Agriculture, Food and Jobs in West Africa

Allen, Timothy A.; Heinrigs, Philipp; Heo, Inhoi

doi:10.1787/dc152bc0-en

Cited by 22 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report identified the region as a "climate change hot spot" that is, countries where human security is threatened due to projected climate change impacts (IPCC, 2019: 197;Diffenbaugh andGiorgi, 2012, de Sherbinin, 2014). With the food economy making up 66% of total employment in West Africa, the regional economic system is reliant upon climate stability (Allen et al, 2018). In countries such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger and Mali, where the food economy contributes to over 80% of employment, climate variability puts both national and local economies in a vulnerable state (FAO, 2014).…”

Section: Executive Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change are women. Women in the Sahel overwhelmingly rely on the agricultural and food economies, with women contributing to 40% of agricultural production, 80% of agricultural processing, and 70% of agricultural distribution labour regionally (Allen et al, 2018). As a result, gender inequity within the Sahel is particularly pronounced (Map 1 Map 1).…”

Section: Executive Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In West Africa, approximately 70% of women's labour is in the food economy, with the majority of that work being off-farm sectors (Pepper, 2019). These off-farm sectors are particularly gendered: women make up 88% of food-away-from-home (e.g., restaurant service), 83% of food processing, and 72% of food marketing labour (Allen et al, 2018). Yet, although women…”

Section: Gender and Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women and climate change in the Sahel

McOmber¹

2020

West African Papers

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The West African Papers explore African socioeconomic , political and security dynamics from a regional and multidisciplinary perspective. They seek to stimulate discussion and gather information to better anticipate the changes that will shape future policies. The series is designed for a wide audience of specialists, development practitioners, decision makers and the informed public. Papers are available in English and/or French, and summaries are available in both languages. Initiated by the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) to highlight and promote West African issues, the work presented is prepared by its Secretariat, Members and partners, other OECD departments, related international organisations, associated experts and researchers.

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Section: Executive Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Executive Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Gender and Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Women and climate change in the Sahel

McOmber¹

2020

West African Papers

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“…In some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, time-related underemployment for women is as high as 40 or 50% of total employment while women continue working fewer hours in paid employment and still perform the vast majority of unpaid household and care work, often the result of persisting gender norms (Sunmola et al, 2020). In sub-Saharan Africa, many working women remain self-employed and a high proportion work as contributing family workers, mainly in the food economy (34.9%) (Allen et al, 2018). In sub-Saharan Africa, 63.2% of women in wage employment do not contribute to social protection and therefore cannot fall back on a social safety net -globally this number is 40% (Sunmola, 2020).…”

Section: Labour Force Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Link Between Demography and Labour Markets in sub-Saharan Africa

Quak¹

2020

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This rapid review synthesises the literature from academic, policy, and knowledge institution sources on how demography affects labour markets (e.g. entrants, including youth and women) and labour market outcomes (e.g. capital-per-worker, life-cycle labour supply, human capital investments) in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. One of the key findings is that the fast-growing population in sub-Saharan Africa is likely to affect the ability to get productive jobs and in turn economic growth. This normally happens when workers move from traditional (low productivity agriculture and household businesses) sectors into higher productivity sectors in manufacturing and services. In theory the literature shows that lower dependency ratios (share of the non-working age population) should increase output per capita if labour force participation rates among the working age population remain unchanged. If output per worker stays constant, then a decline in dependency ratio would lead to a rise in income per capita. Macro simulation models for sub-Saharan Africa estimate that capital per worker will remain low due to consistently low savings for at least the next decades, even in the low fertility scenario. Sub-Saharan African countries seem too poor for a quick rise in savings. As such, it is unlikely that a lower dependency ratio will initiate a dramatic increase in labour productivity. The literature notes the gender implications on labour markets. Most women combine unpaid care for children with informal and low productive work in agriculture or family enterprises. Large family sizes reduce their productive labour years significantly, estimated at a reduction of 1.9 years of productive participation per woman for each child, that complicates their move into more productive work (if available). If the transition from high fertility to low fertility is permanent and can be established in a relatively short-term period, there are long-run effects on female labour participation, and the gains in income per capita will be permanent. As such from the literature it is clear that the effect of higher female wages on female labour participation works to a large extent through reductions in fertility.

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“…This is especially true in West Africa where women are major stakeholders at every stage of the food system, from production, processing, to distribution and food preparation (Gnisci, 2016). Women's role in off-farm food economy activities, for example, represents between 72% and 88% of all employment in downstream food processing, marketing and services (Allen et al, 2018). Women also significantly contribute to building resilience to climate-related and conflict-related food crises (Gnisci, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating gender analysis into food & nutrition security early warning systems in West Africa

Pepper¹

2019

West African Papers

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Club SAHEL AND WEST AFRICA Secretariat WEST AFRICAN PAPERSThe West African Papers explore African socio-economic, political and security dynamics from a regional and multidisciplinary perspective. They seek to stimulate discussion and gather information to better anticipate the changes that will shape future policies. The series is designed for a wide audience of specialists, development practitioners, decision makers

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Agriculture, Food and Jobs in West Africa

Cited by 22 publications

References 3 publications

Women and climate change in the Sahel

Women and climate change in the Sahel

The Link Between Demography and Labour Markets in sub-Saharan Africa

Integrating gender analysis into food & nutrition security early warning systems in West Africa

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