Factors enabling the participation of women in income sharing among banana (musa spp.) producing households in South Imenti, Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

The growing demand for banana coupled with the introduction of better planting material in the last decade has led to increased area under banana production and commercialization. Just like most subsistence crops, banana production has been female dominated and controlled. However, commercialization has led to a dynamic shift in production with more men taking up active roles in the value chain. This has led to the displacement of women from the high value chain with men taking up dominant roles. The main objective of this paper was to determine factors that favor the participation of women in sharing of banana income. Data collection was done in March 2017 from 160 households in South Imenti, Meru County, Kenya. A systematic sampling technique was used to draw the respondents. Qualitative data was acquired through the use of key informant interviews and focus group discussions. A fractional logit model was used to determine the effects of independent variables on the participation of women in income sharing. Findings from the regression analysis indicate that the presence of off-farm income within the household increases the probability of a woman taking part in household decision-making.

Keywords:

• Banana
• income-sharing
• Kenya
• women
• resource allocation

Note

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 In this study, a household was considered to be a unit comprising of one or more people living together in the last six months whilst undertaking production and consumption activities together.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Violet Nyabaro

Ms. Violet Nyabaro is an Agricultural Economist who holds a Master of Science in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Nairobi. She has done research in gender and resource allocation in the agriculture sector and worked in a policy research analyst capacity at the African Technology Policy Studies Network.

John Mburu

Prof. John Mburu is an Agricultural and Resource Economist who holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics (2002) from the University of Goettingen, Germany. He has worked extensively, for over 13 years, on the economics of livestock breeding, economic valuation of forests and wildlife, and cost-benefit analysis among others.

Margaret Hutchinson

Prof. Margaret Jesang Hutchinson is a Horticulturalist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Nairobi with over 30 years' experience in the Agriculture sector. Her research and outreach work cover most areas of Horticulture from policy to programming and the entire value chain of several commodities.