IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v36y2008i7p1247-1260.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic Efficiency and Supply Response of Women as Farm Managers: Comparative Evidence from Western Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Alene, Arega D.
  • Manyong, Victor M.
  • Omanya, Gospel O.
  • Mignouna, Hodeba D.
  • Bokanga, Mpoko
  • Odhiambo, George D.

Abstract

Summary This paper assessed the relative economic efficiency and output supply and input demand responses of women farmers in western Kenya. The results showed that women are as technically and allocatively efficient as men. However, neither men nor women have absolute allocative efficiency. Women farmers are equally responsive to price incentives in terms of output supply and input demand. While education and extension contact have significant effects on overall maize supply and input demand, only extension contact has significant effects among women farmers. The paper discusses a number of significant results and concludes with implications for policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Alene, Arega D. & Manyong, Victor M. & Omanya, Gospel O. & Mignouna, Hodeba D. & Bokanga, Mpoko & Odhiambo, George D., 2008. "Economic Efficiency and Supply Response of Women as Farm Managers: Comparative Evidence from Western Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 1247-1260, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:36:y:2008:i:7:p:1247-1260
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(08)00053-3
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Birkhaeuser, Dean & Evenson, Robert E & Feder, Gershon, 1991. "The Economic Impact of Agricultural Extension: A Review," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(3), pages 607-650, April.
    2. Lawrence J. Lau & Pan A. Yotopoulos, 1972. "Profit, Supply, and Factor Demand Functions," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 54(1), pages 11-18.
    3. Bindlish, Vishva & Evenson, Robert E, 1997. "The Impact of T&V Extension in Africa: The Experience of Kenya and Burkina Faso," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 12(2), pages 183-201, August.
    4. Randolph Barker & Yujiro Hayami, 1978. "Price Support Versus Input Subsidy for Food Self-Sufficiency in Developing Countries," Economics and Finance in Indonesia, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, vol. 26, pages 221-240, Juni.
    5. Mubarik Ali & John C. Flinn, 1989. "Profit Efficiency Among Basmati Rice Producers in Pakistan Punjab," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 71(2), pages 303-310.
    6. Doss, Cheryl R. & Morris, Michael L., 2001. "How does gender affect the adoption of agricultural innovations?: The case of improved maize technology in Ghana," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 27-39, June.
    7. Lau, Lawrence J., 1976. "A characterization of the normalized restricted profit function," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 131-163, February.
    8. J. Mohan Rao, 1989. "Agricultural Supply Response: A Survey," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 3(1), pages 1-22, March.
    9. Udry, Christopher & Hoddinott, John & Alderman, Harold & Haddad, Lawrence, 1995. "Gender differentials in farm productivity: implications for household efficiency and agricultural policy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 407-423, October.
    10. Saito, Katrine A. & Weidemann, C. Jean, 1990. "Agricultural extension for women farmers in Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 398, The World Bank.
    11. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Djato, Kouakou K., 1997. "Relative efficiency of women as farm managers: Profit function analysis in Cote d'Ivoire," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 47-53, March.
    12. Saleem, Samir Taha, 1988. "Relative efficiency of cotton farms in Sudanese irrigated agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 975-984, August.
    13. Surjit S. Sidhu & Carlos A. Baanante, 1979. "Farm-Level Fertilizer Demand for Mexican Wheat Varieties in the Indian Punjab," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 61(3), pages 455-462.
    14. Rao, J. Mohan, 1989. "Agricultural supply response: A survey," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 3(1), pages 1-22, March.
    15. Owens, Trudy & Hoddinott, John & Kinsey, Bill, 2003. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farm Production in Resettlement Areas of Zimbabwe," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 337-357, January.
    16. Udry, Christopher, 1996. "Gender, Agricultural Production, and the Theory of the Household," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 1010-1046, October.
    17. Saito, K.A. & Weidermann, C.J., 1990. "Agricultural Extension For Women Farmers In Africa," World Bank - Discussion Papers 103, World Bank.
    18. Doss, Cheryl R., 2001. "Designing Agricultural Technology for African Women Farmers: Lessons from 25 Years of Experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(12), pages 2075-2092, December.
    19. Mahmood H. Khan & Dennis R. Maki, 1979. "Effects of Farm Size on Economic Efficiency: The Case of Pakistan," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 61(1), pages 64-69.
    20. Yotopoulos, Pan A & Lau, Lawrence J, 1973. "A Test for Relative Economic Efficiency: Some Further Results," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(1), pages 214-223, March.
    21. Quisumbing, Agnes R., 1996. "Male-female differences in agricultural productivity: Methodological issues and empirical evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 24(10), pages 1579-1595, October.
    22. Warner, James M. & Campbell, D. A., 2000. "Supply Response in an Agrarian Economy with Non-Symmetric Gender Relations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(7), pages 1327-1340, July.
    23. Lau, Lawrence J & Yotopoulos, Pan A, 1971. "A Test for Relative Efficiency and Application to Indian Agriculture," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 94-109, March.
    24. Sidhu, Surjit S, 1974. "Relative Efficiency in Wheat Production in the Indian Punjab," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(4), pages 742-751, September.
    25. Peter R. Moock, 1976. "The Efficiency of Women as Farm Managers: Kenya," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 58(5), pages 831-835.
    26. Moock, Peter R., 1976. "The Efficiency of Women as Farm Managers : Kenya," 1976 Annual Meeting, August 15-18, State College, Pennsylvania 283850, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    27. Owens, Trudy & Hoddinott, John & Kinsey, Bill, 2003. "The Impact of Agricultural Extension on Farm Production in Resettlement Areas of Zimbabwe," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51(2), pages 337-57, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hirpa Tufa, Adane & Alene, Arega D. & Cole, Steven M. & Manda, Julius & Feleke, Shiferaw & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Chikoye, David & Manyong, Victor, 2022. "Gender differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity: Evidence from Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Arturo Aguilar & Eliana Carranza & Markus Goldstein & Talip Kilic & Gbemisola Oseni, 2015. "Decomposition of gender differentials in agricultural productivity in Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(3), pages 311-334, May.
    3. Kilic, Talip & Palacios-López, Amparo & Goldstein, Markus, 2015. "Caught in a Productivity Trap: A Distributional Perspective on Gender Differences in Malawian Agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 416-463.
    4. David Cuberes & Sadia Priyanka & Marc Teignier, 2019. "The determinants of entrepreneurship gender gaps: A cross‐country analysis," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 72-101, February.
    5. R. Wendy Karamba & Paul C. Winters, 2015. "Gender and agricultural productivity: implications of the Farm Input Subsidy Program in Malawi," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(3), pages 357-374, May.
    6. Ragasa, Catherine, 2012. "Gender and Institutional Dimensions of Agricultural Technology Adoption: A Review of Literature and Synthesis of 35 Case Studies," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126747, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Rie Muraoka & Tomoya Matsumoto & Songqing Jin & Keijiro Otsuka, 2016. "On the Possibility of a Maize Green Revolution in the Highlands of Kenya: An Assessment of Emerging Intensive Farming Systems," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: Keijiro Otsuka & Donald F. Larson (ed.), In Pursuit of an African Green Revolution, edition 1, chapter 0, pages 145-164, Springer.
    8. Larson,Donald F. & Savastano,Sara & Murray,Siobhan & Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & Larson,Donald F. & Savastano,Sara & Murray,Siobhan & Palacios-Lopez,Amparo, 2015. "Are women less productive farmers ? how markets and risk affect fertilizer use, productivity, and measured gender effects in Uganda," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7241, The World Bank.
    9. Kassie, Menale & Ndiritu, Simon Wagura & Stage, Jesper, 2014. "What Determines Gender Inequality in Household Food Security in Kenya? Application of Exogenous Switching Treatment Regression," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 153-171.
    10. de la O Campos, Ana Paula & Covarrubias, Katia Alejandra & Prieto Patron, Alberto, 2016. "How Does the Choice of the Gender Indicator Affect the Analysis of Gender Differences in Agricultural Productivity? Evidence from Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 17-33.
    11. Djurfeldt, Agnes Andersson & Hillbom, Ellen & Mulwafu, Wapulumuka O. & Mvula, Peter & Djurfeldt, Göran, 2018. "“The family farms together, the decisions, however are made by the man” —Matrilineal land tenure systems, welfare and decision making in rural Malawi," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 601-610.
    12. Thomas Lemma Argaw & Euan Phimister & Deborah Roberts, 2021. "From Farm to Kitchen: How Gender Affects Production Diversity and the Dietary Intake of Farm Households in Ethiopia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(1), pages 268-292, February.
    13. Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & López,Ramón & Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & López,Ramón, 2015. "Market imperfections exacerbate the gender gap: the case of Malawi," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7300, The World Bank.
    14. Campus, Daniela, 2017. "Gender differentials in agricultural productivity: an empirical evidence from Uganda," 2017 Sixth AIEAA Conference, June 15-16, Piacenza, Italy 261259, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA).
    15. Julien, Jacques C. & Bravo-Ureta, Boris E. & Rada, Nicholas E., 2023. "Gender and agricultural Productivity: Econometric evidence from Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    16. Palacios-López, Amparo & López, Ramon E., 2014. "Gender Differences in Agricultural Productivity: The Role of Market Imperfections," Working Papers 164061, University of Maryland, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    17. Talip Kilic & Paul Winters & Calogero Carletto, 2015. "Gender and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: introduction to the special issue," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 46(3), pages 281-284, May.
    18. Osanya, Jessica Apondi & Otieno,David Jakinda & Nyikal, Rose Adhiambo & Adam, Rahma, 2018. "An Assessment Of The Effect Of Gendered Decision-Making And Access To Institutional Support Services On Maize Production Efficiency In Kenya," Dissertations and Theses 280034, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    19. Bina Agarwal, 2015. "Food Security, Productivity, and Gender Inequality," Working Papers id:7566, eSocialSciences.
    20. Theriault, Veronique & Smale, Melinda & Haider, Hamza, 2016. "Gender Differences in the Adoption of Cereal Intensification Strategy Sets in Burkina Faso," Food Security International Development Working Papers 245896, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    21. Smale, Melinda, 2011. "Does Household Headship Affect Demand for Hybrid Maize Seed in Kenya? An Exploratory Analysis Based on 2010 Survey Data," Food Security International Development Working Papers 118475, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    22. Theriault, Veronique & Smale, Melinda & Haider, Hamza, 2017. "How Does Gender Affect Sustainable Intensification of Cereal Production in the West African Sahel? Evidence from Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 177-191.

    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. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Djato, Kouakou K., 1997. "Relative efficiency of women as farm managers: Profit function analysis in Cote d'Ivoire," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 16(1), pages 47-53, March.
    2. Andre Croppenstedt & Markus Goldstein & Nina Rosas, 2013. "Gender and Agriculture: Inefficiencies, Segregation, and Low Productivity Traps," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 79-109, February.
    3. Sepahvand, Mohammad H, 2019. "Agricultural productivity in Burkina Faso: The role of gender andrisk attitudes," Working Paper Series 2019:3, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    4. Mohammad Sepahvand, 2022. "Agricultural Productivity in Burkina Faso: The Role of Gender and Risk Attitudes," Working Papers ECARES 2022-32, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    5. Seebens, Holger, 2008. "One size fits all? Female Headed Households, Income Risk, and Access to Resources," 2008 International Congress, August 26-29, 2008, Ghent, Belgium 43609, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Campus, Daniela, 2017. "Gender differentials in agricultural productivity: an empirical evidence from Uganda," 2017 Sixth AIEAA Conference, June 15-16, Piacenza, Italy 261259, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA).
    7. Philip Brown, 2019. "Gender, Educational Attainment, and Farm Outcomes in New Zealand," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, January.
    8. Ragasa, Catherine, 2012. "Gender and Institutional Dimensions of Agricultural Technology Adoption: A Review of Literature and Synthesis of 35 Case Studies," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126747, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Quisumbing, Agnes & Behrman, Julia & Biermayr-Jenzano, Patricia & Wilde, Vicki & Noordeloos, Marco & Ragasa, Catherine & Beintema, Nienke, 2010. "Engendering agricultural research," IFPRI discussion papers 973, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Lawrence, Denis & Hone, Phillip, 1981. "Relative Economic Efficiency in the Australian Grazing Industry," Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 49(01), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Djato, Kouakou K., 1996. "Farm size, relative efficiency and agrarian policy in Cote d'Ivoire: profit function analysis of rice farms," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 14(2), pages 93-102, July.
    12. Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Behrman, Julia & Nkonya, Ephraim, 2010. "Understanding gender differences in agricultural productivity in Uganda and Nigeria," IFPRI discussion papers 1003, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Munir Ahmad & Sarfraz Khan Qureshi, 1999. "Recent Evidence on Farm Size and Land Productivity: Implications for Public Policy," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 38(4), pages 1135-1153.
    14. Mekonnen, Tigist, 2017. "Financing rural households and its impact: Evidence from randomized field experiment data," MERIT Working Papers 2017-009, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    15. Doss, Cheryl, 2015. "Women and Agricultural Productivity: What Does the Evidence Tell Us?," Center Discussion Papers 212153, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    16. John C. Quiggin & Anh Bui‐Lan, 1984. "The Use Of Cross‐Sectional Estimates Of Profit Functions For Tests Of Relative Efficiency: A Critical Review," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 28(1), pages 44-55, April.
    17. Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Pandolfelli, Lauren, 2010. "Promising Approaches to Address the Needs of Poor Female Farmers: Resources, Constraints, and Interventions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 581-592, April.
    18. Beatrice W. Muriithi & Kassie Menale & Gracious Diiro & Geoffrey Muricho, 2018. "Does gender matter in the adoption of push-pull pest management and other sustainable agricultural practices? Evidence from Western Kenya," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 253-272, April.
    19. Theriault, Veronique & Smale, Melinda & Haider, Hamza, 2016. "Gender Differences in the Adoption of Cereal Intensification Strategy Sets in Burkina Faso," Food Security International Development Working Papers 245896, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    20. Isaac Gershon Kodwo Ansah & Hayford Oduro & Awuah Lartey Osae, 2014. "A Comparative Analysis of Profit Efficiency in Maize and Cowpea Production in the Ejura Sekyedumase District of the Ashanti Region, Ghana," Research in Applied Economics, Macrothink Institute, vol. 6(4), pages 106-125, December.

    More about this item

    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:wdevel:v:36:y:2008:i:7:p:1247-1260. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    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.