The value of wild pollination ecosystem services to crop production:
What does gender of the smallholder farmer got to do with it?
Abstract
“Men’s crops” and “women’s crops” suggest that men and women
smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa grow different crops. Yet,
this gender division of crops is not considered in the valuation of wild
pollinators to crop productivity, and therefore remains unknown, despite
considerable coverage of wild pollination ecosystem services. We link a
nationally representative panel survey of over 10,000 actual plots
managed by male and female farmers; with spatially and temporally land
cover maps; together with robust fixed-effects production function
methods. We find evidence of gendered-crops and variation in pollination
dependency in male- and female-managed farms. Furthermore, statistically
significant fixed-effects estimates produce an exponential function
which shows that proximity to wild pollinators’ natural habits - forests
- is important, and that at shorter distances female-managed farms
benefit four times more than male-managed farms, and this tapers off as
distance increases producing convergence in benefits. We are able to
conclude that conservation that preserves the natural habitants of wild
pollinators will enhance crop yield especially among female-managed
farms. This demonstrates the importance of gender in ecosystem services
and suggests that to fully understand their benefits, gender needs to be
incorporated into natural capital and sustainable development policies
governing smallholder agriculture rich regions.