Exogenous Switching Treatment Regression," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 153-171.
    12. Namonje-Kapembwa, Thelma & Thelma, Antony, 2016. "Improved Agricultural Technology Adoption in Zambia: Are Women Farmers Being Left Behind?," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 245916, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    13. Theriault, Veronique & Smale, Melinda & Haider, Hamza, 2017. "How Does Gender Affect Sustainable Intensification of Cereal Production in the West African Sahel? Evidence from Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 177-191.
    14. Katia Alejandra Covarrubias, 2015. "The role of crop diversity in household production and food security in Uganda: A gender-differentiated analysis," FOODSECURE Working papers 32, LEI Wageningen UR.
    15. Azzarri, Carlo & Nico, Gianluigi, 2022. "Sex-disaggregated agricultural extension and weather variability in Africa south of the Sahara," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    16. Reimer, Jeffrey & Fisher, Monica, 2014. "Are modern varieties always better? An economic analysis of maize varietal selection," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 9(4), pages 1-16, December.
    17. Makate, Clifton & Mutenje, Munyaradzi, 2021. "Discriminatory effects of gender disparities in improved seed and fertilizer use at the plot-level in Malawi and Tanzania," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    18. Terrance Hurley & Jawoo Koo & Kindie Tesfaye, 2018. "Weather risk: how does it change the yield benefits of nitrogen fertilizer and improved maize varieties in sub‐Saharan Africa?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 711-723, November.
    19. Andre Croppenstedt & Markus Goldstein & Nina Rosas, 2013. "Gender and Agriculture: Inefficiencies, Segregation, and Low Productivity Traps," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 79-109, February.
    20. Sarah Lyon & Tad Mutersbaugh & Holly Worthen, 2017. "The triple burden: the impact of time poverty on women’s participation in coffee producer organizational governance in Mexico," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(2), pages 317-331, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:45:y:2014:i:c:p:101-111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.