Female participation in agriculture and economic development in 33 African Countries
), Isaiah Olurinola(2), Oluwatoyin Matthew(3), Dominic Azuh(4), Busayo Aderounmu(5),
(1) Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria; Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR), Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
(2) Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
(3) Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria; Centre for Economic Policy and Development Research (CEPDeR), Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
(4) Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
(5) Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
Corresponding Author
Abstract
Women occupy a crucial position in the agricultural sector because; they participate in different forms, as entrepreneurs, labourers, and marketers among others. Despite the various responsibilities’ women are involved in, such as family and child-care among others; they contribute up to 40% of agricultural GDP. Against this background, this study examined how female participation in agriculture contributes to economic development in selected African countries, which is in line with the United Nations (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 5 & 8; to ensure gender equality, decent work and economic growth respectively). The study engaged a panel data of selected 33 African countries sourced from the World Development Indicators (WDI) and the Human Development Index (HDI) for the period of 2000 - 2018. The study applied the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (POLS) and the fixed effects method based on Hausman specification result. Findings from the POLS and fixed effect were consistent across sub-regions, showing that, female participation in agriculture, though statistically significant, was negatively related to economic development. This means that a 1% increase in female participation in agriculture may reduce economic development by between 0.06% and 2.7%. On the other hand, across model, female education was found to be statistically significant and positively related to economic development. On the average, increased level of female education may increase economic development by 1.71%. The implication of this is that an increase in female participation in agriculture without the required level of education and training and access to agricultural materials may have a negative impact on economic development. Therefore, the study recommended that female education and training are required to improve economic development in Africa. (Afr J Reprod Health 2021; 25[5s]: 106-114).
References
Obayelu AE, Ogbe AO and Edewor SE. Gender gaps
and female labour participation in agriculture in Nigeria. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies. 2019; 11 (2) 285-300. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-03-2019-0128.
Alkire S, Meinzen-Dick R, Peterman A, Quisumbing A,
Seymour G and Vaz A. The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, World Development. 2013; 52, pp.71–91.
Malapit HJL and Quisumbing AR. What dimensions of
women's empowerment in agriculture matter for nutrition in Ghana? Food Policy. 2015; 52, pp. 54-63.
FAO. Women in agriculture: Closing the gender gap for
development. In: The state of food and agriculture. FAO, Rome, Italy. 2018.
Abraham AY, Ohemeng FNA and Ohemeng W. Female
labour force participation: evidence from Ghana, International Journal of Social Economics. 2017; 44(11) 1489-1505. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-06-2015-0159.
Anderson CL, Reynolds TW, Biscaye P, Patwardhan V and
Schmidt C. Economic Benefits of Empowering Women in Agriculture: Assumptions and Evidence. The Journal of Development Studies. 2020; 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2020.1769071.
Drucza K and Peverib V. The literature on gendered
agriculture in Pakistan: Neglect of women's contributions, Women’s Studies International Forum. 2018; 69,180-189.
Dao MQ. Gender gaps in human capital in developing
countries: an empirical assessment. Economics Research International. 2012; DOI:10.1155/2012/715419
Doss C. If women hold up half the sky, how much of the
world's food do they produce? 2014; In: Quisumbing AR, Meinzen-Dick R, Raney TL, Croppenstedt A, Behrman JA and Peterman A (Eds.), Gender in Agriculture. Springer, Netherlands.
Duflo E. Women empowerment and economic
development. 2012; J. Econ. Lit. 50, 1051–1079.
Maertens M and Verhofstadt E. Horticultural exports,
female wage employment and primary school enrolment: Theory and evidence from Senegal. Food Policy. 2013; 43, 118–131
Quisumbing AR and Maluccio JA. Intra-household
allocation and gender relations: New empirical evidence from four developing countries. 2000; IFPRI, Washington, DC.
Sraboni E, Malapit HJ, Quisumbing AR and Ahmed AU.
Women’s empowerment in agriculture: What role for food security in Bangladesh? World Development. 2014; 61:11-52.
Harper S, Zeller D, Hauzer M, Pauly D and Sumaila UR.
Women and fisheries: Contribution to food security and local economies. Marine Policy. 2013; 39, pp. 56–63.
Akter S, Rutsaert P, Luis J, Htwe NM, San SS, Raharjo B
and Pustika A. Women’s empowerment and gender equity in agriculture: A different perspective from Southeast Asia, Food Policy. 2017; 69, pp. 270-279
Gates MF. Putting women and girls at the centre of
development. Science. 2014; 345:1273–1275
World Bank, (2012). World Development Report 2012:
Gender Equality and Development. World Bank, Washington, DC.
Deere CD and Doss C. The gender asset gap: What do we
know, and why does it matter? Feminist Economics, 2006; 12;1–2, pp.1–50.
Doss CR. The effects of intra-household property
ownership on expenditure patterns in Ghana. Journal of African Economies. 2006; 15:1, pp.149–180.
Kagotho N. Protecting assets for the most vulnerable: The
potential for asset-based interventions. Global Social Welfare. 2015; 2: pp. 43–51.
Oladokun YOM, Adenegan KO, Salman KK and
Alawode OO. Level of asset ownership by women in rural North-East and South-East, Women’s Studies International Forum. 2018; 70, pp. 68-78.
Oluwatobi S, Ola-David O, Olurinola I, Alege P and
Ogundipe A. Human capital, institutions and innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues. 2016; 6:4, pp. 1507-1514
Gujarati DN and Porter D. Essential Econometrics McGraw-Hill International Edition. 2009.
Greene W H. Econometric analysis (6th ed.).2008; Upper
Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Folarin EM, Osabuohien ES, Okodua H, Onabote A and
Osabohien R. Male and Female Employment in Agriculture and Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science.2021; 665: pp. 012066.
Edafe OO, Osabuohien E, Osabohien R. Large-scale
Agricultural Investments and Female Employment in Nigerian Comunities. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 2021; 655, 1, p. 012082.
Osabuohien ES, Efobi UR, Herrmann RT, Gitau CM.
Female labor utcomes and large-scale agricultural land investents: Macro-micro evidencefrom Tanzania. Land Use Policy. 2019; 82: 716-28.
Article Metrics
Abstract View
: 754 times
Download : 328 times
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
