How much of the labor in African agriculture is provided by women ?

Amparo Palacios-Lopez, Luc Christiaensen, Talip Kilic, Amparo Palacios-Lopez, Luc Christiaensen and Talip Kilic
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Talip Kilic, Amparo Palacios-Lopez and Luc Christiaensen

No 7282, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: The contribution of women to labor in African agriculture is regularly quoted in the range of 60 to 80 percent. Using individual-disaggregated, 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 percent. It is slightly above 50 percent in Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda, and substantially lower in Nigeria (37 percent), Ethiopia (29 percent), and Niger (24 percent). 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.

Keywords: Climate Change and Agriculture; Crops and Crop Management Systems; Gender and Development; Food Security; Livestock and Animal Husbandry; Inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-06-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-dev
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (26)

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Journal Article: How much of the labor in African agriculture is provided by women? (2017)
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