Input subsidy effects on crops grown by smallholder farm women: The example of cowpea in Mali

We examine the effects of fertilizer subsidies in Mali on the non-staple crop cowpea, often described as a women’s legume crop. We utilize a 2017/2018 dataset including both men and women plot managers in 2400 households. We find that women manage cowpea plots, as a primary and a secondary crop, less frequently relative to men. Yet, women also labor on male-managed fields where cowpea is grown as an intercrop. Results from the control function approach indicate that subsidized fertilizer received by the farming household reduces areas, and area shares, planted with cowpea as an intercrop. Subsidized fertilizer received by the household is negatively associated with the women’s cowpea harvests and revenues, with the opposite effect on men’s revenues. Findings raise questions regarding the subsidy program design, and its gender-differentiated effects, on production of underutilized crops with potential agronomic and nutritional benefits, such as cowpea.