Gender, access to resources and agricultural productivity in Uganda

Agriculture can be an important engine of growth and poverty reduction. However, in most countries, this sector is underperforming and this is partly attributed to constraints that women face despite the fact that they are often crucial resource in both agriculture and the rural economy thus causing their productivity to reduce. Much as the Ugandan government has put more effort in enabling female farmers to have access to land and other agricultural resources, female gender is still struggling to have access and control to key agricultural resources such as land, farm labor, improved seeds, fertilizers and financial assistance so as to increase their productivity. In this study we draw on the available empirical evidence to study in which areas and to what degree female gender participates in agriculture. The study establishes gender differentials in agriculture in Uganda by establishing the differences in access to productive resources between male and female smallholder farmers as well as the productivity differences. The study uses the Uganda National Household Survey data (2015/2016) for analysis. It uses both bivariate and multivariate Probit analysis to tease out the gender differentials in agricultural productivity and access to productive resources in Uganda. The study results reveal that male maize farmers are more likely than their female counterparts to have access to agricultural productive resources in Uganda. Also, contrary to the author’s expectations, the study results reveal that plots cultivated by female maize farmers are more likely to produce more maize yield per acre compared to their male counterparts. Similarly, the study reveals that education level of farmer, marital status, engagement in non-farm enterprises, access to and control of land, and distance all significantly influence maize productivity in Uganda. Since the study results reveal that female plots seem to be more productive than male managed plots, the study recommends that policies geared towards agricultural sector development should be directed towards empowering women to access productive resources so as to promote productivity and development of the agricultural sector.