Gender differentials in technical efficiency of Ghanaian cocoa farms

Gideon Danso-Abbeam; Lloyd J S Baiyegunhi; Temitope O Ojo

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04012

Gender differentials in technical efficiency of Ghanaian cocoa farms

Heliyon. 2020 May 28;6(5):e04012. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04012. eCollection 2020 May.

Authors

Gideon Danso-Abbeam^{1

2

3}, Lloyd J S Baiyegunhi³, Temitope O Ojo^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
² African Centre for Crop Improvement, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
³ Discipline of Agricultural Economics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
⁴ Department of Agricultural Economics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
⁵ Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Abstract

This study considers the presence of a gender gap in technical efficiency in Ghana's cocoa production sector. The two-stage double bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) procedure was applied to estimate the bias-corrected technical efficiency scores for male and female cocoa farm managers. The results indicate that there is a potential for male and female cocoa farm managers to increase output without altering the quantities of inputs employed. Applying the extended version of the Blinder-Oaxaca (B-O) decomposition approach, the findings suggest that female plot managers are, on average, less technically efficient compared to their male counterparts. This gap could be linked to differences in their resource endowments. Nevertheless, there are still significant unobservable factors that contribute to the gender efficiency gap. A comprehensive decomposition examination indicates that differences in educational attainment, engagement in non-farm activities, and farm size may contribute to the unexplained technical efficiency gap. The study recommends that female-sensitive programmes that seek to encourage the participation of non-farm activities and provide access to education and land utilization are essential in reducing the gender gap in technical efficiency.

Keywords: Agricultural economics; Agricultural policy; Agricultural technology; Cocoa; Double-bootstrapped DEA procedure; Economics; Environmental economics; Gender decomposition; Neumark approach; Technical efficiency.