Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and household food security in Ghana Presented at the International Food Security Dialogue 2014 “Enhancing Food Production, Gender Equity and Nutritional Security in a Changing World.” Presentation by: Chris Manyamba Shery Hendriks Sponsored By: Hosted By:

Objectives To establish – if empowering women particularly in agriculture will result in achieving household food security/hunger reduction. (Application of the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index) Draw lessons – to guide effective nutrition programs among programmes interventions, – and in strengthening the case for channelling resources to effective interventions.

Women’s empowerment and gender Gender Social differences that identify the socially, culturally, politically and economically determined relations between women and men (UN, 2011). Empowerment the ability to make decisions and affect outcomes of importance to themselves and their families (Sen, 1999; Malhotra, Schuler, and Boender 2002); an ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied (Kabeer 1999). the process by which women take control and ownership of their lives through expansion of their choices (UN, 2011; ECA, 2012). The terms that most often overlap across various definitions refer to choice, power, options, control, and agency (van den Bold et al., 2013).

Women, agriculture and food security Agriculture is a major driver of economic growth and well-being (IFAD, 2007; FAO, 2011; World Bank, 2012). Women comprise of over 50% of the agricultural labour force in developing countries (Maertens and Swinnen, 2009;, FAO and IFAD, 2009; FAO, 2012; UN, 2012; World Bank, 2012). –In sub-Saharan Africa -highest average agricultural labour force participation in the world, –an estimated 62.5%, compared with 36.4% globally (ILO, 2012).

They are marginalised both in agricultural and non-agricultural activities (Singh, 2003 ;Quimbisung, 2003; Allendorf, 2007; 2007; FAO, 2011; FAO and IFAD; 2009; Fletschner, 2009; Peterman, et al., 2009; World Bank, 2012). If women had equitable access to productive resources, –they could increase farm yields by 20–30 per cent –agricultural output in developing countries could be raised by 2.5–4 %, –the number of hungry people in the world could be reduced by 12–17% (FAO, 2011; UN, 2012)

……… empowering women in agriculture is important in achieving food security. There is evidence For example, Schultz 2001; Quimbisung, 2003 ; Meinzen-Dick and Quisimbing 2010; FAO, 2011; Alkire et al, 2012; World Bank, Limited evidence For example, Meinzen-Dick et al, 2011; Doepke and Tertilt, 2011; Kabeer, 2012; van den Bold et al, Results are mixed=iinformation gap

Women’s empowerment has been measured at national level, using proxies……… African Gender Development Index-AGDI (Economic Commission for Africa, 2012); the Gender Gap Index-GGI (Hausmann et al., 2011); the Social Institutions and Gender Index-SIGI (Overseas Economic Cooperation Development, 2012); Gender Parity Index-GPI (UN, 2013); Gender Empowerment Measure-GEM (UN, 2008) Innovation of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) (Alkire et al., 2012). No direct measures for women’s empowerment in agriculture as experienced by individuals=information gap

Time Use Leadership Production Income & Expenditure Resources ……developed by USAID, IFPRI, and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

DomainsIndicators and weights Production Input in productive decisions [1/10] Autonomy in production [1/10] Resources) Ownership of assets [1/15] Purchase, sale, or transfer of assets [1/15] Access to and decisions on credit [1/15] IncomeControl over use of income [1/5] Leadership Speaking in public [1/10] Group membership [1/10] Time Workload [1/10] Leisure WEAI-Indicators see

CAADP Framework for African Food Security Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index WEAI Leadership: Group membership. Speaking in public Time: Workload, leisure Availability Resilience Diet quality Access Economic Environment Macroeconomic level Lending Institutions Economic Environment Macroeconomic level Lending Institutions 5 Domains of Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Improved agricultural productivit y and Increased incomes Improved agricultural productivit y and Increased incomes Socio Cultural Environment Policies andprograms Sustainable Livelihoods Improved Nutrition and Health Status Capacity and productivity Sustainable Livelihoods Improved Nutrition and Health Status Capacity and productivity Income: Control over use of income and expenditure Production: Autonomy in production (access to land, water, fertilizer, & seed) Resources: asset ownership, purchase, sale, or transfer of assets, access to and decisions to credit Household Food Security The WEAI-Food security conceptual framework v

…….women make over 51% of agricultural labour force in Ghana (Ghana Living Standards Survey, 2008) Promoting sustainable food security is a prominent objective in Ghana’s own national development agenda (Republic of Ghana, 2010; USAID, 2012 ). Ghana is self-sufficient in the production of the staple roots, tubers, plantain and cereals(Republic of Ghana, 2012). One third of children nationwide are stunted; with 10 percent being severely stunted; and 78 percent are anaemic (Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, 2008). Nationally, 5 percent of Ghana’s population is considered food insecure, (USAID|Ghana, 2012) Sample area -facts and figures

Sample and data Study conducted in 2012 in Ghana Feed the Future Zone of Influence A two-stage probability sampling approach was used in drawing the survey sample. –the selection of enumeration areas (EAs) using the probability proportional to size (PPS) method. –a systematic sampling approach to select households in each sampled EA. WEAI relies on information collected from both primary male and female adults in the household. The final dataset is representative (N=4398), quantitative, in STATA software

Model specification Multinomial regression written as: Pr. Y= exp. (α+ β ₁ X ₁ + β ₂ X ₂ +……………… β ₅ X ₅ ) 1+exp (exp. (α+ β ₁ X ₁ + β ₂ X ₂ +………..β ₅ X ₅ ) –where X ₁ - X ₅ are WEAI indicators of production, resources, income, leadership and time. and, –Pr.y =the probability of the outcome of food security measure (categorical) –β is the regression coefficient –α is the Y intercept

Respondents' profile Respondents characteristics N=784 N=3614 FemaleMale Gender Age group≤35 years Above 35 years Mean LiteracyNo education21.6 (22.6*)21.8 (11.3*) Marital statusLiving together Divorced or married Widowed Single or never married Household size 5.6

Household Hunger ScaleFemaleMale Freq.PercentFreq.Percent Food secureLittle to no hunger Food insecure Moderate hunger Severe hunger Total Food insecurity......over 1 in 3 households reported being food insecure

The indicators results indicate inadequacy The Women Empowerment IndexFemales DimensionIndicatorsAdequateInadequate5DE Production Autonomy in production: has least autonomy on one production activity Input in productive decisions regarding food crops Input in productive decisions regarding cash crop Has some input in decisions or feels can make decisions in at least two domains in production Resources Jointly has at least one right in at least one household asset Jointly has at least one right in at least one agricultural asset Access to and decisions on credit: jointly makes at least one decision regarding Has some input and decisions on major income and expenditure LeadershipSpeaking in public Group Membership Time satisfactionLeisure time Satisfaction with time (inadequate)

Ghana WEAI, Feed the Future Zone of Influence (ZOI) WomenMen Disempowered Headcount (H)72.1%23.8% Empowered Headcount (1-H)27.9%76.2% 5DE Index (1-M0) N Gender Parity Index0.807 WEAI (0.9 x 5DE x GPI)0.716

Multivariate analysis Females (n=784) Base outcome=household food insecurityRRRP>zStd. error ProductionAutonomy in production (inadequate) Input in productive decisions (inadequate) ResourcesJoint ownership (inadequate)0.42* Access to decisions on credit (inadequate)0.61* LeadershipPublic speaking (inadequate) Group Membership (inadequate)0.69** Time satisfactionLeisure (inadequate)1.84* Satisfaction with time (inadequate)2.00* DemographicsHousehold size (>5)0.72* Household head age group (35 and above) 0.58* Region (northern)1.78* Marital status (married)1.38** Marital status (single or never married) Ever been to school (yes)

Conclusion: O verall women in Ghana reported inadequacy (disempowerment) in all (8) indicators measured……. Autonomy in production, joint asset ownership and decision making on credit are statistical significant predictors of food security. They have potential to reduce food insecurity. Time use and allocation -statistically significant; twice less potential to reduce food security. Group membership and leisure are time less impact compared to the other indicators while; Public speaking and input in decsions pertaning to production are not statistically significant

Key messeges Autonomyin production, joint asset ownership and decision making, and joint decisions on credit =areas of priority intervention. The study also recommends WEAI as a tool for Researchers to measure food security and nutrition. For more on the WEAI visit /ourwork/program/weai-resource-centerhttp:// 9075/ourwork/program/weai-resource-center

Thank you Christopher Manyamba WEAI PhD Research Fellow