Explaining Gender Differentials in Agricultural Production in Nigeria

This paper uses data from the General
Household Survey Panel 2010/11 to analyze differences in
agricultural productivity across male and female plot
managers in Nigeria. The analysis utilizes the
Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method, which allows for
decomposing the unconditional gender gap into (i) the
portion caused by observable differences in the factors of
production (endowment effect) and (ii) the unexplained
portion caused by differences in returns to the same
observed factors of production (structural effect). The
analysis is conducted separately for the North and South
regions, excluding the west of the country. The findings
show that in the North, women produce 28 percent less than
men after controlling for observed factors of production,
while there are no significant gender differences in the
South. In the decomposition results, the structural effect
in the North is larger than the endowment at the mean.
Although women in the North have access to less productive
resources than men, the results indicate that even if given
the same level of inputs, significant differences still
emerge. However for the South, the decomposition results
show that the endowment effect is more important than the
structural effect. Access to resources explains most of the
gender gap in the South and if women are given the same
level of inputs as men, the gap will be minimal. The
difference in the results for the North and South suggests
that policy should vary by region.