IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v127y2023ics0264837723000455.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Large-scale agricultural investment and female employment in African communities: Quantitative and qualitative insights from Nigeria

Author

Listed:
  • Edafe, Oluwatosin D.
  • Osabuohien, Evans
  • Matthew, Oluwatoyin
  • Osabohien, Romanus
  • Khatoon, Rehmat

Abstract

This study examines how large-scale agricultural investments (LSAIs) affect employment outcomes of female-headed households in Nigeria. It focuses on wage income and labour allocations of households in communities where LSAIs occurred in comparison with households in communities where LSAIs did not occur. It engages a mixed method approach, which involves the quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative data was sourced from the Living Standards Measurement Study-Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), which was analysed using Propensity Score Matching (PSM). The qualitative analysis entails in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs). The results show a positive relationship with the household income living in communities with LSAIs, but a negative association with labour allocation to agricultural activities. Also, the findings indicate that households in communities where LSAIs took place received higher wages and spent fewer hours in agriculture. Though, female-headed households spent more time on agricultural activities than the male-headed households, they earn less. The analysis from the qualitative study show, among others things, that female-headed households spent more time on off-farm business despite the fact that they earn less. The study concludes by recommending that the possible adverse employment effects of LSAIs could be reduced by optimising its positive impact, especially with respect to female-headed households in rural communities where most of such investments occur.

Suggested Citation

  • Edafe, Oluwatosin D. & Osabuohien, Evans & Matthew, Oluwatoyin & Osabohien, Romanus & Khatoon, Rehmat, 2023. "Large-scale agricultural investment and female employment in African communities: Quantitative and qualitative insights from Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:127:y:2023:i:c:s0264837723000455
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106579
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837723000455
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106579?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kumeh, Eric Mensah & Omulo, Godfrey, 2019. "Youth’s access to agricultural land in Sub-Saharan Africa: A missing link in the global land grabbing discourse," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Cotula, Lorenzo, 2009. "Land grab or development opportunity? International farmland deals in Africa," Columbia FDI Perspectives 8, Columbia University, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI).
    3. Tolulope Osinubi & Simplice Asongu, 2020. "Globalization and female economic participation in MINT and BRICS countries," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 48(6), pages 1177-1193, October.
    4. Herrmann, Raoul T., 2017. "Large-Scale Agricultural Investments and Smallholder Welfare: A Comparison of Wage Labor and Outgrower Channels in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 294-310.
    5. Osabuohien, Evans S. & Efobi, Uchenna R. & Herrmann, Raoul T. & Gitau, Ciliaka M.W., 2019. "Female labor outcomes and large-scale agricultural land investments: Macro-micro evidencefrom Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 716-728.
    6. Seema Jayachandran, 2015. "The Roots of Gender Inequality in Developing Countries," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 63-88, August.
    7. Bottazzi, Patrick & Crespo, David & Bangura, Leonard Omar & Rist, Stephan, 2018. "Evaluating the livelihood impacts of a large-scale agricultural investment: Lessons from the case of a biofuel production company in northern Sierra Leone," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 128-137.
    8. Abali, I. & Emerhirhi, E. & Okoromah, B., 2014. "Gender mainstreaming in agricultural production: A review," Nigerian Journal of Rural Sociology, Rural Sociological Association of Nigeria, vol. 15(1), December.
    9. Janvier Mwisha Kasiwa, 2018. "Household Economic Well-being and Child Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 20(1), pages 48-58.
    10. Klaus Deininger & Derek Byerlee & Jonathan Lindsay & Andrew Norton & Harris Selod & Mercedes Stickler, 2011. "Rising Global Interest in Farmland : Can it Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits?," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2263, December.
    11. Dzodzi Tsikata & Joseph Awetori Yaro, 2014. "When a Good Business Model is Not Enough: Land Transactions and Gendered Livelihood Prospects in Rural Ghana," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 202-226, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wegenast, Tim & Richetta, Cécile & Krauser, Mario & Leibik, Alexander, 2022. "Grabbed trust? The impact of large-scale land acquisitions on social trust in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Simplice A. Asongu & Nicholas M. Odhiambo, 2023. "Economic sectors and globalization channels to gender economic inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/020, African Governance and Development Institute..
    3. Abdul-Hanan Abdallah & Michael Ayamga & Joseph A. Awuni, 2023. "Impact of land grabbing on food security: evidence from Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6071-6094, July.
    4. Atuoye, Kilian Nasung & Luginaah, Isaac & Hambati, Herbert & Campbell, Gwyn, 2021. "Who are the losers? Gendered-migration, climate change, and the impact of large scale land acquisitions on food security in coastal Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Lay, Jann & Nolte, Kerstin & Sipangule, Kacana, 2021. "Large-scale farms in Zambia: Locational patterns and spillovers to smallholder agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    6. Osabuohien, Evans S. & Efobi, Uchenna R. & Herrmann, Raoul T. & Gitau, Ciliaka M.W., 2019. "Female labor outcomes and large-scale agricultural land investments: Macro-micro evidencefrom Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 716-728.
    7. Bélair, Joanny, 2021. "Farmland investments in Tanzania: The impact of protected domestic markets and patronage relations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. Fabry, Anna & Van den Broeck, Goedele & Maertens, Miet, 2022. "Decent work in global food value chains: Evidence from Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    9. Chilombo, Andrew & Van Der Horst, Dan, 2021. "Livelihoods and coping strategies of local communities on previous customary land in limbo of commercial agricultural development: Lessons from the farm block program in Zambia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    10. Bin Yang & Jun He, 2021. "Global Land Grabbing: A Critical Review of Case Studies across the World," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, March.
    11. Isaac K. Ofori & Andreas Freytag & Simplice A. Asongu, 2023. "Economic globalisation and Africa's quest for greener and more inclusive growth: The missing link," Jena Economics Research Papers 2023-004, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    12. Nanhthavong, Vong & Bieri, Sabin & Nguyen, Anh-Thu & Hett, Cornelia & Epprecht, Michael, 2022. "Proletarianization and gateways to precarization in the context of land-based investments for agricultural commercialization in Lao PDR," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    13. Asongu, Simplice A. & Nounamo, Yann & Njangang, Henri & Tadadjeu, Sosson, 2021. "Gender inclusive intermediary education, financial stability and female employment in the industry in Sub-Saharan Africa," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    14. Kinda, Somlanare Romuald & Kere, Nazindigouba Eric & Yogo, Thierry Urbain & Simpasa, Musonda Anthony, 2022. "Do land rushes really improve food security in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    15. Asongu, Simplice A. & Adegboye, Alex & Nnanna, Joseph, 2021. "Promoting female economic inclusion for tax performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 159-170.
    16. Bisrat Haile Gebrekidan & Thomas Heckelei & Sebastian Rasch, 2020. "Characterizing Farmers and Farming System in Kilombero Valley Floodplain, Tanzania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-21, August.
    17. Adams, Timothy & Gerber, Jean-David & Amacker, Michèle, 2019. "Constraints and opportunities in gender relations: Sugarcane outgrower schemes in Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 282-294.
    18. Mama Usman, Aminat, 2022. "Globalization, Economic Development On Gender Inequality In Nigeria," Ilorin Journal of Business and Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ilorin, vol. 24(2), pages 137-154, October.
    19. Isaac K. Ofori & Andreas Freytag & Simplice A. Asongu, 2023. "Economic globalisation and Africa’s quest for greener and more inclusive growth: The missing link," Working Papers 23/032, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    20. Nolte, Kerstin & Ostermeier, Martin, 2017. "Labour Market Effects of Large-Scale Agricultural Investment: Conceptual Considerations and Estimated Employment Effects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 430-446.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural investments; Employment outcome; Labour allocation; Wage income;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:127:y:2023:i:c:s0264837723000455. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.