Quantifying Gender Productivity Gaps at Formal and Informal Agrifood Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Cameroon
Conference
10th International Conference on Agricultural Statistics
Format: CPS Abstract - ICAS 2026
Abstract
Farmers and small-scale food producers account for a substantial share of food consumed across sub-Saharan Africa. Food is a fundamental basic need of life and poverty correlates strongly with the lack of basic needs. Women are known as key actors within the agrifood systems, but are constrained both in terms of increasing productivity and achieving food security. Yet, little is known about the extent and drivers of gender productivity gap in agrifood activities often due to sex-disaggregated data limitations. Applying a decomposition analysis on a large representative sample of 46,728 Cameroonian formal/informal agrifood micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), we find a 4.5% difference in levels of productivity between female- and men-owned MSMEs and the gap is larger in formal than informal MSMEs (5.3 vs. 3.2%). In all cases, a major share of the gap is explained by differences in returns to endowments, suggesting gender discrimination. The gap’s structural contributors are common (e.g., sectoral segregation, child dependency, and vocational training and apprenticeship) and sector-specific (e.g., low education, business networks and social connections, access to bank credit, and knowledge of public policies). Further, the mechanisms behind the gap are highlighted. Gender-responsive policies are required to help bridge the gender productivity gap.