How does adoption of labor saving agricultural technologies affect intrahousehold resource allocations? The case of push-pull technology in Western Kenya

Gracious Diiro, Monica Fisher, Menale Kassie, Beatrice W. Muriithi and Geoffrey Muricho

Food Policy, 2021, vol. 102, issue C

Abstract: Considerable research documents why women farmers have lower technology adoption rates than men farmers, but relatively little is known about what happens within a household after technology uptake. This study contributes through an investigation of the intrahousehold distribution of benefits and costs of agricultural technology adoption in western Kenya. Using gender-disaggregated data and an endogenous switching regression approach, we elucidate the causal effects of push pull technology (PPT) adoption on intrahousehold labor and expenditure allocation. Results show that adoption increases household labor allocation for harvesting of maize, the staple crop, but reduces the labor required for other tasks (e.g., ploughing and weeding). In net, the technology is labor saving, with men experiencing a slightly greater workload reduction than women. In terms of expenditure impacts, PPT uptake increases household expenditures on children’s education and consumption goods commonly associated with female preferences. Study findings support wider uptake of PPT to trigger gains in social and economic wellbeing for both men and women farmers. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Keywords: Agriculture; Child schooling; Labor allocation; Technology adoption; Intrahousehold allocation; Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:102:y:2021:i:c:s0306919221000932

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102114

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