Does Addressing Gender Inequalities and Empowering Women Improve Development Program Outcomes? The Case of the “Cassava: Adding Value for Africa” Project in Ghana

2020

English

We surveyed twenty communities and 2,716 households in the Atebubu-Amantin District, Ghana, using a Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) to assess the effect of the “Cassava: Adding Value for Africa” project. We incorporated questions on gender and women’s empowerment, income, participation in decision-making, and access to market. We found that C:AVA raised participants’ annual income by an average of GHC 981.71. This increase represents about 50.4% of the average annual income of non-C:AVA respondents. The incomes of members of women-headed households increased by 2.2% over the average to GHC 2,167.75. Factors such as household size, farming experience, educational level, religion, and income were found to influence market access, and C:AVA participants were 23.1% more likely to have access to market than non-participants. Furthermore, respondents’ collective decision-making regarding the use of such household production resources as land, seeds, extension services, fertilizer, tractor services, irrigation services, and credit increased more than 10% after they participated in C:AVA. Further, C:AVA empowered women by increasing their income and their participation in household decision-making. We recommend the adoption of CBMS methodology by the government of Ghana to provide data to aid in the planning of development interventions and to assess outcomes for improved livelihoods.

Boadu, P.; Quaye, W.; Asafu-Adjaye, N. Y.; Agyeman, A.; Akuffobea, M.