Cost of gender gaps in the agricultural sector:The case of kenya and Rwanda

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the cost of the gender gap in agriculture in both Kenya and Rwanda. Data were collected in Makuyu in Muranga County in Kenya and in Musambira in the Southern Province of Rwanda. From the descriptive statistics, the study found that there are more and bigger gender gaps in Kenya than in Rwanda. From the analysis, it has emerged that the cost to women for not using the variables considered as necessary for agricultural production was smaller as compared to the one for men. In terms of benefits for using the above inputs, men benefit more than women. Having irrigation was the only indicator that showed any significance in influencing the cost of gender gap and this could be due to the limited number of cases in the study. The information received from the qualitative data supports most of the observations made in the quantitative interviews. Although this study is based on a small sample, it still shows that gender gaps are costly to the farmers and to the economy in general. It is, therefore, important on the part of the governments of Kenya and Rwanda to put in place measures to sensitize men that gender inequality is costly and that by reducing it, both men and women benefit.