Abstract:
Inequalities in participation and benefits accrued from agricultural value chains are widely reported. Such inequalities are believed to affect men’s and women’s welfare. This paper analyzes the levels and determinants of gender participation in Sunflower Value Chain (SVC). A cross-sectional research design was adopted and 120 sunflower smallholder farmers were selected for the study. A combination of simple random sampling and systematic sampling techniques were used to select study villages and respondents respectively. A Structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide were the main tools for data collection. Index scales were constructed to gauge the level of women empowerment. Ordinal logistic regression was used to establish the determinants of participation in the SVC. Findings show that more males than female farmers were categorized in the medium level of participation. Farmers’ levels of participation, land ownership, means of land acquisition and access to markets were the detriments of participation in the SVC (P<0.05). It is recommended that, sunflower stakeholders such as government and nongovernmental organizations need to empower farmers to overcome factors which negatively affect their levels of participation and benefit in the SVC. Gender sensitive approaches and techniques should be used to improve the level of participation and decision making in the various nodes of the SVC as well as to minimize the social, cultural, and economic factors that affect women’s participation and benefit in the SVC.
