Drawing on data from the General Household Survey Panel 2010/11, this paper analyses differences in agricultural productivity across male and female plot managers in Nigeria. Utilising the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method, the analysis is conducted separately for the North and South regions, excluding the west of the country.
The findings show that in the North, women produce 28% less than men, after controlling for observed factors of production, while there are no significant gender differences in the South. Although women in the North have access to less productive resources than men, the results indicate that, even if given the same level of inputs, significant differences still emerge.
Access to resources explains most of the gender gap in the South, and if women are given the same level of inputs as men, the gap will be minimal. The difference in the results for the North and South suggests that policy should vary by region.
[adapted from author abstract]