Is there such a thing as sustainable agricultural intensification in smallholder-based farming in sub-Saharan Africa? Understanding yield differences in relation to gender in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia

Smallholder-based, sustainable, agricultural intensification is increasingly put forth as a development pathway that is necessary to improve farmer's livelihoods, enhance productivity and engender a surplus that can be used to feed growing urban areas across sub-Saharan Africa. The following ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Development studies research Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 62 - 75
Main Authors:	Andersson Djurfeldt, Agnes, Djurfeldt, Göran, Hillbom, Ellen, Isinika, Aida C., Joshua, Miriam Dalitso Kalanda, Kaleng'a, Wisdom Chilwizhi, Kalindi, Audrey, Msuya, Elibariki, Mulwafu, Wapulumuka, Wamulume, Mukata
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Routledge 01-01-2019 Taylor & Francis Group
Subjects:	Agricultural Sciences agriculture Annan lantbruksvetenskap Annan samhällsvetenskap Economic Geography Ekonomisk geografi gender Gender Studies Genusstudier Lantbruksvetenskap och veterinärmedicin Other Agricultural Sciences Other Agricultural Sciences not elsewhere specified Other Social Sciences Samhällsvetenskap smallholders Social and Economic Geography Social och ekonomisk geografi Social Sciences Sub-Saharan Africa Övrig annan lantbruksvetenskap
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Summary:	Smallholder-based, sustainable, agricultural intensification is increasingly put forth as a development pathway that is necessary to improve farmer's livelihoods, enhance productivity and engender a surplus that can be used to feed growing urban areas across sub-Saharan Africa. The following article examines trends in yields for Africa's largest staple crop - maize - among smallholder farmers in six regions in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, using longitudinal quantitative data collected in 2008, 2013 and 2017 in combination with qualitative data from nine villages. Substantial increases in yields are found only in Zambia, while yields are largely stagnant in Malawi and Tanzania. In the case of Zambia, however, there is a persistent gender-based yield gap. We use the qualitative data to explain this gap and find that gender-based differences in yields need to be understood in relation to local production systems, as well as the varied positionality of women, where the biases facing women who head their own households are different than for women living in male headed households. In policy terms, technologies that can promote intensification are different depending on these factors, even within the local context of particular farming systems.
ISSN:	2166-5095 2166-5095
DOI:	10.1080/21665095.2019.1593048