Effects of climate change and livelihood diversification on the gendered productivity gap in Northern Ghana

ABSTRACT

Gendered productivity gaps remain a major limitation to the growth of the agricultural sector of sub-Saharan Africa. The drive towards agricultural transformation must be accompanied by gender inclusive productivity growth. Therefore, this study analyses the effects of climate variables and livelihood diversification on gendered productivity gaps among maize farmers in Northern Ghana. Data were collected from 619 farmers and were analysed using an endogenously corrected Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition model. Results suggest the presence of a significant productivity gap of 58.8% between male and female household heads, and of 44.8% between men household heads and female spouses. About 87% and 98%, respectively, of these productivity gaps were explained by the differences in resource endowment. While livelihood diversification significantly affected gendered productivity through both endowment and coefficient effects, climate variables significantly influenced gendered productivity gaps only through the coefficient component. These results suggest the potential for reducing gendered productivity gaps by providing equal diversification opportunities and by reducing women’s vulnerability to climate change. Among livelihood activities, agro-processing could be prioritized and promoted in the region. While farmers should adopt on-farm climate adaptation strategies, extension services should tailor the provision of climate information and promote climate adaptation strategies.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• gender
• livelihood diversification
• Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition
• productivity gap
• Ghana

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

William Adzawla holds BSc degree in Agricultural Technology and MPhil degree in Agricultural Economics, both from University for Development Studies, Ghana. He is hoping to obtain PhD in Economics from University of Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal, under a special program run by West Africa Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) in 2019. William have high interest in developmental research and has over twenty research publications in reputable journals. His research area includes gender, climate change and adaptation and sustainable livelihoods. His research priority is how to identify measures to address inequality of all forms in the society.

Dr Heike Baumüller is a Senior Researcher and Coordinator of the Program of Accompanying Research (PARI) at the Centre for Development Research (ZEF) at the University of Bonn, Germany. Her research focuses on the role of information and communication technologies in facilitating agricultural innovation along agricultural value chains in developing countries. Prior to joining ZEF, she was a Senior Research Fellow with the Energy, Environment and Development Programme at Chatham House in London, researching the environmental and socio-economic dimensions of trade in natural resources. Previously, Dr Baumüller coordinated the Environment and Natural Resources Programme and led the implementation of projects on fisheries and biotechnology at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) in Geneva. She holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Bonn, a Master of Environmental Studies from Macquarie University, Sydney, and a Bachelor in Cognitive Science from the University of Exeter, UK.

Samuel A. Donkoh (PhD) is an Associate Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Agribusiness and Communication Sciences (FACS), UDS. He is also a Fellow of the Ghana Institute of Chartered Economists. He holds BA (Hons) Econs, Dip Ed and MPhil in Economics from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana; and PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Reading, UK. He has over twenty (20) years university teaching experience and about Eighty-seven (87) publications including textbooks. His research work falls in the domain of Agricultural Economics and Applied Microeconomics.

Renata Serra (PhD Economics, Cambridge University, UK) is a Senior Lecturer at the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida. She is affiliated with the UF Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research and is core Faculty and graduate student coordinator for the UF Master in Sustainable Development Program. An economist by training, she has 15 years' experience of research, teaching and consultancy on issues of African development, especially in Francophone West Africa. Main areas of expertise include: the political economy of agriculture; aid and economic reforms; household economics and gender issues; child fostering and child work; social capital and collective action in rural economies.

Notes

1 The empirical model for livelihood diversification is not reported in this study. Refer to Adzawla and Kane (2018).

Additional information

Funding

The lead author sincerely appreciates the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) for providing financial support for his PhD programme.