Does Gender Impact Technology Adoption in Dual-Purpose Cattle in Mexico?

• Published in: Animals (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 22; p. 3194
• Main Authors: Villarroel-Molina, Oriana, De-Pablos-Heredero, Carmen, Barba, Cecilio, Rangel, Jaime, García, Anton
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18-11-2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Agriculture; Animal health; Cattle; centrality measures; Commercial farms; Dairy cattle; Developing countries; dual-purpose cattle; Empowerment; Equality; Farmers; Farms; Food security; Gender; Gender equity; gender perspectives; Genetics; Knowledge; LDCs; Livestock; Milk; Network analysis; Poverty; Productivity; Public policy; Reproduction; Roles; Rural areas; Small farms; Social network analysis; Social networks; Social organization; Statistical analysis; Sustainable development; Technology; Technology adoption; Tropical environments; Women; Mexico; Latin America; dual-purpose cattle; centrality measures; technology adoption; gender perspectives; social network analysis
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani12223194

This paper examines the role of women in the dual-purpose livestock system (DP) in Mexico through their technological adoption patterns and aims to evaluate whether there are significant differences between the technology adoption networks of men and women farmers. The sample was composed of 383 DP small farms with 20 or fewer cows and a high level of vulnerability. Social Network Analysis (SNA) was applied, and the centrality measures were calculated for the technological areas of management, feeding, genetics, reproduction, and animal health. Significant differences were found in reproduction levels between men and women farmers. Therefore, SNA was developed in this technological area where men mainly occupied central positions (brokers) while women were just close to the leaders in the network. The results have shown that farms run by women were smaller and presented higher levels of specialization and milk productivity (20% higher), and women prioritized those technologies linked to female reproductive efficiency. Moreover, women were deeply embedded in men's networks through numerous ties and were capable of building connections with groups of farmers outside of their own group.