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Gender Productivity Gap in Farmer-led Irrigation in the Upper East Region of Ghana

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  • Abarike, Mercy Apuswin
  • Liebenehm, Sabine
  • Weyori, Alirah Emmanuel
  • Akuriba, Margaret Atosina
  • Dittoh, Saa
  • Kasei, Raymond Abudu

Abstract

In this paper, we explore whether and to what extent there are disparities in vegetable productivity among female and male farmers practicing small-scale irrigation systems in the Upper East Region of Ghana, and what factors seem to drive the disparities. To do so, we use a cross-sectional data set that comprises 58 women and 192 men from 24 communities, gathered between September 2022 and February 2023 and employ Ordinary Least Square regression with community fixed effects, Oaxaca-Blinder and Recentered Influence Function decomposition analyses. Results show a statistically significant gender gap across the entire productivity distribution, except for the 80th and 90th productivity percentile, whereby the gender difference ranges between 56.9% to even 103.3% to the detriment of women producers. On average, this disadvantage amounts to approximately $987.42 per ha. The decomposition analyses further suggest that the gender gap is rather due to differences in the level than in the returns to resources. The gender gap could, hence, be significantly reduced if women would be able to operate the same size of cultivated land as men. Furthermore, overcoming structural disadvantages in terms of labor, knowledge, and liquidity may help women generate the same returns from the factors as men.

Suggested Citation

  • Abarike, Mercy Apuswin & Liebenehm, Sabine & Weyori, Alirah Emmanuel & Akuriba, Margaret Atosina & Dittoh, Saa & Kasei, Raymond Abudu, 2024. "Gender Productivity Gap in Farmer-led Irrigation in the Upper East Region of Ghana," IAAE 2024 Conference, August 2-7, 2024, New Delhi, India 344281, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:cfcp15:344281
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.344281
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Barbara Van Koppen & Lesley Hope & Willem Colenbrander, 2013. "Gender aspects of smallholder private groundwater irrigation in Ghana and Zambia," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(6), pages 840-851, October.
    2. Fernando Rios-Avila, 2020. "Recentered influence functions (RIFs) in Stata: RIF regression and RIF decomposition," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 20(1), pages 51-94, March.
    3. Udry, Christopher, 1996. "Gender, Agricultural Production, and the Theory of the Household," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 1010-1046, October.
    4. Gbemisola Oseni & Paul Corral & Markus Goldstein & Paul Winters, 2015. "Explaining gender differentials in agricultural production in Nigeria," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(3), pages 285-310, May.
    5. Ben Jann, 2008. "The Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition for linear regression models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 8(4), pages 453-479, December.
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