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Building an inclusive agriculture: Strengthening gender equality in agricultural value chains
No full textMuch of the earliest work on “women in development” focused on agriculture. The baseline was set by the pioneering work of Ester Boserup in Woman’s Role in Economic Development (1970), who compiled then-current knowledge to make women’s contributions to rural economies visible. She used those data to argue for recognizing women’s work in agriculture. Research quickly followed that raised the profile of women’s work not only in production and processing for home consumption but also in growing, processing, and trading different market-oriented crops. In Africa south of the Sahara, the focus of this chapter, studies looked at women’s engagement in “agricultural commercialization” across different production and marketing pathways, among them contract farming (Carney 1994; Sørensen 1990; von Bulow and Sørensen 1993; Wilson 2000);2 formal and informal wage labor (Mbilinyi and Semakafu 1995; Dolan and Sorby 2003); women traders (Clark 1994; Morris and Saul 2000; Saul 1981); andPRIFPRI1; ReSAKSS; CRP4AFR; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH
How do perceptions of relative poverty affect women's empowerment? Evidence from Papua New Guinea
No full textHow do perceptions of one's relative economic status affect gender attitudes, including support for women's economic participation and their involvement in decision-making within their household and community? Increased feelings of relative economic vulnerability may lead to greater intra-household tension under a scenario of women seeking greater advancement economically and socially. In this instance, women’s empowerment could be perceived as a threat in a context of limited economic opportunity. On the other hand, to the extent that empowering women can improve household welfare, feeling economically vulnerable could motivate more egalitarian gender attitudes with respect to economic participation. For example, women's labor force participation brings income into the household, and women's involvement in decision-making can facilitate more efficient land management (Dillon and Voena, 2018; Goldstein and Udry, 2008; Seymour, 2017) and bring about better health (Beegle et al., 2001; Dinçer et al., 2014; Sraboni et al., 2014), nutrition (Ekbrand and Halleröd, 2018; Imai et al., 2014; Lépine and Strobl, 2013; Smith and Haddad, 2001; Smith et al., 2003), and education (Qian, 2008) outcomes for household members. As one of the first papers to investigate the impact of perceptions of relative poverty on gender attitudes, a December 2019 IFPRI Discussion Paper by Katrina Kosec, Cecilia Hyunjung Mo, Emily Schmidt, and Jie Song shows that perceptions of relative poverty translate into greater support for girls’ schooling and women’s engagement in paid employment. In other words, relative economic insecurity can prompt support for women's economic participation. However, this support is not necessarily accompanied by greater support for women’s involvement in community and intra-household decision-making. Feeling relatively poor triggered an increased desire among women to have decision-making authority within the household; however, there was no change in men’s attitudes about women’s role in decision-making. The paper underscores the complicated nature of gender attitudes, and how support for women's economic participation may rise without simultaneous increases in women's agency in decision-making.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; Capacity Strengthening; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; G Cross-cutting gender themeDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Datasets Terms of Use Statement
No full textThe International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) views the products of its research including research dataset(s) as global public goods and is committed to enabling their widespread distribution and use by providing unrestricted public access. This is in keeping with the IFPRI Research Data Management and Open Access (RDMOA) Policy and the CGIAR Open Access and Data Management Policy (each, a “Policy” and together, the “Policies”). IFPRI makes all its research data publicly available through the “IFPRI Dataverse.” The IFPRI Dataverse houses and is comprised of datasets collected during the course of IFPRI research, including data tables in various standard formats, survey instruments, codebooks, metadata, and other associated documentation. IFPRI Dataverse is a network member of Harvard Dataverse, which is a repository for research data hosted at Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS)1, Harvard University. IFPRI is the owner of the “IFPRI Dataverse” (sometimes referred to in these Terms of Use as the “Site”). The Communications and Public Affairs (CPA) division of IFPRI operates this Site on behalf of IFPRI. For questions pertaining to these terms of use, licenses, or concerns, please contact [email protected]. In the event of any conflict between these Terms of Use and either of the Policies, the terms of the applicable Policy shall control with respect to, and to the extent of, any such conflicting terms.Non-PRIFPRI1DG
Measuring coffee yields: A comparison of one-time harvest and allometric methods
No full textMeasuring yields accurately is critical for evaluating the impact of interventions that aim to increase ag-ricultural productivity. Self-reported survey data may be subject to social desirability bias, especially in the context of intervention-based studies. Further, farmers participating in training programs may put more effort into measuring their yield because they are interested in learning whether the new practices are effective, which could systematically bias their self-reports, compared to those of farmer not offered training. Therefore, it is often argued that field measurements such as crop cuttings and weighing are required for accurate measurement. In this note, we assess the suitability of allometric measurement for use in the context of large-scale data collection on coffee yields. We compare allometric yield estimates of Robusta coffee grown by smallholder farmers in Uganda with those obtained through a one-time harvest of both ripe and unripe cherries of a specified minimum size at the beginning of the fruiting season.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2MTID; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Access to markets, weather risk, and livestock production decisions: Evidence from Ethiopia
No full textDespite several studies showing the effect of access to markets and weather conditions on crop production, we know quite little on whether and how livestock production systems respond to variation in weather risk and access to markets. In this paper, we study whether and how livestock production responds to access to markets and varying weather risk. We also explore whether such responses vary across livelihood zones and livestock production systems. We study these research questions using information on the livestock production, ownership, and marketing decisions of households in Ethiopia. We find that households living close to markets are more likely to engage in market-oriented livestock production and use modern livestock inputs. We also find that households exposed to more unpredictable weather are less likely to engage in livestock production for markets. Rather, they are more likely to engage in livestock production for precautionary savings and insurance. Furthermore, greater rainfall uncertainty influences livestock portfolio allocation towards those types of livestock which can be easily liquidated, while also discouraging investment in modern livestock inputs. However, these responses and patterns vary across livelihood zones and production systems - most of these stylized responses and impacts are more pronounced in the arid and semi-arid lands of Ethiopia, where livestock herding remains a dominant source of livelihood. Those households relying only on livestock production seem more sensitive and responsive to weather risk and weather shocks. The heterogeneity in responses to and impacts of weather risk among farming systems and livelihoods highlights the need for more tailored livestock sector policies and interventions.Non-PRIFPRI1; ESSP; CRP2; CRP3.7; Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems (LSIL); 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural EconomiesDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Livestoc
Regional developments
No full textBUILDING INCLUSIVE FOOD SYSTEMS TO HELP REACH THE GOAL OF ENDING HUNGER and malnutrition globally will require innovation and investment at the regional and country levels. This section discusses problems, policies, and prospects for regional and national food systems in 2020 and beyond across the major regions: Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The challenges and potential of inclusion to transform food systems for better well-being and nutrition are examined for each region, along with other current topicsPRIFPRI1; EgyptSSP; PRSSP; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; Pakistan Agricultural Capacity Enhancement Program (PACE); CRP2DGO; AFR; DSGD; SAR; LAC; PIM; MTIDCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Women: Transforming food systems for empowerment and equity
No full textEnsuring that women’s contributions to food systems are recognized—by their families, communities, policymakers, and society more broadly—and that women can make strategic choices about their involvement in food systems has benefits for all of society.
KEY FINDINGS
- Women are actively involved in food systems in many roles, but their contributions are often not formally recognized, and they face obstacles to engaging on equitable and fair terms.
- Together with changing diets, transformation of food systems toward more efficient and sustainable production processes and longer value chains offers new opportunities and challenges for women’s participation.
- Transforming food systems for inclusion means not just ensuring women’s participation and access to benefits but also their empowerment to make strategic life choices.
- Entrepreneurship is often touted as a key to empowering women, but evidence indicates that it may not empower women if limited to small, household-based enterprises.PRIFPRI1; G Cross-cutting gender theme; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; UNFSSDGO; PHND; DSGD; EPT
Too much of a good thing? Evidence that fertilizer subsidies lead to overapplication in Egypt
No full textAs part of a national policy to ensure a certain level of food self-sufficiency in strategic crops, the government of Egypt subsidizes nitrogen fertilizer directly by distributing quotas of subsidized fertilizers to farmers and indirectly by subsidizing natural gas used by local fertilizer factories. The implication of this subsidy on farmers’ fertilizer demand and productivity remains unknown. Using a detailed agricultural survey collected from smallholder farmers in Upper Egypt, we show that nitrogen fertilizer application rates are substantially in excess of crop-specific agronomic recommendations. We exploit eligibility criteria and other sources of variation to show that farm plots with easier access to the subsidy tend to use more subsidized nitrogen fertilizer and less phosphate fertilizer. Easier access to the subsidy increases use of total nitrogen fertilizer per unit of land, mainly because of the increase in subsidized nitrogen fertilizer. In particular, the fertilizer subsidy program in Egypt is associated with significant overapplication of nitrogen fertilizer. Such overapplication of fertilizer is expected to adversely affect soil, water, and environmental health. Our findings have important policy implications for Egypt and other African countries known for input subsidy programs. As Egypt is currently moving on from the successful implementation of a comprehensive macroeconomic reform program towards sector-level reforms, our results suggest that eliminating fertilizer subsidies is a good place to start.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; Evaluating Impact and Building Capacity (EIBC); EgyptSSP; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 5 Strengthening Institutions and GovernanceDSGD; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM
Regional developments: Central Asia [in Russian]
No full textРешение вопросов бедности и безработицы среди женщин и молодежи является необходимым условием для формирования инклюзивных продовольственных систем в Центральной Азии. Доля трудоспособного населения региона в течение нескольких десятилетий постепенно увеличивалась (рис. 1), и в настоящее время значительная часть молодежи и женщин не может найти работу и получить достаточный доход в своей родной стране. Так, в 2019 году уровень безработицы среди женщин в Узбекистане составил 12,8 процента, а среди молодежи (в возрасте от 20 до 30 лет) — 15 процентовPRIFPRI1; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food IndustryDGO; DSG
Maintaining food and nutrition security in Myanmar during the COVID-19 crisis: Lessons from India’s lockdown
No full textThe recent sudden imposition of a stringent 21-day lockdown in India in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the food security of many vulnerable Indians. These impacts highlight the many challenges that this kind of anti-COVID intervention can pose in other settings where the labor force is mostly informally employed with poor job security and low wages, and where the agri-food systems is similarly informal with widespread use of open-air markets. Myanmar is such a setting.
India’s chastening experience with food security during its lockdown suggests the following actions would be imperative for maintaining food security in Myanmar:
• Allow the free movement of all goods. A stable and reliable agri-food system requires free movements of a wide range of food products (including micronutrient-rich fruits, vegetables and animal-sourced foods) as well as essential non-food goods.
• Monitor food markets and agricultural value chains as closely as possible to address problems when they do arise.
• Reduce risk of COVID-19 contagion by improving hygiene in Myanmar’s food markets.
• Issue clear directives to police, military, and local authorities not to impede the movement of goods.
The Government of Myanmar should learn from the mistakes made in India and other developing countries. We must recognize that basic food and nutrition security must be maintained at all times through this complex health and socioeconomic crisis.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; MyanmarSSP; CRP4; MAPSA; Capacity Strengthening; DCA; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; COVID-19 Measuring Impacts and Prioritizing Policies for RecoveryPHND; DSGD; PIM; A4NHCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH