Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets, Gender and Intra-Household Dynamics: Does the Choice of Commodity Matter&quest

Jemimah Njuki, Susan Kaaria, Angeline Chamunorwa and Wanjiku Chiuri
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Jemimah Njuki: International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi
Susan Kaaria: Ford Foundation, Office for Eastern Africa, Nairobi
Angeline Chamunorwa: International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, Harare
Wanjiku Chiuri: International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, Kigali

The European Journal of Development Research, 2011, vol. 23, issue 3, 426-443

Abstract: Linking smallholder farmers to markets and making markets work for the poor is increasingly becoming an important part of the global research and development agenda. Organizations have used various strategies to link farmers to markets. These approaches have mainly been evaluated for their potential to increase participation in markets and household incomes. The evaluations have assumed a unitary household where income and resources are pooled and allocated according to a joint utility function. In most households, however, income is rarely pooled and neither are resources jointly allocated. This article uses data from Malawi and Uganda to analyze what influences income distribution between men and women, focusing on the type of commodity, type of market and approaches used. The results indicate that commodities generating lower average revenues are more likely to be controlled by women, whereas men control commodities that are high revenue generators, often sold in formal markets.Relier les petits agriculteurs aux marchés et faire en sorte que ces derniers servent les pauvres sont des objectifs qui prennent une importance grandissante dans les programmes mondiaux de recherche et de développement. Les organisations ont mobilisé diverses stratégies pour relier les agriculteurs aux marchés. Ces approches ont surtout été évaluées pour leur capacité potentielle à accroître la participation aux marchés et les revenus des ménages. Les estimations sont basées sur l’hypothèse du ménage unitaire dont les revenus et ressources sont regroupés et répartis selon une fonction d’utilité commune. Dans la plupart des ménages, cependant, les revenus sont rarement mis en commun et les ressources ne proviennent pas non plus d’une seule source. Cet article s’appuie sur des données concernant le Malawi et l’Ouganda pour analyser ce qui influence la répartition des revenus entre hommes et femmes, en portant une attention particulière aux types de marchandises, de marchés et d’approches utilisés. Les résultats indiquent que les produits qui génèrent le moins de revenus sont généralement l’affaire des femmes alors que les hommes se chargent des denrées qui génèrent le plus de revenus, et qui sont souvent vendues sur les marchés formels.

Date: 2011
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