Is bean really a women’s crop? Men and women’s participation in bean production in Uganda

Abstract

Background: Common bean one of the grain legumes that was traditionally considered a subsistence crop and therefore a woman's crop in Uganda was prioritized for commercialization. This has transformed the crop from being a subsistence crop (food security crop) to a commercial crop with more men engaged in its production. Little is known about the possibility of gender conflicts in production activities as the crop finds market. Methods:The study uses gender-disaggregated survey data from 500 men and 625 women in central Uganda. Both bivariate and multivariate methods were used to access the notion of bean being a women's crop based on gender participation intensities (a pairwise t test and Tobit regression model).Results: Seventy-three percent male-headed and 87% female-headed households had membership in farmers groups. Bean crop was majorly owned by women. Seventy-five percent of the studied bean plots were intercropped with other crops. On average, both men and women operated at one bean plot per season estimated. Winnowing (4.26), post-harvest handling and storage (4.25), sorting (4.22), planting (4.04) and weeding (4.00) were the five top most activities that rural women heavily participated in. The following are the top most five activities that men participated in: site selection (3.94), spraying against pests and diseases (3.81), bush clearing (3.77), fertilizer application (3.73) and harvesting beans (3.73). Bean consumption (1.3%), marketability (17.5%), distance to plot (8.1%), education (1.3%) and color (18.1%) had significant influence on women participation intensities. Household size (5.8%), farming as primary occupation (42.7%) and bean color (30.8%) had significant influence on men bean participation intensities. Conclusions:The study revealed there was significantly no bean production activity that was purely done by only men or only done by women. Thus, bean cannot be classified as a women's crop based on participation intensities since men offered support in a number of activities. In order to close the gender gap in bean production, there is need to target both men and women with gendered interventions and address issues of traditional norms.

Is there any gender gap in the production of legumes in Malawi? Evidence from the Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition model

“…On this basis, prospective improved pigeonpea seed program in Malawi should prioritise female farmers during dissemination. Second, anecdotal evidence, which has been recently supported by Nakazi et al (2017), has peas that are 'women crops' and less cultivated by male, suggesting that women may not be disadvantaged in terms of access to productive inputs because women face less discrimination in the production process of pigeonpea in Malawi.…”

“…Finally, this study is of importance to Malawian agricultural and gender policies considering the statistical joint report of the UNEP and the World Bank (2015) which reveals that women farmers in Malawi are older by over 5 years on average and also have lower levels of education as compared with male farmers, suggesting that Malawian women are approaching less economic active years with low social and human capital than men. With legumes being considered 'women's crops' by many researchers (Doss 2001;Nakazi et al 2017;Njuki et al 2011), we explore two major leguminous crops in Malawi, namely, groundnuts and pigeonpea, and by doing this, we have been able to provide a better understanding of gender gap in productivity analyses with respect to crop specificity and farm decision-making.…”

Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO): Animating IPM Information and Education Everywhere

“…Fortunately, this technological barrier is rapidly eroding, but these barriers can also be cultural, not only with respect to changing perceptions of cell phone use solely for communication but also in gendered differences of access, use, and safety for women (Hafkin, 2000). This is critical, given the pivotal role of women in the postharvest value-chain of legumes such as cowpea (Nakazi et al, 2017).…”

The role of women in production and management of RTB crops in Rwanda and Burundi: Do men decide, and women work?

“…In many countries, certain crops have been loosely categorised as either a 'male crop' or a 'female crop' depending on either the gender of the household head, the owner of the land on which a crop is grown or the gender of the person who keeps the proceeds from crop sales [21]. It has been found that women are more likely to control the production and output of the subsistence crops for home consumption, whereas men may have more decision-making power over the production and output of the household's cash crops [21,28].…”