Time and Money : A Study of Labor Constraints for Female Cotton Producers in Cote d'Ivoire
A gap between male and female farmers in agricultural production, both in terms of output and productivity, has been largely documented across Sub-Saharan Africa. The Africa Gender Innovation Lab has produced a body of evidence, including the Level...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27951 |
| Summary: | A gap between male and female farmers in
agricultural production, both in terms of output and
productivity, has been largely documented across Sub-Saharan
Africa. The Africa Gender Innovation Lab has produced a body
of evidence, including the Levelling the Field report and
the Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity
report, that identified constraints women farmers face,
determined the size and cost of the gap in agricultural
productivity, and offered promising policy options and
emerging new ideas to test. One of the key findings from the
levelling the field report is that labor presents the main
barrier to achieving gender equality in productivity. Across
the six profiled African countries, authors observe a
combination of women deploying fewer household male laborers
on their plots, male laborers generating lower returns for
female farmers relative to male farmers, and female farmers
facing challenges in hiring effective outside labor. In this
policy brief, we investigate and provide explanations for
female farmers’ labor constraints through a mixed-methods
study within the cotton sector of Côte d’Ivoire, as part of
the Côte d’Ivoire Agriculture Sector Support Project’s
efforts to increase female participation in cotton
production. We first quantify the gender gap in labor usage,
then look at the drivers of this gap and how they constrain
women’s cotton production and productivity, and finally
offer recommendations for policymakers. Several key policy
considerations emerge based on our analysis, relating to
labor financing and gender norms. Adopting solutions to ease
female farmers’ labor constraints will not only increase
their productivity, but also boost economic growth as an
increasing share of the population becomes involved in the
cultivation of higher-value crops. |
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