Gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan Africa

Gender roles are socially constructed expectations defining the behavior, responsibilities, and opportunities of men and women, especially evident in agriculture, where specific tasks are traditionally assigned to each gender. Realizing these roles is vital for crafting efficient approaches to enhan...

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Main Authors: Afees Noah, Oladipo David, Grobler Wynand, Alabi Moshood
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Agricultural Economics, Belgrade 2025-01-01
Series:Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/2683-4693/2025/2683-46932501001A.pdf
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author Afees Noah
Oladipo David
Grobler Wynand
Alabi Moshood
author_facet Afees Noah
Oladipo David
Grobler Wynand
Alabi Moshood
author_sort Afees Noah
collection DOAJ
description Gender roles are socially constructed expectations defining the behavior, responsibilities, and opportunities of men and women, especially evident in agriculture, where specific tasks are traditionally assigned to each gender. Realizing these roles is vital for crafting efficient approaches to enhance food security. This study investigates the moderating role of gender employment in agriculture on the agricultural sector and food security nexus in 28 sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations. The study uses descriptive analysis, system generalized method of moments (SGMM), and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) methodologies to analyze the secondary data on 28 SSA countries. The descriptive results reveal that, on average, women contribute over half (51%) of the agricultural labor force, highlighting women's important role in the agricultural sector. Empirical results also show that total agricultural employment has a positive shortand long-term impact on food security. In contrast, female employment exhibits a long-run impact, and male employment influences food security only in the short run. Also, the moderating effect of overall and male employment on agricultural output affects food security solely in the short run, while the impact of female employment occurs in both the short and long run. Considering the vital contribution of women in ensuring food security in SSA, it is recommended that efforts should be geared toward prioritizing gender-inclusive agricultural policies and addressing disparities in resource access and training. Addressing resource access and training disparities, and investments in agricultural infrastructure are also crucial to reducing post-harvest losses thereby improving food security in the region.
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spelling doaj-art-215b9526b0e0491d91f69d11f2f8b0262025-08-20T01:50:45ZengInstitute of Agricultural Economics, BelgradeWestern Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development2683-46932683-572X2025-01-017111810.5937/WBJAE2501001N2683-46932501001AGender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan AfricaAfees Noah0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4075-0976Oladipo David1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9922-9504Grobler Wynand2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1905-7782Alabi Moshood3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5604-6188North-West University, College of Economic and Management Sciences, School of Economic Science, Vaal Campus, South AfricaNorth-West University, College of Economic and Management Sciences, School of Economic Science, Vaal Campus, South AfricaNorth-West University, College of Economic and Management Sciences, School of Economic Science, Vaal Campus, South AfricaUniversity of Ilorin, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Economics, Ilorin, Kwara State, NigeriaGender roles are socially constructed expectations defining the behavior, responsibilities, and opportunities of men and women, especially evident in agriculture, where specific tasks are traditionally assigned to each gender. Realizing these roles is vital for crafting efficient approaches to enhance food security. This study investigates the moderating role of gender employment in agriculture on the agricultural sector and food security nexus in 28 sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations. The study uses descriptive analysis, system generalized method of moments (SGMM), and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) methodologies to analyze the secondary data on 28 SSA countries. The descriptive results reveal that, on average, women contribute over half (51%) of the agricultural labor force, highlighting women's important role in the agricultural sector. Empirical results also show that total agricultural employment has a positive shortand long-term impact on food security. In contrast, female employment exhibits a long-run impact, and male employment influences food security only in the short run. Also, the moderating effect of overall and male employment on agricultural output affects food security solely in the short run, while the impact of female employment occurs in both the short and long run. Considering the vital contribution of women in ensuring food security in SSA, it is recommended that efforts should be geared toward prioritizing gender-inclusive agricultural policies and addressing disparities in resource access and training. Addressing resource access and training disparities, and investments in agricultural infrastructure are also crucial to reducing post-harvest losses thereby improving food security in the region.https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/2683-4693/2025/2683-46932501001A.pdfagricultural labor forcefood securitygender employmentstatic and dynamic panel analysissub-saharan africa
spellingShingle Afees Noah
Oladipo David
Grobler Wynand
Alabi Moshood
Gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan Africa
Western Balkan Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
agricultural labor force
food security
gender employment
static and dynamic panel analysis
sub-saharan africa
title Gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan Africa
title_full Gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan Africa
title_fullStr Gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan Africa
title_full_unstemmed Gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan Africa
title_short Gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub-Saharan Africa
title_sort gender dynamics in agricultural employment for food security in sub saharan africa
topic agricultural labor force
food security
gender employment
static and dynamic panel analysis
sub-saharan africa
url https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/2683-4693/2025/2683-46932501001A.pdf
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AT alabimoshood genderdynamicsinagriculturalemploymentforfoodsecurityinsubsaharanafrica