Gender and Agricultural Commercialization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Three Panel Surveys

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Li, Wei, Kafle, Kashi, Josephson, Anna
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Li, Wei
Kafle, Kashi
Josephson, Anna
author_facet Li, Wei
Kafle, Kashi
Josephson, Anna
contents Agricultural commercialization is often promoted as a key driver of development in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet its benefits may not extend equally to all farmers. Using longitudinal household data from the LSMS-ISA and a two-way Mundlak fixed effects estimator, we examine the relationship between farmers' gender and agricultural commercialization in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania. In Ethiopia and Nigeria, women-headed households and those with a higher share of women-managed land face substantial disadvantages in market engagement, particularly in households oriented towards self-consumption. Interestingly, in both countries, women-headed households that do engage in sales are more likely to sell to market buyers and less likely to sell to individual buyers compared to men-headed households. In contrast, in Tanzania, the negative associations between gender and commercialization are weaker and less robust across outcomes. Overall, these findings demonstrate that gender gaps in commercialization are highly context-specific rather than universal, highlighting the need for country-tailored policies that address the institutional and market constraints faced by women farmers.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_19556
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Gender and Agricultural Commercialization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Three Panel Surveys
Li, Wei
Kafle, Kashi
Josephson, Anna
General Economics
Economics
Agricultural commercialization is often promoted as a key driver of development in Sub-Saharan Africa, yet its benefits may not extend equally to all farmers. Using longitudinal household data from the LSMS-ISA and a two-way Mundlak fixed effects estimator, we examine the relationship between farmers' gender and agricultural commercialization in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania. In Ethiopia and Nigeria, women-headed households and those with a higher share of women-managed land face substantial disadvantages in market engagement, particularly in households oriented towards self-consumption. Interestingly, in both countries, women-headed households that do engage in sales are more likely to sell to market buyers and less likely to sell to individual buyers compared to men-headed households. In contrast, in Tanzania, the negative associations between gender and commercialization are weaker and less robust across outcomes. Overall, these findings demonstrate that gender gaps in commercialization are highly context-specific rather than universal, highlighting the need for country-tailored policies that address the institutional and market constraints faced by women farmers.
title Gender and Agricultural Commercialization in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Three Panel Surveys
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.19556