Handbook of Agricultural Economics - Chapter 82: Gender in agriculture and food systems

Both women and men are involved in agriculture globally, although their roles differ significantly by region and are changing rapidly. Gender shapes access to productive resources and opportunities, with women having less access to many assets, inputs, and services across a wide range of contexts. These gender differences in resources and opportunities shape the agricultural sector across different types of farming systems. This chapter critically reviews the rapidly growing empirical literature on gender and agriculture in low- and middle-income countries. We first deal with models and measurement, including household models of production and consumption, contrasting models that assume Pareto efficiency with those that do not. We discuss the implications of complex household structures, the neglect of jointness of household decisions, and incomplete risk-sharing within the household. We also discuss advances in measurement and data collection, focusing on measuring assets, decision-making, empowerment, and time use. We then review empirical studies applying gender analysis to production, markets, and well-being outcomes. We review studies on gender gaps in agricultural resources, agricultural productivity, and the gender dynamics of technology adoption. We then examine studies of gendered participation in markets, including impact evaluations of interventions to improve gender equity in marketing schemes. We review the literature on how women's empowerment and gender equality affect nutrition outcomes, and how gender dynamics affect the takeup and impact of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs. We conclude and identify areas for future work.