Outcomes of women’s participation in market-oriented commodity development:

Evidence from IPMS

Gender and Market Oriented Agriculture (AgriGender 2011) WorkshopAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

31st January–2nd February 2011

Ranjitha Puskur and Lemlem Aregu

IPMS strategies for enhancing women’s participation in value chain development • setting targets for women’s participation in

project activities – technical interventions to improve productivity

and production– developing input supply systems– access to inputs and services to produce

marketable commodities– capacity building and knowledge sharing activities

• focus on commodities which have mainly been women’s enterprises traditionally like poultry, small ruminants, dairy and vegetables

Methodology• Assess immediate socio-economic

outcomes for women farmers who have participated in IPMS interventions

• Poultry, Small Ruminants, Dairy, Feed and forage, Apiculture, Fruits and Vegetables

• Survey of 586 sample women farmers spread over the 10 PLWs

Profile of participating women farmers

• average age - 35 and 38 • a large majority married• most of the women could not read and write• ones who went to school seem to have opted for

poultry, dairy, apiculture and vegetables• women from households with larger landholding

entered fruit cultivation and forage production where irrigation was available

• those with larger landholdings in drier areas took up small ruminant rearing

• households with smaller landholdings chose poultry

Decision making on technology use

Most decisions to use introduced technology taken by women or jointly

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Outcomes

Impacts Poultry

Sheep and

Goats Dairy Feed HoneyFruits VegIncrease in production and market supply 60 66 100 53 54 21 97

Increase in number being reared/area under production 76 49 31 78 18 42Increase in farm input use 62 21 44 45

Better quality of products 49 51 52 49 8 15 90

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Outcomes

Poultry

Sheep and

Goats Dairy Feed Honey Fruits Veg

Increased income 97 84 97 69 71 41 85Better nutrition/more food 62 59 84 25 55 37 72

More saving 11 43 64 19 32 22 67New asset acquisition 50 29 66 19 63 37Children sent to school 50 21 67 37 20 62

Better health 21 29 58 3 15 100

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Control of new assets

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

WorkloadsProportion of Households reporting (%)

Training outcomes

Poultry

Small ruminants

DairyFe

ed

Apicultu

reFru

its

Vegetables

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

new linkages created due to training/visitscontinue knowledge sharingtechnical skills developedutilization of skillsgroup collaboration

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Complementary support provided

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Who is selling?Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Sales..

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Changes in consumption and sales

Eggs con-

sumed

Eggs sold0

100

200

300

400

500

Chickens sold0

50

100

150

03060

Milk con-

sumed

Milk sold0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Honey consumed

Honey sold0

20406080

100120

Feed used Feed sold0

20406080

100120140160

Per Household per annum annually – Before and After

Changes in consumption and sales..

Vegetables consumed

Vegatables sold

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Control of income from sales

Proportion of Households reporting (%)

Challenges• small scale operations that might not be generating

enough income to catapult these households out of poverty

• ensuring adequate volume of good quality products• enhancing their bargaining power through collective

action• enhance sustainably access to markets• institutional arrangements that can supply quality inputs

and services on a consistent basis to rural households • access to capital through microfinance or Self Help Group

(SHG) like savings and credit arrangements• mainstreaming gender effectively in the plans, programs

and activities of the Public sector organizations – especially extension services

• M&E and generating evidence

Thank you!