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Food PolicyVolume 67, 1 February 2017, Pages 52-63

How much of the labor in African agriculture is provided by women?(Article)(Open Access)

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  • aLiving Standards Measurement Study (LSMS), Survey Unit, Development Data Group, The World Bank, United States
  • bJobs Group, The World Bank, United States
  • cLiving Standards Measurement Study (LSMS), Survey Unit, Development Data Group, The World Bank, Italy

Abstract

The contribution of women to labor in African agriculture is regularly quoted in the range of 60–80%. Using individual, plot-level labor input data from nationally representative household surveys across six Sub-Saharan African countries, this study estimates the average female labor share in crop production at 40%. It is slightly above 50% in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, and substantially lower in Nigeria (37%), Ethiopia (29%), and Niger (24%). There are no systematic differences across crops and activities, but female labor shares tend to be higher in households where women own a larger share of the land and when they are more educated. Controlling for the gender and knowledge profile of the respondents does not meaningfully change the predicted female labor shares. The findings question prevailing assertions regarding substantial gains in aggregate crop output as a result of increasing female agricultural productivity. © 2016

Author keywords

AgricultureGenderLaborSub-Saharan Africa

Indexed keywords

GEOBASE Subject Index:agricultural laborcrop productiongender rolehousehold surveylabor participationproductivitywomens status
Regional Index:EthiopiaMalawiNigeriaTanzaniaUganda
  • ISSN: 03069192
  • Source Type: Journal
  • Original language: English
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.09.017
  • Document Type: Article
  • Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

  Palacios-Lopez, A.; Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS), Survey Unit, Development Data Group, The World Bank, United States;
© Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

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