African Indigenous Vegetable Seed Systems in Western Kenya

Differences in Crop Selection, Resource Constraints, and Crop Use Values Among Female- and Male-headed Smallholder Households in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda

“…Indeed, as Tavenner et al (2019) find, the historical patterns and current social norms providing men greater access to input and output markets for commercial crop cultivation may actually lead to worsening gender inequality in rural communities as crop commercialization expands. Our findings also align with previous evidence that resource-constrained female-headed smallholder households emphasize crops for home consumption more than male-headed households (Pincus et al, 2018). An understudied but important area for future research is the underlying values driving men's and women's choices around crop production.…”

“…In addition to the general trend of male-headed households cultivating more crops overall, we see a higher percentage of maleheaded households cultivating both crops that are generally used for home consumption (cowpea and banana in Kenya, sorghum and sweet potato in Tanzania, rice and cowpea in Uganda), as well as market-oriented crops where for most crop categories male-headed households are more likely to be producers of crops for market sale. While the tendency for male-headed households to produce more commercially-oriented crops is expected based on previous findings (Bentley et al, 2017;Christinck et al, 2017;Mudege & Walsh, 2016), they also produce subsistence crops at higher frequencies in our sample, which appears to contrast with the notion that female-headed households more commonly emphasize crops for home consumption (Pincus et al, 2018).…”

“…Past research suggests that when faced with resource constraints, female-headed households may be more likely to utilize crop diversity as a strategy to meet livelihood needs (FAO, 2019;Quisumbing et al, 2014). This pattern is reflected in our findings, which suggest in the face of limited market access and disproportionate land resource constraints, female-headed households emphasize food crops for home consumption, and plant more diverse portfolios of food crops, compared to male-headed ones (Pincus et al, 2018;Tavenner et al, 2019). Though our findings do not allow for deeper explanations of whether food crop diversification among female-headed households occurs out of necessity due to resource barriers or because of a greater valuation of agrobiodiversity, we provide some preliminary evidence that women farmerswhether in female-headed or male-headed households-do place a greater value on the food security importance of crops, and less on the income importance, than their male counterparts in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.…”

“…This study draws on a detailed original dataset applying an identical survey instrument across rural communities in three countries to explore how the gender composition of smallholder households in East Africa relates to their cropping choices. Building on many previous studies of gender and smallholder decision-making using a range of methods in a variety of contexts (Amri & Kimaro, 2010;Anderson et al, 2017;Bentley et al, 2017;Fisher & Carr, 2015;Me-Nsope & Larkins, 2016;Nuijten, 2010;Pincus et al, 2018;Teeken et al, 2018), our analysis provides two key findings: female-headed households that generally have less access to land and other resources are more likely to diversify their food crop production than male-headed households, and that gender must be considered alongside other variables such as country context and socioeconomic status to more comprehensively understand decisions around crop cultivation.…”

“…For example, although both men and women consider production traits such as yield when selecting crops, men more often emphasize commercial potential while women more often highlight food processing and preparation traits (Bentley et al, 2017;Christinck, Weltzien, Rattunde, & Ashby, 2017;Mudege & Walsh, 2016). In Kenya, Pincus, Croft, Roothaert, and Dubois (2018) note that women seed producers of indigenous vegetable varieties emphasize the importance of seed saving for household food security significantly more than men. At the household level, the gender of the household head also appears to influence crops grown and the resulting livelihood outcomes.…”