Gender Differentials and Agricultural Productivity in Niger

Abstract

Most of the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa
 live in rural areas where agriculture is the main income
 source. This agriculture is characterized by low performance
 and its productivity growth has been identified as a key
 driver of poverty reduction. In Niger, as in many other
 African countries, productivity is even lower among female
 peasants. To build policy interventions to improve
 agricultural productivity among women, it is important to
 measure the potential gap between men and women and
 understand the determinants that explain the gap. This paper
 uses the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition methodology at the
 aggregate and detailed levels to identify the factors that
 explain the productivity gap. The analysis finds that in
 Niger on average plots managed by women produce 19 percent
 less per hectare than plots managed by men. It also finds
 that the gender gap tends to be widest among Niger's
 most productive farmers. The primary factors that contribute
 to the gender productivity gap in Niger are: (i) farm labor,
 with women facing significant challenges in accessing,
 using, and supervising male farm labor; (ii) the quantity
 and quality of fertilizer use, with men using more inorganic
 fertilizer per hectare than women; and (iii) land ownership
 and characteristics, with men owning more land and enjoying
 higher returns to ownership than women.