The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda

The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda
Author: Van Campenhout, Bjorn
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 19
Release: 2024-01-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

In rural societies with strong gender norms and customs, small informal agribusinesses may often be one of the few ways in which women can independently generate revenue. However, previous research has indicated that female run business may be perceived less favorably compared to their male counterparts. In this paper, we examine potential consequences of these biased perceptions on business transactions. In particular, we test whether the gender of the seller has an impact on buyers’ negotiation strategies and eventual outcomes in bilateral price negotiations. We use a lab-in-the-field experiment in eastern Uganda, where a representative sample of smallholder maize farmers are offered the opportunity to bargain over a bag of improved maize seed variety from a male or female seller. We find that buyers confronted with a female seller are less likely to accept the initial offer price and respond with a lower counter-bid price than farmers faced with a male seller. Negotiations take an average of one round longer when the seller is a woman and the transaction price is almost 9 percent lower. For comparison, we also look at the effect of the starting price on the same bargaining outcomes and find that the gender disadvantage is roughly equal to a 20 percent higher starting price.

Development of the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI)

Development of the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI)
Author: Malapit, Hazel J.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2019-01-18
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

In this paper, the authors describe the adaptation and validation of a project-level WEAI (or pro-WEAI) that agricultural development projects can use to identify key areas of women’s (and men’s) disempowerment, design appropriate strategies to address identified deficiencies, and monitor project outcomes related to women’s empowerment. The 12 pro-WEAI indicators are mapped to three domains: intrinsic agency (power within), instrumental agency (power to), and collective agency (power with). A gender parity index compares the empowerment scores of men and women in the same household. The authors describe the development of pro-WEAI, including: (1) pro-WEAI’s distinctiveness from other versions of the WEAI; (2) the process of piloting pro-WEAI in 13 agricultural development projects during the Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project, phase 2 (GAAP2); (3) analysis of quantitative data from the GAAP2 projects, including intrahousehold patterns of empowerment; and (4) a summary of the findings from the qualitative work exploring concepts of women’s empowerment in the project sites. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned from pro-WEAI and possibilities for further development of empowerment metrics.

The Profits of Power

The Profits of Power
Author: Christopher Udry
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

We examine the impact of ambiguous and contested land rights on investment and productivity in agricultural in Akwapim, Ghana. We show that individuals who hold powerful positions in a local political hierarchy have more secure tenure rights, and that as a consequence they invest more in land fertility and have substantially higher output. The intensity of investments on different plots cultivated by a given individual correspond to that individual's security of tenure over those specific plots, and in turn to the individual's position in the political hierarchy relevant to those specific plots. We interpret these results in the context of a simple model of the political allocation of land rights in local matrilineages.

Agriculture, Diversification, and Gender in Rural Africa

Agriculture, Diversification, and Gender in Rural Africa
Author: Agnes Andersson Djurfeldt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2018
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0198799284

This book contributes to the understanding of smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa through addressing the dynamics of intensification and diversification within and outside agriculture in contexts where women have much poorer access to agrarian resources than men

Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook

Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook
Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 792
Release: 2008-10-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0821375881

The 'Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook' provides an up-to-date understanding of gender issues and a rich compilation of compelling evidence of good practices and lessons learned to guide practitioners in integrating gender dimensions into agricultural projects and programs. It is serves as a tool for: guidance; showcasing key principles in integrating gender into projects; stimulating the imagination of practitioners to apply lessons learned, experiences, and innovations to the design of future support and investment in the agriculture sector. The Sourcebook draws on a wide range of experience from World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and other donor agencies, governments, institutions, and groups active in agricultural development. The Sourcebook looks at: access to and control of assets; access to markets, information and organization; and capacity to manage risk and vulnerability through a gender lens. There are 16 modules covering themes of cross-cutting importance for agriculture with strong gender dimensions (Policy, Public Administration and Governance; Agricultural Innovation and Education; Food Security; Markets; Rural Finance; Rural Infrastructure; Water; Land; Labor; Natural Resource Management; and Disaster and Post-Conflict Management) and specific subsectors in agriculture (Crops, Livestock, Forestry, and Fisheries). A separate module on Monitoring and Evaluation is included, responding to the need to track implementation and development impact. Each module contains three different sub-units: (1) A Module Overview gives a broad introduction to the topic and provides a summary of major development issues in the sector and rationale of looking at gender dimension; (2) Thematic Notes provide a brief and technically sound guide in gender integration in selected themes with lessons learned, guidelines, checklists, organizing principles, key questions, and key performance indicators; and (3) Innovative Activity Profiles describe the design and innovative features of recent and exciting projects and activities that have been implemented or are ongoing.

Gender in Agriculture

Gender in Agriculture
Author: Agnes R. Quisumbing
Publisher: Springer Science & Business
Total Pages: 447
Release: 2014-04-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 940178616X

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) produced a 2011 report on women in agriculture with a clear and urgent message: agriculture underperforms because half of all farmers—women—lack equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. This book builds on the report’s conclusions by providing, for a non-specialist audience, a compendium of what we know now about gender gaps in agriculture.

Rigged Rules and Double Standards

Rigged Rules and Double Standards
Author: Kevin Watkins
Publisher: Oxfam
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2002
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780855985257

A critical and detailed analysis of inequalities of world trade systems.

Shifting Burdens

Shifting Burdens
Author: Shahra Razavi
Publisher: Kumarian Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1565491432

* Details the effects of structural adjustment policies imposed on agriculture, and their effect on gender relations within rural areas in the developing world * Empirically grounded case studies from India, Mexico, South Africa, Uganda, and Vietnam Over the past ten years neoliberal policy shifts in rural development across the globe have reduced the role of government, consigning the costs of services to the rural poor themselves. But what are the gender effects of this change? The contributors unravel the ways in which economic and social structures, institutions, and policy outcomes are mediated by gender as a social relationship, and consider the degree to which a "diversified livelihoods strategy," touted as the means by which rural families are struggling to improve their standard of living, accurately describes what is taking place on the ground.

Gender, the Environment and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

Gender, the Environment and Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific
Author: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Publisher: United Nations
Total Pages: 110
Release: 2017-09-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9213627335

This publication is the first Asia-Pacific report that comprehensively maps out the intersections between gender and environment at the levels of household, work, community and policy. It examines gender concerns in the spheres of food security, agriculture, energy, water, fisheries and forestry, and identifies strategic entry points for policy interventions. Based on a grounded study of the reality in the Asia-Pacific region, this report puts together good practices and policy lessons that could be capitalized by policymakers to advance the agenda of sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.