While the yield and total production of Benin’s soybean sector have improved in recent years, the sector is still underperforming. A gender analysis of the sector show’s that women’s contribution to soybean production has decreased since 2005. Women’s comparative (to men) lack of access to productive and financial resources, and to agricultural advisory services seem to be significant factors limiting their productivity. A team of local PEP researchers, in collaboration with the National Union of Soybean Producers, conducted a randomized control trial to evaluate how to best target interventions to improve productivity. These interventions included technical support through training and follow ups, plus access to quality inputs. The team found that when the interventions were targeted specifically to women farmers, women’s capacity and productivity improved, reducing the performance gap between male and female soybean producers.
Find out more about the research methods, findings and policy recommendations in the following PEP publications:
