This study explores the role of gender-based decision-making in the adoption of improved maize varieties. The primary data were collected in 2018 from 560 farm households in Dawuro Zone, Ethiopia, and were comparatively analyzed across gender categories of households: male decision-making, female decision-making and joint decision-making, using a double-hurdle model. The results show that the intensity of improved maize varieties adopted on plots managed by male, female, and joint decision-making households are significantly different. This effect diminishes in the model when we take other factors into account. Using the gender of the heads of households and agricultural decision-maker, the current study did not find significant evidence of gender difference in the rate and intensity of adoption of improved maize varieties. The intensity of adoption of improved maize varieties is lower for female-headed households where decisions are made jointly by men and women, compared to the male-headed households where decisions are made jointly. As the economic status is a key driver of adoption of improved maize varieties, it is recommended that the policies and programs that aim at developing and disseminating quality maize seeds in southern Ethiopia should emphatically support economically less endowed but more gender egalitarian joint decision-making households, especially female-headed ones.

This study examines the impact of gender differences on maize productivity in Dawuro Zone, southern Ethiopia. Our study addressed the limitations of the previous studies in two ways. First, the study separately assessed gender differences in productivity between de facto female-headed households and de jure female-headed households and revealed that female-headed households are not homogenous. Second, the study separately examined the impacts of the covariates on male-headed households and female-headed households using an exogenous switching treatment effect model. We find the existence of gender differences in maize productivity between male-headed households and female-headed

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Using primary data collected from 560 farm households in Dawuro zone, southern Ethiopia, this study analyzes the gender gaps in food security among male, female, and joint decision-making farm households. It examines the factors inducing gender gaps among the households of those three categories. The results show that female decision-making households have a lower probability of ensuring food-security and a higher probability of being transitionally and chronically food-insecure. Joint decision-making households showed a higher probability of falling into the chronically food-insecure category. The decomposition results show significant gender gaps between male and female decision-making households in terms of food-secure, transitory food-insecure, and chronically food-insecure categories. Overall, both the endowment and return effects account for the gaps; however, the magnitude of the effect from the return is higher than from the endowment on significant gaps in the food-secure, transitory, and chronically food-insecure categories. Hence, there is a need for policies that not only ensure equal levels of productive resources but also help households build their capacity in order to improve both transitory and chronically food insecure situations.

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This paper analyzes market participation gaps among male, female, and joint decision-making households, and the factors influencing that gap, using data collected from 560 maize farm households in the Dawuro zone, southern Ethiopia. The results from the ordered probit analysis reveal that female and joint decision-making households were negatively associated with the probability of being a net seller, while being positively associated with being autarchic and net buyers. The decomposition results indicate clear market participation gaps in the net seller and net buyer positions between male and female decision-makers. The mean quantity gaps between males and females are more apparent in the net seller and net buyer positions. Between male and joint decision-makers, the mean quantity gaps are significant in the net seller and autarchic positions, while between female and joint decision-makers, it is significant in the net seller positions. In each market position, the quantity of gaps is unevenly distributed across the quantities of distribution, but the values increase as we approach higher levels of distribution. The gaps in the net seller and autarchic positions indicate that males are better positioned than females and that females are better positioned than joint decision-makers. Both endowment and return effects account for the quantity gaps. Thus, there is a need for policies to secure more equal access to productive resources for female and joint decisionmaking households and build their capacity to increase their resource returns.

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