Rwanda's Vision 2020 neoliberal development policy focuses on socio-economic transformation with a specific focus on the agriculture sector and gender equality. Through the commercialization of agriculture, employment opportunities inside and outside the sector are expected to be created. Both women and men are integrated into this new agriculture production system. Based on a mixed-method approach, this paper provides insights into current transformations of the rural labour market in Rwanda. The feminization debates build the theoretical background. The empirical results show that wage employment is created almost exclusively in the informal sector, typically for casual on-field agriculture workers. The drivers of casual on-field agricultural work are land scarcity and low agriculture commercialization, as well as gender, age and household size. It is apparent that for the same work, women earn approximately 20 percent less than men. Women play an important role in the rural labour market, especially as self-employed farmers and on-field agriculture workers. At the same time, they perform the bulk of reproductive work and must perform under precarious work conditions for low wages. The Rwandan agricultural transformation is gendered, and due to reproductive work, women do not have the same opportunities in the paid rural labour market.

Survey-based experimental methods are increasingly used in the social sciences to study, among others, attitudes, norms, and fairness judgments. One of these methods is the factorial survey experiment (FSE or vignette experiment) in which respondents are confronted with various descriptions of situations that differ in a discrete number of attributes (or factors), and they are asked to evaluate those situations according to criteria such as agreement, approval, and fairness. Due to the systematic experimental variation of the presented situations, an FSE can separate effects of single situational attributes, allowing the causal influence of relevant situational attributes to be determined. This is the key advantage over simple survey items. While most studies using FSEs are carried out in developed countries in which respondents are familiar with surveys, we add further evidence that this method can also unfold its power in a developing context. Building on previous applications of FSEs in Africa, we demonstrate the usefulness of this method in four novel studies on social norms regarding the physical punishment of children and the social approval of technology adoption in Benin as well as judgments of just earnings in Rwanda. We also test for the first time the applicability of multiple vignettes per respondents in a Global South/remote area context. The results of these studies are theoretically meaningful and the overwhelming majority of respondents discriminate between vignettes. This supports the validity of FSEs. However, conducting survey experiments in developing countries is different from similar experimental research in developed countries and, therefore, we also discuss some of these differences and corresponding challenges. Last but not least, our article shows, provided a few precautions are heeded, that FSEs could be used as a vehicle to innovate social science research in a Global South/remote area context.

Agricultural transformation is key to poverty reduction and food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In Rwanda, this transformation has focused on shifting subsistence-based production to market-oriented farming. Over the last one decade and a half, major emphasis has been placed on the intensification of production systems, promotion of farmers' cooperatives, and enhancement of farmers' access to markets. Although the country recorded an increase in food crop commercialization, subsistence farming is still prevalent amongst smallholder farmers. Yet, in the few studies conducted on agricultural transformation, smallholder commercialization has received scanty attention. As the country aims to achieve commercialized agriculture, there is a need to understand what factors can influence farmers' decisions to participate in the output markets. This study analyses the levels of market participation and drivers of output commercialization, using a sample of 256 Common bean farmers from northern Rwanda. A double-hurdle model was used to analyse the data. Results indicated that 30% of the farmers participated in the market with an average commercialization index of 0.42. Land size, agricultural training and group membership of household head had a positive effect on households' participation to bean market. The distance to the nearest access road that can be used throughout the year reduces the probability of commercialization at household level. The degree of market participation was positively influenced by price, education level of the household head and livestock income. On the other hand, distance to key markets had a negative effect on the degree of households' commercialization. The findings of this paper show that participation in bean markets is still low, with disparities in the commercialized quantities amongst those who participate. Female-headed households were more likely to participate in bean markets, selling higher volumes than male-headed households. This gender difference suggests that bean production can be an important source of income for women smallholder farmers. The study recommends more efforts in improving road networks connecting to key markets, facilitating cross-border trade and increasing agricultural training amongst the farmers. Additionally, the use of improved inputs in bean production as well as income diversification through livestock rearing should be encouraged. All the interventions should be gender-sensitive so as not to deny women their source of livelihood through bean production and marketing.

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Despite the efforts to agricultural transformation in Rwanda, farming systems are predominantly still in subsistence production. Women are more involved than men, and their number has even increased in the past decade. The reasons for this remain unclear, given the country's efforts for gender mainstreaming towards market-oriented agriculture. Guided by the current debate on feminization of agriculture, we base this study on the thesis that higher market participation among women farmers could contribute to the so-called transformation. The study uses the case of the Northern Province of Rwanda. It involved 368 smallholder dual-headed households among which 208 and 160 were respectively producing beans and potato. It used a mixed method approach by sequential exploratory design, involving a quantitative survey households followed by Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Both Household Commercialization Index (HCI) and Thematic Analyses were used. Findings showed a high degree of commercialization for potato, with 75% of farmers participating in output markets, and 72% among them being market oriented. In contrast, only 26% of bean farmers sold their production. The commercialization of potato is in the hands of men, while beans are mainly sold by women. This was also confirmed with the findings from FGDs. Three issues were identified as hindrances to agricultural transformation and likely to keep households in subsistence production: the low participation of women in input and output markets; their limited control over agricultural income; and their increased workload that combines on-farm and reproductive works. Therefore, despite the efforts at policy level, there are still gender inequalities within dual-headed farming households, and the agricultural transformation risks increasing the gap through all or some of the three identified issues.Removing these inequalities could increase households' market participation and contribute in the process of agricultural transformation.