IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v150y2025ics0264837724004113.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Adoption of land restoration activities in Ethiopia: Understanding gender-labor dimensions

Author

Listed:
  • Balasubramanya, Soumya
  • Kafle, Kashi

Abstract

The role of labor in the adoption of land restoration activities (LRA) that reduce soil degradation in smallholder agricultural systems has received inadequate attention. We examine the gender-labor dimensions of the adoption of LRAs by smallholder agricultural households in rural Ethiopia, in a context where more than 90 percent of agricultural households have some form of private land tenure security, which is regarded to be an important enabling factor for restoring private agricultural land. We use three panels of Living Standard Measurement Study – Integrated Survey in Agriculture (LSMS—ISA) data between 2010 and 2016 and employ panel data estimators to provide a correlational understanding of the role of male and female labor in the adoption of LRA. We also estimate these relationships for sub-samples of male-headed and female-headed households—to examine heterogeneity in the gender-labor dimensions. Controlling for tenure security, the probability of adopting LRA is significantly higher when agricultural households have greater person-days of female household and female non-household labor. This holds for all both sub-samples of households. The area of land under LRA is positively and significantly most responsive to person-days of female non-household labor in all four types of households as well. Female non-household labor has been critical for increasing the adoption of LRA on private lands of rural households in Ethiopia in recent years. In a context with high incidence of tenure security, the results make a case for continued support towards LRA adoption with a specific focus on reducing labor shortages and drudgery.

Suggested Citation

  • Balasubramanya, Soumya & Kafle, Kashi, 2025. "Adoption of land restoration activities in Ethiopia: Understanding gender-labor dimensions," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:150:y:2025:i:c:s0264837724004113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107458
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837724004113
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2024.107458?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 look for a different version below or

    for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sartori, Martina & Philippidis, George & Ferrari, Emanuele & Borrelli, Pasquale & Lugato, Emanuele & Montanarella, Luca & Panagos, Panos, 2019. "A linkage between the biophysical and the economic: Assessing the global market impacts of soil erosion," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 299-312.
    2. Bryceson, Deborah Fahy, 2019. "Gender and generational patterns of African deagrarianization: Evolving labour and land allocation in smallholder peasant household farming, 1980–2015," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 60-72.
    3. Moreda, Tsegaye, 2018. "Contesting conventional wisdom on the links between land tenure security and land degradation: Evidence from Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 75-83.
    4. Cheryl Doss, 2013. "Intrahousehold Bargaining and Resource Allocation in Developing Countries-super-1," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 52-78, February.
    5. Shiferaw, Bekele & Holden, Stein, 1999. "Soil Erosion and Smallholders' Conservation Decisions in the Highlands of Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 739-752, April.
    6. Abera, Wondwosen & Assen, Mohammed & Budds, Jessica, 2020. "Determinants of agricultural land management practices among smallholder farmers in the Wanka watershed, northwestern highlands of EthiopiaI," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    7. Lovo, Stefania, 2016. "Tenure Insecurity and Investment in Soil Conservation. Evidence from Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 219-229.
    8. Daniel Ayalew Ali & Stefan Dercon & Madhur Gautam, 2011. "Property rights in a very poor country: tenure insecurity and investment in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 42(1), pages 75-86, January.
    9. Bambio, Yiriyibin & Bouayad Agha, Salima, 2018. "Land tenure security and investment: Does strength of land right really matter in rural Burkina Faso?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 130-147.
    10. Bridget. B. Umar & Jens. B. Aune & Fred. H. Johnsen & Obed. I. Lungu, 2011. "Options for Improving Smallholder Conservation Agriculture in Zambia," Journal of Agricultural Science, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 3(3), pages 1-50, September.
    11. Cheryl R. Doss & Agnes R. Quisumbing, 2020. "Understanding rural household behavior: Beyond Boserup and Becker," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 47-58, January.
    12. Nkomoki, William & Bavorová, Miroslava & Banout, Jan, 2018. "Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and food security threats: Effects of land tenure in Zambia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 532-538.
    13. Menale Kassie & Precious Zikhali & John Pender & Gunnar Köhlin, 2010. "The Economics of Sustainable Land Management Practices in the Ethiopian Highlands," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 605-627, September.
    14. Gebregziabher, Dawit & Soltani, Arezoo, 2019. "Exclosures in people’s minds: perceptions and attitudes in the Tigray region, Ethiopia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 1-14.
    15. Knowler, Duncan & Bradshaw, Ben, 2007. "Farmers' adoption of conservation agriculture: A review and synthesis of recent research," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 25-48, February.
    16. Bezu, Sosina & Holden, Stein, 2008. "Can food-for-work encourage agricultural production?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 541-549, December.
    17. Cheryl Doss, 2012. "Intrahousehold Bargaining and Resource Allocation in Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Reports 9145, The World Bank Group.
    18. Menale Kassie & John Pender & Mahmud Yesuf & Gunnar Kohlin & Randy Bluffstone & Elias Mulugeta, 2008. "Estimating returns to soil conservation adoption in the northern Ethiopian highlands," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 38(2), pages 213-232, March.
    19. Shiferaw, Bekele & Holden, Stein T., 1998. "Resource degradation and adoption of land conservation technologies in the Ethiopian Highlands: A case study in Andit Tid, North Shewa," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 233-247, May.
    20. Barrett, Christopher B., 2002. "Food security and food assistance programs," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 40, pages 2103-2190, Elsevier.
    21. Legesse, Befikadu A. & Jefferson-Moore, Kenrett & Thomas, Terrence, 2018. "Impacts of land tenure and property rights on reforestation intervention in Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 494-499.
    22. Dominic Woolf & Dawit Solomon & Johannes Lehmann, 2018. "Land restoration in food security programmes: synergies with climate change mitigation," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(10), pages 1260-1270, November.
    23. Fenske, James, 2011. "Land tenure and investment incentives: Evidence from West Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 137-156, July.
    24. McLain, Rebecca & Lawry, Steven & Guariguata, Manuel R. & Reed, James, 2021. "Toward a tenure-responsive approach to forest landscape restoration: A proposed tenure diagnostic for assessing restoration opportunities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    25. Uchendu Eugene Chigbu, 2023. "Connecting land tenure to land restoration," Development in Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(7), pages 762-770, October.
    26. Vanya Slavchevska & Susan Kaaria & Sanna-Liisa Taivalmaa, 2016. "Feminization of Agriculture in the Context of Rural Transformations," World Bank Publications - Reports 25099, The World Bank Group.
    27. Ojha, Roshan Babu & Atreya, Kishor & Kristiansen, Paul & Devkota, Deepa & Wilson, Brian, 2022. "A systematic review and gap analysis of drivers, impacts, and restoration options for abandoned croplands in Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    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. Donkor, Emmanuel & Frimpong, Frederick Kwabena & Owusu, Victor, 2023. "Land tenure and investment in productive inputs in Ghanaian cocoa farming: A generalised structural equation modelling approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    2. Eskander, Shaikh M.S.U. & Barbier, Edward B., 2017. "Tenure Security, Human Capital and Soil Conservation in an Overlapping Generation Rural Economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 176-185.
    3. Djenontin, Ida Nadia S. & Zulu, Leo C. & Richardson, Robert B., 2022. "Smallholder farmers and forest landscape restoration in sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Central Malawi," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    4. Bambio, Yiriyibin & Bouayad Agha, Salima, 2018. "Land tenure security and investment: Does strength of land right really matter in rural Burkina Faso?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 130-147.
    5. Petan Hamazakaza & Gillian Kabwe & Elias Kuntashula & Anthony Egeru & Robert Asiimwe, 2022. "Adoption of Sustainable Agriculture Intensification in Maize-Based Farming Systems of Katete District in Zambia," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-15, June.
    6. Menale Kassie & Gunnar Köhlin & Randy Bluffstone & Stein Holden, 2011. "Are soil conservation technologies “win‐win?” A case study of Anjeni in the north‐western Ethiopian highlands," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 89-99, May.
    7. Hailemariam Teklewold & Menale Kassie & Bekele Shiferaw, 2013. "Adoption of Multiple Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Rural Ethiopia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(3), pages 597-623, September.
    8. Deininger, Klaus & Xia, Fang & Kilic, Talip & Moylan, Heather, 2021. "Investment impacts of gendered land rights in customary tenure systems: Substantive and methodological insights from Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    9. Thanyaporn Chankrajang & Jessica Vechbanyongratana, 2021. "Land, ladies, and the law: a case study on women's land rights and welfare in Southeast Asia in the nineteenth century," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(1), pages 138-163, February.
    10. Mubanga, Fiona Chisanga & Bwalya Umar, Bridget, 2020. "Environmental discounting behaviour of smallholder farmers in Chibombo District, Central Zambia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    11. Hörner, Denise & Wollni, Meike, 2021. "Integrated soil fertility management and household welfare in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    12. Leonhardt, Heidi & Penker, Marianne & Salhofer, Klaus, 2019. "Do farmers care about rented land? A multi-method study on land tenure and soil conservation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 228-239.
    13. Nacka, Marina & Drichoutis, Andreas C. & Nayga, Rodolfo, 2024. "Women's Empowerment and Intra-Household Bargaining Power," MPRA Paper 120095, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Chigbu, Uchendu Eugene & Babalola, Taiwo Oladapo, 2025. "Unhiding the “land rights” and “land wrongs” in sub-Saharan Africa: An interpretive scoping review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    15. Alhola, Sara & Gwaindepi, Abel, 2024. "Land tenure formalisation and perceived tenure security: Two decades of the land administration project in Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    16. Gebeyanesh Zerssa & Debela Feyssa & Dong-Gill Kim & Bettina Eichler-Löbermann, 2021. "Challenges of Smallholder Farming in Ethiopia and Opportunities by Adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-26, February.
    17. Haider, Hamza & Smale, Melinda & Theriault, Veronique, 2018. "Intensification and intrahousehold decisions: Fertilizer adoption in Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 310-320.
    18. Ida Nadia S. Djenontin & Samson Foli & Leo C. Zulu, 2018. "Revisiting the Factors Shaping Outcomes for Forest and Landscape Restoration in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Way Forward for Policy, Practice and Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-34, March.
    19. Thomas Daum & Filippo Capezzone & Regina Birner, 2021. "Using smartphone app collected data to explore the link between mechanization and intra-household allocation of time in Zambia," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(2), pages 411-429, June.
    20. Wolka, Kebede & Sterk, Geert & Biazin, Birhanu & Negash, Mesele, 2018. "Benefits, limitations and sustainability of soil and water conservation structures in Omo-Gibe basin, Southwest Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-10.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:150:y:2025:i:c:s0264837724004113. 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.