Author: Talip Kilic, Research Economist, The World Bank For the Living Standards Measurement Study

1. Gender Differentials in Productivity:
Identifying Opportunities for Agricultural
Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
TALIP KILIC
Research Economist
Living Standards Measurement Study
Poverty & Inequality Group
Development Research Group
The World Bank
tkilic@worldbank.org
www.worldbank.org/lsms-isa
Presented at the International Women’s Day 2014 Event
“Closing the Gender Gap in Agriculture”
7 March 2014
FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy

2. Narrative in a nutshell
Closing the
Gender Gap in
Agricultural
Productivity
Smallholderbased
Agricultural
Growth
Poverty Reduction &
Improvement of
Nutritional Outcomes

3. What do (don’t) we know?
• Estimates of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Africa
range from 4 to 40 percent, the majority around 20 to 30 percent
However….
• Hurdle #1: Household level analyses overlook within household
differentiation of individual roles
• Hurdle #2: Plot level analyses are largely based on detailed but
non-representative/case study data.
• Hurdle #3: Inadequate coverage of large & diverse populations

4. How do we improve the
knowledge base ?
• New research program, with funding from IFAD & World Bank
• Using new (gender-disaggregated) data from the Living
Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on
Agriculture (LSMS-ISA), with funding from BMGF
• Nationally- & regionally- representative multi-topic
household panel surveys with an emphasis on agriculture
• Geo-referenced household & plot locations for improved links
to geospatial data sources, allowing better understanding of
environmental constraints
• Focus: Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania & Uganda

5. How do we improve the
knowledge base ? (Cont’d)
• Applying new empirical methods to differentiate between the
contributions of gender differences in
– Levels of factors of production: Endowment effect
– Returns to factors of production: Structure effect
• Outlining relative contributions of each factor towards the gap,
across & within countries
• Key step in informing policies to alleviate gender differences
underlying the gap

6. Measuring the Gender Gap
in Malawi
• 26% of agricultural plots managed by females
• On average, female-managed plots are 25% less
productive
• Gap is bigger for the more productive farmers
Kilic, T., Palacios-Lopez, A., & Goldstein, M. (2013) “Caught in a productivity trap: a
distributional perspective on gender differences in Malawian agriculture.” World
Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6381

7. Explaining the 25% Gap
• 80% of the gap is driven by unequal endowments
–
–
–
–
Household adult male labor input
High-value export crop cultivation
Access to agricultural implements
Inorganic fertilizer
• Where does the 20% structure effect come from?
– Lower returns to adult male labor & inorganic fertilizer on
female-managed plots
– Domestic duties (children in particular) lower agricultural
productivity

8. Way forward
• Set of empirical country studies using similar methodology to be
published in Agricultural Economics (under review)
• Selected results distilled in a report “Leveling the Field:
Improving Opportunities for Women Farmers in Africa, jointly
produced by WB Africa Region Gender Practice & ONE
Campaign, targeted at policymakers
• The report pulls together the binding constraints to closing the
gap within & across countries, teases out commonalities

9. Ethiopia
Factor
Malawi
Niger
Northern Nigeria Southern Nigeria
Tanzania
Uganda
Levels Returns Levels Returns Levels Returns Levels Returns Levels Returns Levels Returns Levels Returns
Land Size
Other Land Characteristics*
Improved/Purchased Seeds
Pesticide/Herbicide Use†
Non-Labor
Fertilizer Use (Organic or Inorganic)†
Inputs
Irrigation
Farm Tools & Equipment
Household Size
HH Male Farm Labor†
HH Female Farm Labor†
Labor
Hired Farm Labor†
Time Spent on Farm Activities
Child Dependency Ratio
Information
Agricultural Extension
Export/Cash Crops
Access to
Credit or Agricultural Capital
Markets
Distance to Market or Road
Non-Farm Income/Activity
Land
• Offers a cross-country
outlook on binding
constraints in the
domains of:






Age & Human

Capital
Wealth
Land
Labor Inputs
Non-Labor Inputs
Information
Market Access
Human Capital
Age
Wealth
• Identifies policy
priorities to address
gender differences in
levels of & returns to
key inputs
• Reviews the (scant)
evidence on how to
address the
differences, provides a
set of emerging &
promising policy
options
Years of Schooling
Wealth/Consumption
Launched planned for March 18/19. Stay tuned!

10. Gender Differentials in Productivity:
Identifying Opportunities for Agricultural
Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
TALIP KILIC
Research Economist
Living Standards Measurement Study
Poverty & Inequality Group
Development Research Group
The World Bank
tkilic@worldbank.org
www.worldbank.org/lsms-isa
Presented at the International Women’s Day 2014 Event
“Closing the Gender Gap in Agriculture”
7 March 2014
FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy