Musafili Ildephonse, Ayuya Oscar Ingasia, Birachi Eliud Abucheli
Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, Egerton University, Kenya.
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Rwanda.
Heliyon. 2024 Aug 5;10(16):e35518. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35518. eCollection 2024 Aug 30.
Despite the dominance of female labor in agricultural production, female-controlled farm plots have lower efficiency compared to plot managed by male-headed households, which indicates a huge gender disparity in agricultural productivity. Overlooking gender preferences when designing interventions that promote the conservation of soil and water resources might face challenges in adoption and could result in ineffective policies to close the gender gap. This study seeks to analyze gender-specific preferences regarding attributes of soil and water conservation (SWC) in northern Rwanda. A best-worst survey was conducted among 653 respondents, comprising 253 males and 400 females, representing 422 households surveyed between September and December 2019. The analysis of BWS data involved assessing attribute-level relative importance, Pearson correlation, and maximum difference scaling using multinomial logit (MNL). Findings from attribute-level importance analysis revealed significant gender-based disparities in preferences across three important SWC attribute scenarios: the high scenario (between 65 % and 100 %), the moderate scenario (between 50 % and 65 %), and the basic scenario (with <50 % relative importance). The study identified heterogeneity in preferences regarding the relative importance of SWC attribute levels. Pearson correlation analysis revealed substantial synergies among attribute levels linked to land consolidation, improved land tenure, and joint SWC decision-making between genders. Additionally, the study identified trade-offs among multiple levels of SWC attributes, including households' SWC decision-making and physical and structural measures. The results from MNL regression show that both males and females exhibit positive preferences for multiple levels of SWC attributes, but show negative preferences when it comes to household decisions involving multiple SWC strategies. The study highlights the importance of equal opportunities for males and females' participation in agricultural transformation through the adoption of SWC technologies as a fundamental step towards sustainable agricultural intensification. It advocates for gender transformational approaches to incentivize the scaling up of SWC practices and promote packages with lower uptake rates. Additionally, the study suggests enhancing knowledge and extension education in SWC to better understand diverse needs and preferences of female farmers.
尽管女性劳动力在农业生产中占主导地位，但与男性户主管理的地块相比，女性控制的农田效率较低，这表明农业生产率存在巨大的性别差距。在设计促进水土资源保护的干预措施时忽视性别偏好，可能会在采用过程中面临挑战，并可能导致缩小性别差距的政策无效。本研究旨在分析卢旺达北部地区在水土保持（SWC）属性方面的性别特定偏好。对653名受访者进行了最佳-最差调查，其中包括253名男性和400名女性，代表了2019年9月至12月期间调查的422户家庭。对最佳-最差调查（BWS）数据的分析包括使用多项logit（MNL）评估属性层面的相对重要性、皮尔逊相关性和最大差异缩放。属性层面重要性分析的结果显示，在三个重要的水土保持属性情景中，偏好存在显著的性别差异：高情景（65%至100%之间）、中等情景（50%至65%之间）和基本情景（相对重要性<50%）。该研究确定了在水土保持属性水平相对重要性方面的偏好异质性。皮尔逊相关性分析揭示了与土地整理、改善土地保有权以及性别之间联合水土保持决策相关的属性水平之间存在大量协同作用。此外，该研究还确定了水土保持属性多个层面之间的权衡，包括家庭的水土保持决策以及物理和结构措施。多项logit回归的结果表明，男性和女性对水土保持属性的多个层面都表现出积极偏好，但在涉及多种水土保持策略的家庭决策方面表现出消极偏好。该研究强调了通过采用水土保持技术，让男性和女性平等参与农业转型的机会的重要性，这是实现可持续农业集约化的基本步骤。它倡导采用性别变革方法，以激励扩大水土保持实践，并推广采用率较低的套餐。此外，该研究建议加强水土保持方面的知识和推广教育，以更好地了解女性农民的多样化需求和偏好。
