Gender, agricultural commercialization, and collective action in Kenya

By Elisabeth Fischer, M. Qaim. Food Security, 2012

265 citations recorded by the source corpus.

With the commercialization of agriculture, women are increasingly disadvantaged because of persistent gender disparities in access to productive resources. Farmer collective action that intends to improve smallholder access to markets and technology could potentially accelerate this trend. Here, we use survey data of small-scale banana producers in Kenya to investigate the gender implications of recently established farmer groups. Traditionally, banana has been a women’s crop in Kenya. Our results confirm that the groups contribute to increasing male control over banana. We also analyze nutritional implications. While male control over banana revenues does not affect household calorie consumption, it has a negative marginal effect on dietary quality. We demonstrate that the negative gender implications of farmer groups can be avoided when women are group members themselves. In the poorest income segments, group membership even seems to have a positive effect on female-controlled income share. Some policy implications towards gender mainstreaming of farmer collective action are discussed.

Subfields: Gender Studies, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Safety Research

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f171cf98899035f3eb03fef2ac58eda922bea29c

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Citations in the corpus

Farmer training in off-season vegetables: Effects on income and pesticide use in Bangladesh (2016, methodology): “Both methods have been widely used in the impact evaluation literature (e.g. Gitonga et al. 2013, Fischer and Qaim 2012, Abebaw et al. 2010, Becerril and Abdulai 2010).”
Sustainability Standards, Gender, and Nutrition among Smallholder Farmers in Uganda (2016, background): “…as is well known, agricultural commercialisation can change gender roles within the farm household, often resulting in a lower share of the income being controlled by women (Chege, Andersson, & Qaim, 2015; Fischer & Qaim, 2012; Njuki, Kaaria, Chamunorwa, & Chiuri, 2011; von Braun & Kennedy, 1994).”
Agricultural Commercialisation and Nutrition in Smallholder Farm Households (2019, background): “Subsistence food crops are often produced and controlled by women, whereas crops that are primarily produced to generate cash income are typically controlled by men (von Braun et al. 1994; Fischer and Qaim 2012).”
Impacts of supermarkets on farm household nutrition in Kenya (2015, background): “Following Fischer and Qaim (2012), survey respondents were also asked which household member controls vegetable production and revenue.”
Heterogeneous impact of cooperative membership on farmers’ welfare in Rwanda (2015, background): “Ito et al. (2012) and Fischer and Qaim (2012) find that the income gains of cooperative memb rship are more pronounced for small farmers who have a lower propensity to join cooperatives.”
Can Mobile Phones Improve Gender Equality and Nutrition? Panel Data Evidence from Farm Households in Uganda (2017, background): “Agricultural commercialization is often associated with men taking stronger control of agricultural production and income (Udry, 1996; Fischer and Qaim, 2012).”
Smallholder Farmers’ Decision and Level of Participation in the Potato Market in Uganda (2014, background): “[49] [50] while studying smallholder agricultural commercialization and collective action in Kenya also found a positive and significant influence of membership in a group on the level of commercialization.”
Production diversity and dietary diversity in smallholder farm households (2015, background): “who within the household controls the income from commercial farm sales and off-farm employment (28, 30, 31).”