IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v39y2022i3d10.1007_s10460-021-10291-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the pathways to women’s empowerment in Northern Ghana and the relationship with small-scale irrigation

Author

Listed:
  • Elizabeth Bryan

    (International Food Policy Research Institute)

  • Elisabeth Garner

    (Cornell University)

Abstract

Women’s empowerment is often an important goal of development interventions. This paper explores local perceptions of empowerment in the Upper East Region of Ghana and the pathways through which small-scale irrigation intervention targeted to men and women farmers contributes to women’s empowerment. Using qualitative data collected with 144 farmers and traders through 28 individual interviews and 16 focus group discussions, this paper innovates a framework to integrate the linkages between small-scale irrigation and three dimensions of women’s empowerment: resources, agency, and achievements. The relationship between the components of empowerment and small-scale irrigation are placed within a larger context of social change underlying these relationships. This shows that many women face serious constraints to participating in and benefitting from small-scale irrigation, including difficulties accessing land and water and gender norms that limit women’s ability to control farm assets. Despite these constraints, many women do benefit from participating in irrigated farming activities leading to an increase in their agency and well-being achievements. For some women, these benefits are indirect—these women allocate their time to more preferred activities when the household gains access to modern irrigation technology. The result is a new approach to understanding women’s empowerment in relation to irrigation technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Bryan & Elisabeth Garner, 2022. "Understanding the pathways to women’s empowerment in Northern Ghana and the relationship with small-scale irrigation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 905-920, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:39:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10460-021-10291-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-021-10291-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-021-10291-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-021-10291-1?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. Kassie, Menale & Fisher, Monica & Muricho, Geoffrey & Diiro, Gracious, 2020. "Women’s empowerment boosts the gains in dietary diversity from agricultural technology adoption in rural Kenya," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    2. Grant Miller & B. Piedad Urdinola, 2010. "Cyclicality, Mortality, and the Value of Time: The Case of Coffee Price Fluctuations and Child Survival in Colombia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 118(1), pages 113-155, February.
    3. Giordano, Meredith & de Fraiture, C. & Weight, Elizabeth & van der Bliek, Julie EC Eds., 2012. "Water for wealth and food security: supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management. Synthesis report of the AgWater Solutions Project," IWMI Research Reports H045055, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Namara, Regassa E & Awuni, J. A. & Barry, Boubacar & Giordano, Mark & Hope, Lesley & Owusu, Eric S. & Forkuor, Gerald, 2011. "Smallholder shallow groundwater irrigation development in the upper east region of Ghana," IWMI Research Reports H044687, International Water Management Institute.
    5. Unknown, 2012. "Water for wealth and food security: supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management. Synthesis report of the AgWater Solutions Project," IWMI Reports 158834, International Water Management Institute.
    6. Iannotti, Lora & Cunningham, Kenda & Ruel, Marie, 2009. "Improving diet quality and micronutrient nutrition: Homestead food production in Bangladesh," IFPRI discussion papers 928, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Gillespie, Stuart & Harris, Jody & Kadiyala, Suneetha, 2012. "The Agriculture-Nutrition Disconnect in India: What Do We Know?:," IFPRI discussion papers 1187, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Gayatri Koolwal & Dominique van de Walle, 2013. "Access to Water, Women's Work, and Child Outcomes," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(2), pages 369-405.
    9. Cheryl R Doss & Carmen Diana Deere & Abena D Oduro & Hema Swaminathan, 2014. "The Gender Asset and Wealth Gaps," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 57(3-4), pages 400-409, December.
    10. Lefore, N. & Giordano, Meredith & Ringler, C. & Barron, J., "undated". "Sustainable and equitable growth in farmer-led irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: what will it take?," Papers published in Journals (Open Access) H049101, International Water Management Institute.
    11. van Koppen, Barbara & Hope, Lesley & Colenbrander, W., 2012. "Gender aspects of small-scale private irrigation in Africa," IWMI Research Reports 158356, International Water Management Institute.
    12. Karimli, Leyla & Lecoutere, Els & Wells, Christine R. & Ismayilova, Leyla, 2021. "More assets, more decision-making power? Mediation model in a cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of the graduation program on women's empowerment in Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    13. Ross, Kara L. & Zereyesus, Yacob & Shanoyan, Aleksan & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2015. "The Health Effects of Women Empowerment: Recent Evidence from Northern Ghana," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(1), pages 1-17, February.
    14. Johnson, Nancy L. & Kovarik, Chiara & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Njuki, Jemimah & Quisumbing, Agnes, 2016. "Gender, Assets, and Agricultural Development: Lessons from Eight Projects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 295-311.
    15. Ecker, Olivier & Van Asselt, Joanna, 2017. "Food and nutrition security in transforming Ghana: A descriptive analysis of national trends and regional patterns," IFPRI discussion papers 1650, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Bryan, Elizabeth & Lefore, Nicole, 2021. "Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits," IFPRI discussion papers 2025, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Sophie Theis & Nicole Lefore & Ruth Meinzen-Dick & Elizabeth Bryan, 2018. "What happens after technology adoption? Gendered aspects of small-scale irrigation technologies in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(3), pages 671-684, September.
    18. Giordano, Meredith & de Fraiture, Charlotte, 2014. "Small private irrigation: Enhancing benefits and managing trade-offs," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 175-182.
    19. Yokying, Phanwin & Lambrecht, Isabel, 2020. "Landownership and the gender gap in agriculture: Insights from northern Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    20. Xie, Hua & You, Liangzhi & Wielgosz, Benjamin & Ringler, Claudia, 2014. "Estimating the potential for expanding smallholder irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 183-193.
    21. You, Liangzhi & Ringler, Claudia & Wood-Sichra, Ulrike & Robertson, Richard & Wood, Stanley & Zhu, Tingju & Nelson, Gerald & Guo, Zhe & Sun, Yan, 2011. "What is the irrigation potential for Africa? A combined biophysical and socioeconomic approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 770-782.
    22. Giordano, Meredith & de Fraiture, C. & Weight, Elizabeth & van der Bliek, Julie EC Eds., 2012. "Water for wealth and food security: supporting farmer-driven investments in agricultural water management. Synthesis report of the AgWater Solutions Project," IWMI Research Reports H045022, International Water Management Institute.
    23. Deepa Narayan, 2005. "Measuring Empowerment : Cross Disciplinary Perspectives," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7441, December.
    24. Naila Kabeer, 1999. "Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women's Empowerment," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 435-464, July.
    25. C. Leigh Anderson & Travis W. Reynolds & Pierre Biscaye & Vedavati Patwardhan & Carly Schmidt, 2021. "Economic Benefits of Empowering Women in Agriculture: Assumptions and Evidence," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(2), pages 193-208, February.
    26. Ruth Alsop & Mette Bertelsen & Jeremy Holland, 2006. "Empowerment in Practice : From Analysis to Implementation," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6980, December.
    27. Burney, Jennifer A. & Naylor, Rosamond L., 2012. "Smallholder Irrigation as a Poverty Alleviation Tool in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 110-123.
    28. Simone Passarelli & Dawit Mekonnen & Elizabeth Bryan & Claudia Ringler, 2018. "Evaluating the pathways from small-scale irrigation to dietary diversity: evidence from Ethiopia and Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 981-997, August.
    29. de Fraiture, Charlotte & Giordano, Meredith, 2014. "Small private irrigation: A thriving but overlooked sector," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 167-174.
    30. Kramer, Berber & Lambrecht, Isabel, 2019. "Gender and preferences for non-farm income diversification: A framed field experiment in Ghana:," IFPRI discussion papers 1855, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    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. Shrestha, Gitta & Uprety, Labisha & Khadka, Manohara & Mukherji, Aditi, 2023. "Technology for whom? Solar irrigation pumps, women, and smallholders in Nepal," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 1-7:1143546.
    2. Gloria Adobea Odei Obeng‐Amoako & Clarice Panyin Nyan & Joseph Clottey & Sheila Agyemang Oppong & Edward Kusi Asafo‐Agyei & Pacem Kotchofa & Charles Yaw Okyere & Solomon Zena Walelign & Takyiwaa Manuh, 2023. "PROTOCOL: The impact of infrastructure on low‐income consumers' nutritious diet, women's economic empowerment, and gender equality in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(3), September.

    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. Domènech, Laia, 2015. "Is reliable water access the solution to undernutrition? A review of the potential of irrigation to solve nutrition and gender gaps in Africa South of the Sahara:," IFPRI discussion papers 1428, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Simone Passarelli & Dawit Mekonnen & Elizabeth Bryan & Claudia Ringler, 2018. "Evaluating the pathways from small-scale irrigation to dietary diversity: evidence from Ethiopia and Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(4), pages 981-997, August.
    3. Lefore, N. & Giordano, Meredith & Ringler, C. & Barron, J., "undated". "Sustainable and equitable growth in farmer-led irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: what will it take?," Papers published in Journals (Open Access) H049101, International Water Management Institute.
    4. Merrey, D. J. & Lefore, Nicole, 2018. "Improving the availability and effectiveness of rural and “Micro” finance for small-scale irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa: a review of lessons learned," IWMI Working Papers H049027, International Water Management Institute.
    5. Mekonnen, Dawit & Abate, Gashaw & Yimam, Seid, 2021. "Irrigation and Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315339, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Dessalegn, Mengistu & Merrey, D. J., 2014. "Is ‘Social Cooperation’ for traditional irrigation, while ‘Technology’ is for motor pump irrigation?," IWMI Reports 201004, International Water Management Institute.
    7. Otoo, Miriam & Lefore, Nicole & Schmitter, Petra & Barron, Jennie & Gebregziabher, Gebrehaweria, 2018. "Business model scenarios and suitability: smallholder solar pump-based irrigation in Ethiopia. Agricultural Water Management – Making a Business Case for Smallholders," IWMI Reports 273354, International Water Management Institute.
    8. Maurice Osewe & Aijun Liu & Tim Njagi, 2020. "Farmer-Led Irrigation and Its Impacts on Smallholder Farmers’ Crop Income: Evidence from Southern Tanzania," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-13, February.
    9. Sophie Theis & Nicole Lefore & Ruth Meinzen-Dick & Elizabeth Bryan, 2018. "What happens after technology adoption? Gendered aspects of small-scale irrigation technologies in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Tanzania," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(3), pages 671-684, September.
    10. van Koppen, Barbara, 2022. "Living customary water tenure in rights-based water management in Sub-Saharan Africa," IWMI Research Reports 329165, International Water Management Institute.
    11. Berhe, Gebremeskel Teklay & Baartman, Jantiene E.M. & Veldwisch, Gert Jan & Grum, Berhane & Ritsema, Coen J., 2022. "Irrigation development and management practices in Ethiopia: A systematic review on existing problems, sustainability issues and future directions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    12. Xie, Hua & You, Liangzhi & Dile, Yihun T. & Worqlul, Abeyou W. & Bizimana, Jean-Claude & Srinivasan, Raghavan & Richardson, James W. & Gerik, Thomas & Clark, Neville, 2021. "Mapping development potential of dry-season small-scale irrigation in Sub-Saharan African countries under joint biophysical and economic constraints - An agent-based modeling approach with an applicat," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    13. CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE)., 2017. "Enabling sustainable, productive smallholder farming systems through improved land and water management," IWMI Water Policy Briefings 311132, International Water Management Institute.
    14. Alkire, Sabina & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Seymour, Greg & Vaz, Ana, 2013. "The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-91.
    15. Mwangi Joseph Kanyua, 2020. "Effect of Imposed Self-Governance on Irrigation Rules Design among Horticultural Producers in Peri-Urban Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Balasubramanya, Soumya & Kafle, Kashi, 2021. "Irrigation for reducing food insecurity: the case of Niger," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313901, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Kafle, Kashi & Omotilewa, Oluwatoba J., 2021. "Who is likely to benefit from public and private sector investments in farmer-led irrigation? Evidence from Ethiopia," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313964, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    18. Aarnoudse, E. & Closas, Alvar & Lefore, Nicole, 2018. "Water user associations: a review of approaches and alternative management options for Sub-Saharan Africa," IWMI Working Papers H048782, International Water Management Institute.
    19. Mwangi, Joseph Kanyua & Crewett, Wibke, 2019. "The impact of irrigation on small-scale African indigenous vegetable growers’ market access in peri-urban Kenya," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 295-305.
    20. Sarpong, D. B. & Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe & Minh, Thai & Cofie, Olufunke, 2022. "Sustainable financing ecosystem for cocoa irrigation in Ghana: a literature review," IWMI Books, Reports H051654, International Water Management Institute.

    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:spr:agrhuv:v:39:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10460-021-10291-1. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.