 Supermarkets and agricultural labor demand in Kenya: A gendered perspectiveElizaphan J.O. Rao and Matin Qaim Food Policy, 2013, vol. 38, issue C, 165-176 Abstract: Many developing countries are experiencing a rapid expansion of supermarkets. New supermarket procurement systems could affect farming patterns and wider rural development. While previous studies have analyzed farm productivity and income effects, possible employment effects have received much less attention. Special supermarket requirements may entail intensified farm production and post-harvest handling, thus potentially increasing demand for hired labor. This could also have important gender implications, because female and male workers are often hired for distinct farm operations. Building on data from a recent survey of vegetable farmers in Kenya, a double-hurdle model of hired labor use is developed and estimated. Farmer participation in supermarket channels increases the likelihood of hiring labor by 20%, and demand for hired labor by 61%. A gender disaggregation shows that positive employment effects are especially pronounced for female laborers, who often belong to the most vulnerable population groups. Rural employment generation can be an important vehicle for poverty reduction. Keywords: Supermarkets; Employment effects; Gender; Double-hurdle model; Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:38:y:2013:i:c:p:165-176 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2012.11.008 Access Statistics for this article Food Policy is currently edited by J. Kydd More articles in Food Policy from Elsevier |
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