Women Farmers and Agricultural Innovation: Marital Status and Normative Expectations in Rural Ethiopia

cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Maize and Wheat Improvement Centeren_US
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Münsteren_US
cg.contributor.affiliationWageningen University & Researchen_US
cg.contributor.crpMaizeen_US
cg.contributor.crpWheaten_US
cg.contributor.donorBill & Melinda Gates Foundationen_US
cg.coverage.countryEthiopiaen_US
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2ETen_US
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africaen_US
cg.creator.identifierLone Badstue: 0000-0001-8848-7498en_US
cg.creator.identifierPatti Petesch: 0000-0001-6444-9032en_US
cg.creator.identifierFarnworth, C.R.: 0000-0002-2263-865Xen_US
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden_US
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3390/su12239847en_US
cg.isijournalISI Journalen_US
cg.issn2071-1050en_US
cg.issue23en_US
cg.journalSustainabilityen_US
cg.volume12en_US
dc.contributor.authorBadstue, Lone B.en_US
dc.contributor.authorPetesch, Pattien_US
dc.contributor.authorFarnworth, Cathy Rozelen_US
dc.contributor.authorRoeven, Laraen_US
dc.contributor.authorHailemariam, Mahleten_US
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-31T15:56:07Zen_US
dc.date.available2022-08-31T15:56:07Zen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/121042en_US
dc.titleWomen Farmers and Agricultural Innovation: Marital Status and Normative Expectations in Rural Ethiopiaen_US
dcterms.abstractSustainable agricultural development depends on female and male smallholders being effective farmers. This includes the ability to access or control resources and make the best decisions possible agro-ecologically, economically, and socially. Traditionally, gendered studies on innovation practice focus on female- versus male-headed households. In this paper, we focus on married women in acknowledged male-headed households and women heading their own households to examine how marital status influences women’s capacity to innovate in their rural livelihoods. Using data from eight community case studies in Ethiopia, we used variable-oriented and contextualized case-oriented analysis to understand factors which promote or constrain women’s innovative capacities. We use Kabeer’s Resources–Agency–Achievements framework to structure our findings. Single women are more likely to own land and experience control over their production decisions and expenditures than married women, but engage in considerable struggle to obtain resources that should be theirs according to the law. Even when land is secured, customary norms often hamper women’s effective use of land and their ability to innovate. Still, some single women do succeed. Married women can innovate successfully provided they are in a collaborative relationship with their husbands. Finally, we find that gender-based violence limits women’s achievements. The article concludes with recommendations.en_US
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Accessen_US
dcterms.audienceScientistsen_US
dcterms.available2020-11-25en_US
dcterms.bibliographicCitationBadstue, L.; Petesch, P.; Farnworth, C.R.; Roeven, L.; Hailemariam, M. 2020. Women Farmers and Agricultural Innovation: Marital Status and Normative Expectations in Rural Ethiopia. Sustainability 12, 9847.en_US
dcterms.issued2020-11en_US
dcterms.languageenen_US
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0en_US
dcterms.publisherMDPIen_US
dcterms.subjectgenderen_US
dcterms.subjectwomenen_US
dcterms.subjectagricultureen_US
dcterms.typeJournal Articleen_US

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