In this paper we use a subjective well‐being approach to evaluate the welfare impact of contract‐farming. We analyze the impact of contract‐farming on self‐reported happiness using original panel data from a farm‐household survey in the Niayes region in Senegal. We use different econometric techniques and show that, when correcting for time invariant unobserved heterogeneity, contract‐farming has a positive effect on subjective well‐being. We find diverging effects for different types of contracts, suggesting that contract‐farming contributes more to farmers’ subjective well‐being under certain conditions and contract design. Our main finding corroborates earlier findings from empirical studies using cross‐sectional data and income‐based measures of welfare. In line with earlier results from the subjective well‐being literature, we find that absolute income has a positive but decreasing effect on subjective well‐being while comparison income has a negative effect. Also household demographic characteristics, their land and livestock assets, and housing indicators affect subjective well‐being.

Agricultural households in Niger face constraint that may hinder agricultural production and threaten food security. Rural exodus also results from a lack of formal and decent wage employment. The way to enhance agricultural production and improve food security while at the same time increase employment is still an important policy question in rural Niger. This study assess the effect of off-farm self-Employment opportunities on expenditures for agricultural inputs and on food security using the potential outcome framework for treatment effects. The study finds that farm and nonfarm related factors determine off-farm self employment opportunities in rural Niger. Also, the participation in self-employment increases agricultural expenses on purchased input and hired labor but decreases the propensity to hire labor. Selfemployment opportunities favour food accessibility without having any additional effect on food availability and food utilisation. The results confirm that the policy of promoting non-farm sector can be harmonious with the development of the agricultural sector. Thus there is a scope to increase or create favourable conditions for the development of the non farm sector in rural Niger.

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Agricultural households in Niger face constraint that may hinder agricultural production and threaten food security. Rural exodus also results from a lack of formal and decent wage employment. The way to enhance agricultural production and improve food security while at the same time increase employment is still an important policy question in rural Niger. This study assess the effect of off-farm self-Employment opportunities on expenditures for agricultural inputs and on food security using the potential outcome framework for treatment effects. The study finds that farm and nonfarm related factors determine off-farm self employment opportunities in rural Niger. Also, the participation in self-employment increases agricultural expenses on purchased input and hired labor but decreases the propensity to hire labor. Selfemployment opportunities favour food accessibility without having any additional effect on food availability and food utilisation. The results confirm that the policy of promoting non-farm sector can be harmonious with the development of the agricultural sector. Thus there is a scope to increase or create favourable conditions for the development of the non farm sector in rural Niger.

In many African countries, the income generated from the informal sector and the entrepreneurship is particularly important for reducing poverty. Previous studies have not found clear evidence on the relationship between self‐employment by gender and food security. We argue that this may be a result of the gender inequality in resource accessibility. In this paper, we analyze the implication of household entrepreneurship on food security in Niger, where gender disparities in resource accessibility are reduced. We find that owning female‐managed non‐agricultural enterprises is positively related to food accessibility and food availability within female‐headed households. The results draw the attention on reducing gender differences in resource accessibility in entrepreneurship for improving food security.