Smallholder supply response and gender in Ethiopia: A profit function analysis

Abstract

This paper uses a profit function approach to farm-level data from Ethiopia to compare supply response and prices and non-price incentives between male and female farmers. In Ethiopia control of resources rests on the head of household, this factor makes it difficult to access intra-household decision making and farm management. Using female-headed households data reveals that women respond to price incentives as strongly as men farmers do. Nevertheless responses depend on the type of crops and gender constraints. No qualitative difference was found related to the non-price incentive response between men and women. Results shows female-headed farmers more likely to be asset-poor, therefore more constrained in terms of limited access to better quality/quantity of land, credit, male labor, and animal traction. These findings indicate that well-integrated pro-poor policies that facilitate access to basic physical capital and credit can be important. In conclusion the findings suggest that broad-based infrastructure and market access policies, on the other hand, are more likely to benefit all farmers.