Gender, Agriculture, and Assets Project

An IFPRI Info site

Additional Resources

The following is a compilation of  discussion papers, briefs and guides related to gender and assets.  They provide a useful starting point to anyone who would like to learn more about gender and assets research findings.  For additional resources see Annex 1 of the Gender and Assets Toolkit

Background Papers

  • Does social capital build women's assets? The long-term impacts of group–based and individual dissemination of agricultural technology in Bangladesh. This paper investigates the long–term impact of agricultural technologies, disseminated using different implementation modalities, on men’s and women’s asset accumulation in rural Bangladesh.
  • A review of empirical evidence on gender differences in nonland agricultural inputs, technology, and services in developing countries. This paper reviews existing microeconomic empirical literature on gender differences in use, access, and adoption of nonland agricultural inputs in developing countries. This review focuses on four key areas: (1) technological resources, (2) natural resources, (3) human resources, and (4) social and political capital.
  • Promising approaches to addressing the needs of poor female farmers. This paper critically reviews attempts to increase poor female farmers’ access to, and control of, productive resources in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. It surveys the literature from 1998 to 2008 that describes interventions and policy changes across several key agricultural resources, including land, soil, and water; labor-saving technologies; improved varieties; extension services; and credit.
  • Engendering Agricultural Research. This paper makes a case for gender equity in the agricultural R&D system. It reviews the evidence on exactly why it is important to pay attention to gender issues in agriculture and why it is necessary to recognize women’s distinct food-security roles throughout the entire value chain—for both food and nonfood crops, marketed and nonmarketed commodities.
  • Asset Dynamics in Northern Nigeria. This paper examines household asset dynamics and gender-differentiated asset inequality over a 20-year period (1988–2008) in northern Nigeria. We show that the initial endowments of both household capital and livestock holdings are inconsistent with the poverty trap hypothesis but that tracking rules for households in panel surveys may lead to differences in empirical results on poverty traps.

Briefs and Guides

  • Using gender research in development:  In keeping with the purpose of IFPRI’s Food Security in Practice series, this practitioners’ guide bridges the gap between research and practice by providing up-to-date, relevant information on why and how gender issues, when taken into account, can improve the design, implementation, and effectiveness of development projects and policies.
  • Strengthening womens control of assets for better development outcomes brief:  Despite evidence that strengthening women’s asset holdings is critical to development outcomes—including food security, child nutrition, education, and women’s well-being—a substantial asset gap remains between men and women. Recognizing the importance of this issue, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) initiated a new research program in 2007, “Strengthening Women’s Control of Assets for Better Development Outcomes,” which is jointly led by the Institute’s Environment and Production Technology Division (EPTD) and Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division (PHND).  This brief provides an overview of the research program.
  • Promising approaches to address the needs of poor female farmers brief:  This brief focuses on key agricultural resources needed by poor female farmers to generate incomes and ensure their families’ food security. It is organized around key resources and promising approaches to increase poor women’s control of those resources.

 Past Presentations