Linking Smallholder Farmers to Markets, Gender and Intra-Household Dynamics: Does the Choice of Commodity Matter?

Abstract

Linking smallholder farmers to markets and making markets work for the poor is increasingly becoming an important part of the global research and development agenda. Organizations have used various strategies to link farmers to markets. These approaches have mainly been evaluated for their potential to increase participation in markets and household incomes. The evaluations have assumed a unitary household where income and resources are pooled and allocated according to a joint utility function. In most households, however, income is rarely pooled and neither are resources jointly allocated. This article uses data from Malawi and Uganda to analyze what influences income distribution between men and women, focusing on the type of commodity, type of market and approaches used. The results indicate that commodities generating lower average revenues are more likely to be controlled by women, whereas men control commodities that are high revenue generators, often sold in formal markets.Relier les petits agriculteurs aux marche´s et faire en sorte que ces derniers servent les pauvres sont des objectifs qui prennent une importance grandissante dans les programmes mondiaux de recherche et de de´veloppement. Les organisations ont mobilise´diverses strate´gies pour relier les agriculteurs aux marche´s. Ces approches ont surtout e´te´e´value´es pour leur capacite´potentielle a`accroıˆtre la participation aux marche´s et les revenus des me´nages. Les estimations sont base´es sur l'hypothe`se du me´nage unitaire dont les revenus et ressources sont regroupe´s et re´partis selon une fonction d'utiliteć ommune. Dans la plupart des me´nages, cependant, les revenus sont rarement mis en commun et les ressources ne proviennent pas non plus d'une seule source. Cet article s'appuie sur des donne´es concernant le Malawi et l'Ouganda pour analyser ce qui influence la re´partition des revenus entre hommes et femmes, en portant une attention particulie`re aux types de marchandises, de marche´s et d'approches utilise´s. Les re´sultats indiquent que les produits qui ge´ne`rent le moins de revenus sont ge´ne´ralement l'affaire des femmes alors que les hommes se chargent des denre´es qui ge´ne`rent le plus de revenus, et qui sont souvent vendues sur les marche´s formels.

Can Integrated Agriculture-Nutrition Programmes Change Gender Norms on Land and Asset Ownership? Evidence from Burkina Faso

“…Again, the implications of these relatively small changes and differences in women’s decision-making power are unclear, but they may have positive impacts on critical outcomes such as food security, child nutrition and education, and women’s own wellbeing (Quisumbing, 2003; Smith et al, 2003; World Bank, 2001). These findings are consistent with other studies of value chain projects in Malawi and Uganda, where commodities generating lower average revenues are more likely to be controlled by women, whereas men control commodities that are high revenue generators, often sold in formal markets (Njuki, Kaaria, Chamunorwa, & Chiuri, 2011). …”

Transforming Gender Relations through the Market: Smallholder Milk Market Participation and Women`s Intra-household Bargaining Power in Ethiopia

“…As the resources of spouses are pooled, it is irrelevant by which spouse the resources Transforming gender relations through the market 1003 are controlled (Pollak, 1994). In most households, however, resources are neither pooled nor jointly allocated (Njuki et al, 2011,). This is problematic for the unitary household model as it considers the household as a black box (Geisler, 1993;Katz, 1995).…”

“…This is problematic for the unitary household model as it considers the household as a black box (Geisler, 1993;Katz, 1995). More recent research models address this issue by an explicit recognition that individual preferences and bargaining power within the household may affect the outcomes of household decisions (Agarwal, 1997;Himmelweit, Santos, Sevilla, & Sofer, 2013;Njuki et al, 2011). These studies also revert to early family models (for example Blood & Wolfe, 1960;Rodman, 1972, Sen, 1990) that consider households as a place for conflict as well as cooperation.…”

“…There are indications that market developments, especially in Africa, do not benefit women and sometimes even worsen their intra-household positions (Abbas, 1997, Naved, 2000Njuki, Kaaria, Chamunorwa, & Chiuri, 2011;Okali, 2011, Sahan & FischerMackey, 2011.…”

“…However, with the integration of smallholder milk production into the formal market system this may have changed. The experience of other African countries indicates that cash crops and their benefits tend to be controlled by males (see Abbas, 1997;Endeley, 2001;Fischer & Qaim, 2012;Njuki, Kaaria, Chamunorwa, & Chiuri, 2011). Given that in market participant households dairy is considered more as a cash commodity, the shift towards a market-oriented system may involve a shift of the control over milk income from women to men.…”