Gender roles and constraints in the green cooking banana value chain: evidence from southwestern Uganda

This paper provides an overview of how women and men engage in the green cooking banana value chain (VC) and the specific constraints they face. Several recommendations for gender-responsive interventions are made. Results are based on quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2015 in southwestern Uganda in the districts of Rakai and Isingiro from actors along the VC via surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), seasonal calendars and daily activity schedules. Results show that the green cooking banana VC is dominated by men, with only 30% of the actors in the VC being women. Social norms and business entry requirements pose major constraints to women's participation in this VC. Men and women are involved in various roles along the VC, with some roles mostly performed by men and others by women. Production is majorly controlled by men, who own and oversee most of the plantation management and sales. A few women own plantations, and acreage is usually smaller (1.5 ha) than that of men's plantations (2.4 ha). Women dominate the retail node (70%) but are absent at the wholesale node. The retail node is characterized by the highest PHL (18.42%) and the lowest profit margins. Men retailers incur higher physical (8.45%) and residual (UGX 10.084.5) losses compared to women retailers (physical (7.35); residual (UGX 9.112.5)). Women mainly access credit from informal sources that do not require collateral such as farmers' groups. We recommend promoting evidence-based advocacy of women's rights to land, and developing strategies aimed at developing financial products, such as loans, that respond to the needs of women farmers. VC analyses should include gender roles to give due recognition to the contributions of men and women VC actors.