Gender and Modern Supply Chains in Developing Countries

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Gender and Modern Supply Chains in

Developing CountriesMiet Maertens

a& Johan F.M. Swinnen

b

aBio-economics Division, Department of Earth and Environmental

Sciences, University of Leuven, BelgiumbLICOS Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance,

Department of Economics, University of Leuven, Belgium

Version of record first published: 24 Jul 2012.

To cite this article:Miet Maertens & Johan F.M. Swinnen (2012): Gender and Modern Supply Chains

in Developing Countries, The Journal of Development Studies, 48:10, 1412-1430

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Gender and Modern Supply Chains

in Developing Countries

MIET MAERTENS* & JOHAN F.M. SWINNEN***Bio-economics Division, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Leuven, Belgium, **LICOS

Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, Department of Economics, University of Leuven, Belgium

Final version received October 2011

ABSTRACT The rapid spread of modern supply chains in developing countries is profoundly changing the wayfood is produced and traded. In this article we examine gender issues related to this change. We conceptualisevarious mechanisms through which women are directly affected, we review existing empirical evidence and addnew survey-based evidence. Our results suggest that, although modern supply chains are gendered, their growthis associated with reduced gender inequalities in rural areas. We find that women benefit more and more directlyfrom large-scale estate production and agro-industrial processing, and the creation of employment in thesemodern agro-industries than from smallholder contract-farming.

1. Introduction

During the past decades the integration of developing countries in global markets accelerated

with increased participation in international trade and growing foreign direct investment (FDI)

inflows. This has resulted in rapid change in developing countries agri-food systems with rapid

expansion of so-called modern food supply chains (Swinnen, 2007). These modern supply chains

(MSC) comprise the production and trade of high-value produce, usually destined for export to

high-income markets or for supermarket retail in high-income urban market segments. MSC are

expanding rapidly across developing regions as global trade in high-value agricultural products

such as fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and seafood products is increasing sharply and

increasingly originates from developing countries

1

(Aksoy and Beghin, 2005) and as super-markets are spreading rapidly across developing countries (Reardon et al., 2003). MSC are

characterised by the use of high standards to govern quality and food safety throughout the

chains, high levels of vertical coordination including contract-farming in the chains, a high

degree of consolidation of the supply base and agro-industrial processing whereas traditional

food supply chains in poor countries are governed through spot market transactions involving a

large number of small traders.

While there is consensus that the emergence and spread of MSC is profoundly changing the

way food is produced and traded, with important effects for rural households in developing

countries, there is still debate on the welfare implications. Some studies show that the expansion

Correspondence Address: Miet Maertens, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Leuven,

Celestijnenlaan 200E, Box 2411, Leuven 3001, Belgium. Email: [email protected]

Journal of Development Studies,

Vol. 48, No. 10, 14121430, October 2012

ISSN 0022-0388 Print/1743-9140 Online/12/101412-19 2012 Taylor & Francis

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2012.663902


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of MSC increases rural incomes and alleviates rural poverty (Maertens and Swinnen, 2009;

Maertens et al., 2012; Minten et al., 2009). Other reports have argued that MSC exacerbate

existing inequalities because the poorest farmers may be excluded or exploited by large, often

multinational, companies dominating the chains (Key and Runsten, 1999; Farina and Reardon,

2000; Minot and Ngigi, 2004).

In the discussion on MSC and welfare, gender issues have received less attention, which is

surprising since women play a very important role in agriculture and in development in poor

countries. Yet, only few studies have analysed the gender effects of high-value agri-food trade

and modernisation of supply chains (Fontana et al., 1998). A first set of studies has focused on

the exclusion of women in high-value contract-farming and the implications of contract-farming

for womens work intensity (Eaton and Sheperd, 2001; Dolan, 2001, 2004; Singh, 2002). A

second set of studies has focused on gender discrimination in employment in high-value supply

chains and the impact of codes-of-conduct on gender discrimination and workers wellbeing

(Barrientos and Smith, 2007; Barrientos et al., 2003; Nelson et al., 2007). These studies point to

prevailing gender inequalities in access to contracts and in employment conditions, and to the

inability of currently applied codes to adequately address these inequalities.

There are two main shortcomings in the current literature on gender and MSC. First, studieshave identified and analysed important specific gender aspects but the literature lacks a more

comprehensive view on different effects and their interactions. Second, existing empirical

evidence is mainly qualitative and there is a need for more quantitative and survey-based

evidence. While important insights come out of qualitative studies, complementing these with

quantitative analyses is important to come to more objective and more generally valid findings

and to provide causal explanations of qualitative explorations. One of the key contributions of

our quantitative approach is that data collection is based on a random and representative sample

which allows measuring size effects and statistical analysis.

The objective of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of the gender

implications of the growth in high-value agricultural production and trade and the associatedmodernisation of agri-food supply chains. The article attempts to do so in three ways. First, we

analyse and conceptualise the various channels through which women are affected by the

emergence of MSC. Second, we review existing empirical evidence and add new survey-based

quantitative evidence from two high-value horticulture supply chains in Senegal. Third, we

identify a series of questions and issues on which there is no or very little empirical evidence

and which require answering before conclusive assessments can be made. Our review focuses

mainly, although not exclusively, on high-value horticulture supply chains in Sub-Saharan Africa

(SSA). This focus is of particular relevance because horticulture sectors have been highly

dynamic and strongly affected by processes of globalisation and modernisation (Aksoy and

Beghin, 2005; Maertens et al., 2012) and because gender inequality is a very important issue in

SSA (Quisumbing and Mc Clafferty, 2006).

2. Conceptual Framework and Related Literature

In this section we present a conceptual framework to identify mechanisms through which women

are affected by the growth in MSC. To understand how MSC affects gender inequality and

female empowerment, it is necessary to combine insights from the supply chain literature,

particularly insights on the structure of supply chains and the channels through which rural

households are affected, with insights from intra-household economics.

We discuss five important gender issues related to the growth in MSC: (1) gender bias in access

to contracts; (2) gender bias in contract conditions; (3) changes in the time allocation of women;(4) changes in gender-specific cropping patterns and technology; and (5) changes in income and

intra-household decision-making power over income. This is not meant to be an exclusive list of

gender implications but rather a list of important possible effects which have been discussed in the

literature. These issues are primarily direct gender effects and do not include possible spillover

Gender and Modern Supply Chains in Developing Countries 1413


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effects through indirect and more complex causal linkages.2 In addition, we restrict ourselves to

gender issues surrounding the economic activity of women and do not refer to the reproductive

task of women. Both issues, spillover effects and the reproductive work of women, are important

in a gender analysis of MSC but they are as yet not addressed in the literature and our case studies

do not have data on them. We believe our focus on the direct economic effects is a reasonable

approach in this first quantitative attempt to analyse and measure gender implications of MSC

and requires results to be interpreted with care. Therefore, we specifically discuss unresolved

issues related to indirect effects and reproductive activities in the concluding section.

To understand intra-household gender effects, it is important to have a good perspective on

how MSC affect rural households themselves. Previous research on the poverty effects of MSC has

shown that there are different channels through which households are affected, product-market

and labour-market channels, with important implications for poverty reduction (Maertens and

Swinnen, 2009; Maertens et al., 2011). We therefore start with a review and discussion of

household effects; we then explain the five potential (intra-household) gender effects; and in the

rest of the article we then empirically analyse these gender issues with survey data from two case-

studies in Senegal and relate our findings to other empirical studies in this literature.

Modern Supply Chains and Rural Households

The modernisation of food supply chains entails important structural changes in the food supply

system. First, MSC, such as fresh fruit and vegetable export supply chains and supermarket-

driven fresh food chains, are increasingly governed through stringent food standards, including

public regulations as well as corporate standards. Second, MSC usually entail a certain degree of

consolidation and the involvement of agro-industrial firms or large buyers. This consolidation

can happen at the level of food processors, exporters or food distributors but also at the level of

primary production. Third, rather than being based on spot market transactions MSC entail

varying levels of vertical coordination at different nodes in the chains. This is most apparent inthe form of contract-farming between agro-industrial firms or food distributors and primary

producers. In the most extreme case, primary production is completely vertically integrated in

upstream processing and trading activities. Fourth, vertical coordination in MSC often involves

some kind of market interlinking. This implies that transactions are carried out in multiple

markets (Swinnen and Vandeplas, 2009); for example the delivery of inputs and credit to farmers

by food companies in return for supplies of primary produce under contract-farming

arrangements.

There are large variations in the degree of supply base consolidation, the extent of agro-

industrialisation, the level of vertical coordination and the occurrence of market interlinking

across countries and sectors (Swinnen and Maertens, 2007). These variations are important in

determining how rural households are connected to and affected by MSC: through product

markets or through labour markets. First, farm-households are affected through the production

and marketing of high-value produce in contract-farming schemes with the agro-industry.

Contract-farming has often been criticised for exploiting unequal power relations and extracting

rents from supply chains (for example, Little and Watts, 1994; Wilson, 1986). However, recent

theoretical work on contract-farming shows that under conditions of weak contract enforcement

and market interlinking realistic conditions for MSC contracted farmers are likely to benefit

(for example, Swinnen et al., 2010; Swinnen and Vandeplas, 2009). Also recent empirical studies

have shown that farmers generally gain from participation in high-value contract-farming

schemes through enhanced access to inputs, reduced production and marketing risk, improved

technology and productivity, and ultimately higher incomes which has been empiricallydemonstrated by various authors (for example, Swinnen, 2007; Minten et al., 2009). Second, if

high-value supply chains are characterised by contracting with large commercial farms or by

vertically integrated estate production, or if labour-intensive post-harvesting and processing is

needed for example, because of increased requirements for sorting, grading, washing, labelling

1414 M. Maertens & J.F.M. Swinnen


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etc. incorporated in public regulations and private standards local households may be affected

through employment and labour market effects. Empirical studies have demonstrated that

especially the poorest households benefit through labour market effects (for example, Maertens

and Swinnen, 2009; Maertens et al., 2011).

Intra-Household and Gender Issues

The impact of the growth in high-value export supply chains on total household income and

welfare is only part of the story. Individual household members may have different preferences

and may not pool resources (Ellis, 1998). It has been observed that income controlled by women

has a superior development impact because such income is more likely associated with improved

child nutrition, and increased spending on childrens education, health care, and so forth

(Quisumbing and McClafferty, 2006). So, the participation of women in MSC and female control

over income derived from MSC matters as this might be positively associated with reduced

gender inequality in rural areas and broader development goals. There are several possible effects

that need to be taken into account when analysing the gender implications of the growth in

MSC.A first issue is whether the access to production and labour contracts3 in these chains is biased

against women. It has been demonstrated in the literature that poorer households are often

excluded from high-value contract-farming for lack of access to sufficient productive resources

(Maertens and Swinnen, 2009; Neven et al., 2009). Likewise, women might be excluded from

production contracts because they generally have less access to land, capital, credit, information

and technology. In addition, cultural, social and religious norms might prevent women from

wage work outside the home and family farm (Lanjouw and Lanjouw, 2001; Haggblade et al.,

1988), and from labour contracts in the agro-industry. Also gender differences in the level of

education and skills might contribute to a gender bias in the access to production and labour

contracts in MSC. Exclusion of women from contracting might result in women being deprivedof the economic benefits MSC bring about.

Second, even if women are included in MSC through production or labour contracts, contract

conditions might be gendered. Given their lower level of education and poorer access to

information, technology and productive resources, women might be in an inferior bargaining

position vis-a` -vis agro-industrial companies and therefore face unfavorable employment

conditions, such as lower wages or longer working hours, or worse contract specifications,

such as lower prices. Such gender discrimination in wages and work conditions has been

documented for other sectors (Canagarajah et al., 2001; Fontana et al., 1998; Lanjouw and

Lanjouw, 2001; Zhang et al., 2004) .

Third, if women are excluded or disadvantaged in the access to production and labour

contracts in MSC, they might not only be deprived favorable economic opportunities, they might

even be adversely affected through changes in the amount and quality of the work they do. If

men turn to wage labour in agro-industries, their labour on the family farm might be substituted

by female labour. Likewise, men might rely on female family labour for the production of high-

value crops under contract. This increases womens work intensity and might also increase the

level of drudgery and risk (for example, through agro-chemical use) in womens work. Especially

when the division of labour in agriculture is gender sequential4 with men and women

performing separate (and joint) tasks on the same plots women might be adversely affected

through increased work intensity if their husband or male siblings are involved in production or

labour contracts with the agro-industry.

Fourth, the exclusion of women from production contracts might lead to additional adverseeffects and increased gender inequality. High-value contract-farming is likely to change the

cropping pattern and the level of technology on the household farm. Many authors have indeed

documented contract-farming leading to technological improvements (e.g. Minten et al., 2009).

These changes might relegate women to the lowest productivity branches of agricultural



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production while increasing the productivity of men, contributing to gender inequality. Changed

cropping patterns might result in a reallocation of land to contract production, jeopardising food

production done by women, and ultimately lead to the deterioration of the food security

situation of women and children (Baumann, 2000). Especially when the division of labour in

agriculture is gender specific5 with men and women cultivating different crops on different

plots women might be adversely affected through this mechanism.

Fifth, the direct access of women to production and labour contracts in MSC might play an

important part in determining their bargaining power over the additional income derived from

the chains, and ultimately determine womens economic independence and empowerment. On

the one hand, the growth in MSC might increase household income but if women are largely

excluded from contracting, they might not have much decision-making power over the additional

income. Female family labour is often unpaid or inadequately remunerated, which results in

women not benefitting directly from contract-farming even if they perform part of the work on

contracted plots controlled by their husband or male siblings. On the other hand, if women are

the contracted party themselves they might have a higher bargaining power over the derived

income because they directly receive cash earnings or wages from the agro-industry, and because

these earnings are more directly attributable to their labour (Zhang et al., 2004). Moreover, if theincome derived from contracting between the agro-industry and female household members

becomes an important part of total household income, the bargaining and decision-making

power of women in the household might increase, resulting in a higher economic independence

and empowerment for women (Bussman, 2009).

3. Case-Studies

To empirically document and quantify the gender effects in MSC in developing countries, we use

insights from two case-studies of high-value horticulture export chains in Senegal. The case-

studies represent the two main horticulture zones in Senegal: (1) the area Les Niayes fromwhere over 90 per cent of exported beans and a large share of exported mango originate and (2)

the Senegal River Delta area from where the large majority of tomato exports originates. Beans,

tomatoes and mangos are the main horticulture export crops in Senegal, accounting together for

more than two thirds of total horticulture export value. Fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) exports

from Senegal to the European Union (EU) have increased tremendously in the past 10 years:

from 5 million US$ in 2000 to 30 million US$ in 2009 (Figure 1).

The export supply chains for tomato, bean and mango differ substantially in certain aspects.

The tomato supply chain6 is dominated by one multinational company organising the complete

production and export of tomatoes from the Senegal River Delta area to several European

Figure 1. Value of horticulture exports from Senegal, 20002009Source: Comtrade (2010).



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countries. The company a subsidiary of a French holding with food production and

distribution affiliates in Europe, Africa and Latin America started investing in horticulture in

Senegal in 2001. The export tomato chain is completely vertically integrated and local

smallholder suppliers are completely excluded. The company hires some 3,000 local labourers to

work on its estate farms and in its processing unit. The multinational holding aims at high-

standards production through using labour codes such as those specified by ETI (Ethical Trading

Initiative) and through certification by different schemes, including GlobalGAP (formerly

EurepGAP), BRC (British Retail Consortium) and Tescos Nature Choice.

The bean supply chain7 involves several exporting companies in the Niayes region and is based

partially on smallholder contract-farming and partially on vertically integrated agro-industrial

production. Companies in this sector increasingly seek compliance with GlobalGAP standards

and for that started their own integrated estate production, which is causing a profound shift in

the governance structure of the bean supply chain. The share of produce interviewed exporters

procure from local smallholders decreased from 95 per cent in 1999 to 45 per cent in 2007.8 Many

local farm-households are involved in bean export production either as contract-farmer or as

employee.

The mango supply chain also involves several exporting companies in the Niayes region and is(still) largely based on smallholder contract-farming. In 2007, interviewed companies were

sourcing 85 per cent of produce from smallholders. Yet, several mango export companies were at

the time of the interview investing in establishing new large-scale vertically-integrated mango

estates. A similar shift from smallholder contract-farming towards large-scale agro-industrial

production can be expected for the near future when newly established mango orchards become

productive.

In line with the discussion above, these structural differences in the export supply chains result

in rural households being directly affected only through labour markets in the case of tomato

exports in the Senegal River Delta region and through labour and product markets in the case of

bean and mango exports in the Niayes region.

4. Data

In each of the case-study areas, we organised extensive primary data collection at different levels

of the supply chains; including qualitative interviews with experts, farmers organisations and

village representatives; quantitative interviews with exporting companies; and a large and

comprehensive household survey.

The quantitative firm-level interviews cover 13 bean exporting companies, of which eight also

export mango, in the Niayes region interviewed in April 2005 and June 2007 and the sole

multinational company dominating tomato exports from the Senegal River Delta area

interviewed in September 2005 and March 2006. These companies together represent 46 per cent

of bean exports, 46 per cent of mango exports and 60 per cent of tomato exports. The household

survey in the Niayes region was conducted in JulyAugust 2007 and covered 450 households.9

The household survey in the Senegal River Delta region was conducted in FebruaryApril 2006

and covered 300 households. Sampling was done through village clustering and stratified random

selection of households within the clusters, with contract farmers and agro-industrial employees

in the horticulture export sector being oversampled. Sampling weights are used to correct for

that oversampling and draw correct inferences from statistics.

The survey data include, besides general household level information, quantitative and gender-

disaggregated data on employment and working conditions in the FFV agro-industry including

recall information on employment and on contract-farming with the export industry. Thesurvey data from the Niayes region include additional gender-disaggregated data on land

ownership, control and management of plots, livestock ownership, access to credit, child

education, and membership of associations. Data were obtained using a survey instrument with

specific sections for different respondents: (1) for the (mostly male) household head; (2) for the



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spouse or in case of polygamist households for the spouse responsible for the housekeeping; (3)

for the farmer, if any, having a contract with the export industry for the production of fruits and

vegetables; and (4) for a women, if any, employed at a horticulture export company.

A strength of our data is the detail in income data that allow calculating household net income

from farm and off-farm sources, the latter in a gender-disaggregated way. A limitation of our

data for this study10 is a lack of detail in labour data: the data do not allow calculating gender

disaggregated time allocation to agriculture and other income-generating activities.

5. Gender Outcomes

5.1. Access to Production Contracts

Female farmers are mostly excluded from contracting with agro-industrial firms for the delivery

of high-value produce. Our data from Senegal show a clear gender bias in access to production

contracts. Within the sample, only two out of 73 contracted bean farmers and two out of 58

contracted mango farmers are women. This is consistent with other findings in the literature.

Although there are some examples of successful integration of women as contracted party incontract-farming schemes, most available studies indicate that female farmers are largely

excluded from high-value contract-farming. Dolan (2001) observes less than 10 per cent of

female farmers in smallholder FFV contract-farming schemes in Kenyan and Eaton and Sheperd

(2001) find that in large contract-farming schemes involving many thousands of farmers in China

contracts were exclusively with men.

The reasons for this exclusion of female contractors relate to their limited access to productive

resources. Interviewed horticulture exporting companies in the Niayes region in Senegal stated

that they are strongly biased towards men in selecting contracted suppliers in order to secure

access to land and labour. In addition, women are disadvantaged in contracting with the export

industry because they lack claims to irrigation water and infrastructure, which is a crucial inputfor bean production. Also Dolan (2001) finds that the preference of food companies to contract

with men is driven by companies need to secure access to land and labour for a guaranteed

supply of primary produce and that women are excluded because they lack statutory rights over

land and because they have less authority over family labour compared to their husband and

male siblings

5.2. Access to Labour Contracts

In sharp contrast to production contracts, there is no bias against women in the access to labour

contracts in MSC. In fact, the agro-industrial estates and agro-processing companies that

dominate MSC employ a large number of workers and a large share of them are female workers.

This is documented for several SSA horticulture export chains in Table 1. The figures show that a

large share of the thousands of employees in specific horticulture export sectors is female. In our

casestudies in Senegal 90 per cent of the employees in mango and/or bean exporting companies

and 60 per cent in the tomato exporting company are female. Also in other countries the share of

female labourers in the FFV agro-industry is particularly high; for example in the flower industry

in Kenya and Uganda (75%) and the fresh vegetable sector in Zambia (65%).

These figures reveal that the growth in MSC in developing countries has been associated with a

feminisation of rural labour markets. The survey data from Senegal allow measuring the

importance of the observed gender and labour market effects. We find that in both casestudy

regions almost one third of rural households have women who are currently employed in theFFV agro-industry (Figure 2). In the Niayes area female employment in the horticulture export

industry increased from less than 5 per cent of local households in 1999 (before the largest

companies moved away from smallholder contract-farming towards integrated estate produc-

tion) to more than 30 per cent of households in 2007. Similarly, in the Senegal River Delta area



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the share of households having female members employed in the tomato export industry

increased sharply from 2002 onwards (when tomato export activities in this region started) and

reached about 30 per cent in 2006. In this case male employment is almost as high as female

employment while in the Niayes region male employment in the horticulture agro-industry

represents less than 10 per cent of households.

These are large and important effects, especially since employment in the agro-industry mainly

concerns relatively poorer households11 and since other off-farm employment opportunities for

(poor) women are very limited in the casestudy regions. Of the women employed in the

horticulture export industry in the Niayes region 89 per cent indicate to have never been

employed outside the home and the household farm before, and 83 per cent indicate to have noother possibilities for wage employment outside the horticulture export industry. Similarly, in the

Senegal River Delta area only 11 per cent of households have female household members

working as off-farm wage laborer outside the tomato export industry (compared to 22% for male

household members).

Table 1. Employment in the horticulture export agro-industry in selected sub-Saharan African countries

Country Commodity Year of surveyNumber of employees in

the FFV agro-industryShare of

female employees

Cameroon Banana 2003 10,000Cote dIvoire Banana and pineapple 2002 35,000

Kenya Flowers 2002 40,00070,000 75%Fruits and vegetables 2,000,000

Senegal French beans 2005 12,000 90%Cherry tomatoes 2006 3,000 60%

Uganda Flowers 1998 3,300 75%Zambia Vegetables 2002/03 7,500 65%

Flowers 2002/03 2,500 35%South Africa Deciduous fruit 1994 283,000 53%

Source: Maertens et al. (2012).

Figure 2. Gender disaggregated participation in agro-industrial employment in two case-study regions inSenegal

Source: Calculated from survey data.



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Agro-industrial firms mention their preference to hire female workers to be related to the

capabilities of women for delicate harvesting and handling of fresh produce; except for

harvesting mango, which involves climbing trees and for which male workers are preferred.

There may be other explanations. Dolan (2004) argues that the concentration of female labour in

horticulture export supply chains in Kenya is related to low cost and flexible labour adjustment

to just-in-time strategies of overseas supermarkets at the downstream end of the supply chain.

Another possible explanation is that women are more efficient in certain tasks: in the bean sector

in Kenya female farmers were found to do a much better job in harvesting, leading to

substantially higher profits (Kimenye, 2005). Finally, gender biased employment for specific

activities may reflect local traditions and cultural factors, as specific tasks have been traditionally

performed by either men or women. We do not have good empirical evidence to test these

various potential explanations.

However, we can conclude that the growth of MSC in Senegal, and other developing

countries, has resulted in a feminisation of the rural labour market. This is an important finding

in itself, given that off-farm employment opportunities for rural women in developing countries

are often lacking while female wage employment is positively associated with womens wellbeing

and broader development goals.

5.3. Employment Conditions in Labour Contracts

Some studies argue that labour markets themselves may be bearers of and even reinforce

gender inequality (Casale, 2004; Barrientos et al., 2003). Gender discrimination in labour

markets may come from wage differentials between male and female workers and from gender

differences in job security, working conditions, type of contracts, etc. Tables 2 and 3 present

gender disaggregated data on the employment characteristics of hundreds of workers in the bean,

mango and tomato export chains in Senegal. First, a quarter of female workers in the bean and

mango industry in the Niayes region is remunerated as pieceworkers based on the number ofbags or boxes of produce handled while all male workers receive daily wages (Table 2). We

have no information on whether the piecework performed by women is more or less strenuous

and entails more or less work for the same wage. However, we do find that there is no significant

difference in the actual daily wages between pieceworkers (1645 FCFA, Francs Communate

Financie` re Africaine, on average) and daily wage workers (1700 FCFA on average).

Second, in the Senegal River Delta region, nearly all female workers in the tomato export

industry are casual or seasonal labourers while 30 per cent of the male workers are permanent

employees12 (Table 3). During our interview, the tomato exporting company explained that the

reason for this gender difference in permanent and temporary labour is the higher skills needed

for permanent positions and the general low level of education among women. Here we do find a

statistically significant difference, at the 1 per cent level, in the actual daily wages between casual

or seasonal workers (2062 FCFA on average) and permanent employees (3984 FCFA on

average).

Third, we find that women have shorter employment periods than men, but work somewhat

more hours per day when employed. Female workers in the bean and mango export industry

work on average 8.6 hours per day, 11 per cent more than the average of 7.8 hours per day for

male workers. They are employed on average 3.6 months a year, 16 per cent less than the average

of 4.3 months for men (Table 2). Likewise, female workers in the tomato export industry work

on average 5.7 months a year compared to 8.1 months for male workers (Table 3). The shorter

employment periods for women might be because several women of the same, often polygamist,

households often take turns in working in the agro-industry and staying at home forhousekeeping and child care.

Fourth, there are large and significant differences in daily and hourly wages between male and

female workers in both regions. Daily wages are on average 1664 FCFA for women compared to

1895 FCFA for men in the bean and mango industry in the Niayes region (Table 2); and on



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Table2.Genderdisaggregatedemploymentconditionsfordifferenttypeofworke

rs,Niayesregion,2007

Employmentinthe

exportagro-industry

Otheragricultural

employment(onfamilyfarms)

Othernon-agricultural

emplo

yment

Female

workers

Male

workers

tstatistic

Female

workers

Male

workers

tstatistic

Female

workers

M

ale

workers

tstatistic

Workersinthesample

228

53

79

30

33

64

Shareofcasua

l/seasonalworkers

97.8%

96.2%

100%

100%

36.4%

18.8%

Shareofpermanentworkers

2.2%

3.8%

0%

0%

63.6%

81.3%

Shareofpieceworkers

25.9%

0%

8.9%

6.7%

0%

1.6%

Shareoffixed

rateworkers

74.1%

100%

91.1%

93.3%

100%

98.4%

Dailywages(F

CFA)

1,664

1,895

2.59***

1,309

1,995

4.07***

1,391

2,846

3.85***

Workinghoursperday

8.6

7.8

72.47***

7.4

7.4

0.006

8.5

10.3

2.76***

Workingmonthsperyear

3.66

4.35

2.43***

5.42

6.13

0.86

8.42

9.73

1.74*

Hourlywages

(FCFA)1

205.1

257.8

3.61***

180.7

294.4

4.36***

166.5

306.5

2.88***

beansubsector

194.2

204.0

0.44

mangosubsector

265.8

283.2

0.73

Source:Calculatedfromsurveydata.

1

Hourlywagesarecalculatedfromobservationsondailywagesandworkinghoursperday.

Dailywages,w

orkinghoursperday,workingm

onthsperyear,andhourlywag

esforfemaleandmaleworkersarecomparedusingttest:tstatisticsarereportedfor

thehypothesis

H0:mean(maleworker)mea

n(femaleworker)0withstatisticallysignificantdifferencesin

dicatedwith*p5

.1,**p5

.05

and***p5

.01.



12/20

average 2055 FCFA for women compared to 2712 FCFA for men in the tomato industry in the

Senegal River Delta region (Table 3). However, gender wage differentials disappear when

comparing male and female wages within the bean and mango subsectors (Table 2) and among

seasonal and permanent workers in the tomato industry (Table 3). This suggests that men and

women receive equal wages for the same jobs and hence that there is no direct gender wage

discrimination. Gender wage discrimination is indirect and related to the fact that men andwomen are involved in different types of jobs. The fact that wages in the mango sector, where

more men are employed, are higher as compared to the bean sector is likely related to the season:

mango is harvested and exported during the main agricultural season when labour is scarce and

hence more expensive.

These findings are in line with previous studies showing that employment conditions in labour

markets in high-value supply chains are gendered, for example Barrientos and Kritzinger (2004)

and Nelson et al. (2007) on the South African fruit and wine export sectors, and Dolan (2004) on

the Kenyan horticulture export sector. Most of these studies point to occupational segregation:

men have permanent positions and higher skilled jobs while women have low skilled and casual

or seasonal jobs, resulting in indirect wage discrimination.

5.4. Gender Inequality in Labour Markets

The above evidence suggests that labour markets in horticulture export supply chains in Senegal

are gendered due to indirect wage discrimination and differences between men and women in

terms of job tenure, remuneration methods, working hours and employment periods. However,

to understand the impact of the growth in MSC on gender inequality, one should also compare

gender inequality in other forms of employment. Hence, an equally, and possible more,

important issue is whether employment in MSC has more or less gender bias compared to other

rural employment. In other words, does the growth of MSC reduce or increase gender inequality

in wages and employment conditions?To analyse this, we compare gender differences in wages and working conditions in

employment in the export agro-industry with gender differences in other wage employment. For

this comparison in the Niayes region we can distinguish between employment in other

agricultural activities and in non-agricultural activities (Table 2) but in the Senegal River Delta

Table 3. Gender disaggregated employment conditions for different type of workers, Senegal River Deltaregion, 2007

Employment in the exportagro-industry Other employment

Female

workers

Male

workers t statistic

Female

workers

Male

workers t statistic

Workers in the sample 303 196 43 82Share of casual/temporary workers 98% 70% 93% 82%Share of permanent workers 2% 30% 7% 18%Share of pieceworkers 0% 0% 0% 0%Share of fixed rate workers 100% 100% 100% 100%Daily wages (FCFA) 2,055 2,712 5.04*** 2,062 2,948 1.95**

casual/seasonal workers 2,045 2,100 0.49 2,082 2,405 1.99** permanent workers 2,500 4,134 1,805 5,497

Working months per year 5.73 8.14 6.97*** 5.53 6.42 1.27*

Source: Calculated from survey data.

Daily wages and working months per year for female and male workers are compared using ttest: t statisticsare reported for the hypothesis H0: mean (male worker) mean (female worker) 0 with statisticallysignificant differences indicated with *p5 .1, **p5 .05 and ***p5 .01.



13/20

region we need to pool all other employment because of a small number of observations

(Table 3). The data show that also among workers in other wage employment, men more often

have permanent positions and longer employment periods, and that there are large and

significant gender differentials in wages (Tables 2 and 3). Moreover, the observed gender wage

gap is much larger in other employment sectors than in the horticulture export industry. For the

Niayes casestudy, we find that the difference in mean daily wages of males and females is 231

FCFA in the horticulture agro-industry compared to 686 FCFA in other agricultural and 1455

FCFA in non-agricultural employment (Table 2). For the Senegal River Delta case study the

evidence points to the same result with gender differences in mean wages much smaller in the

horticulture agro-industry 55 FCFA for casual workers and 1634 for permanent workers

than in other employment 323 FCFA for casual workers and 3692 FCFA for permanent

workers (Table 3). Hence, gender wage differentials in MSC are only a fraction, one third to one

sixth, of the observed wage differential in other rural employment sectors.

Another important aspect in this comparison is that wages for female workers in the

horticulture agro-industry are higher than in other employment sectors. In Table 4 we compare

hourly wages for workers in different sectors. The figures indicate that hourly wages for female

workers in the export agro-industry are significantly larger (205 FCFA) than wages in otheragricultural employment (180 FCFA) and non-agricultural employment (166 FCFA). These

differences, again, are substantial: the wage premium for women in the agro-industry is 23 per

cent compared to non-agricultural employment. These differences appear particularly important

because this does not hold for the wages of male workers, for which there is no significant

difference between the agro-industry (257 FCFA) and other agricultural employment (294

FCFA) while wages in non-agricultural sectors are 16 per cent higher (306 FCFA).

In summary, these findings indicate that the growth of modern food supply chains in Senegal is

reducing the gender inequality in rural labour markets. Moreover, the reduction is large. Wage

gaps in MSC are much smaller than in other types of wage employment.

Possible reasons why there is less direct gender discrimination in MSC than in rural labourmarkets in general relate to the use of high standards and the involvement of foreign companies

in the chain. First, high-value supply chains are governed through stringent public and private

standards, including labour standards and codes of conduct that are meant to improve poor

working conditions and abolish gender (and other types of) discrimination. Other studies

examining the impact of such labour standards and codes of conduct find that they improve

certain, but not all, aspects of employment conditions (Barrientos and Smith, 2007), that they

lead to higher wages and improved wellbeing of workers (Nelson et al., 2007) but that they fail to

Table 4. Gender disaggregated comparison of hourly wages across sectors, Niayes region, 2007

Female workers Male workers

Wages(FCFA)

Diff. (other- agro-industry)Wages

(FCFA)

Diff. (other- agro-industry)

Diff. % Diff t statistic Diff. % Diff t statistic

Employment in theexport agro-industry

205.1 257.8

Other agriculturalemployment

180.7 724.4 714% 71.92** 294.4 36.6 12% 1.23

Other non-agriculturalemployment

166.5 738.6 723% 71.84** 306.5 48.7 16% 1.41***

Source: Calculated from survey data.Hourly wages for female and male workers in employment in the export agro-industry and in otheremployment are compared using ttest: t statistics are reported for the hypothesis H0: mean (employment inthe agro-industry) mean (other employment) 0 with statistically significant differences indicated with*p5 .1, **p5 .05 and ***p5 .01.



14/20

address complex gender needs (Barrientos et al., 2000, 2003). Second, studies on foreign direct

investment often find that foreign companies pay higher wages because they use higher levels of

technology and that they adopt better labour practices out of reputational concern (Colen et al.,

2009; Lipsey and Sjo holm, 2004). The bean, mango and tomato export sectors in Senegal include

a variety of companies, including companies adopting and not adopting high labour standards,

and FDI and domestic companies, but our survey data are not detailed enough to analyse

formally how work conditions and wages differ between companies.

5.5. Contract-Farming and Resource Allocation

Rural households participating in MSC through production contracts allocate (part of) their

land, labour and capital resources to the production of the contracted crops. This might have

direct implications for the allocation of these resources within the household and the access to

productive resources for women.

Table 5 presents figures on farm characteristics and resource allocation for contract and non-

contract farm-households. The figures suggest no large effects of export contract-farming on land

and labour allocation. First, as could be expected, given that women are largely excluded ascontracted parties and given that usufruct and ownership rights on agricultural land in the

Niayes region are held mostly by men, the area under contract is almost exclusively controlled by

men. In addition, very little agricultural land is controlled by women and the figures indicate no

large differences in female control over land between contracted and non-contracted households.

Second, female family members perform some of the work on contracted bean and mango

plots but this is only a relatively small share: 6.5 per cent on average in bean production and 17.8

per cent in mango production (Table 5). These relatively low figures are related to the fact that

mango contract-farming does not increase per hectare labour requirements much as the most

labour intensive task, harvesting, is in 90 per cent of the cases performed under the control of and

by labourers from the contractor company. In addition, contract-farmers in the bean sector arerelative better-off farmers13 who have the means to hire additional labour, resulting in 34 per

cent of the farm work on contracted bean plots being performed by hired labour (Table 5).

Table 5. Gender related farm characteristics for contracted and non-contracted farm-households, Niayesregion, 2007

Bean contractfarmers

Mango contractfarmers

Non-contractfarmers

Number of contracted farm-households 73 58 321Number of female contractors 2 2Average farm size (ha) 4.50 7.15 3.50Share of cultivated area controlled by women (%) 3.7% 1.7% 4.8%Average contracted area (ha) 0.75 3.42Share of contracted area controlled by women1 (%) 3.7% 1.7%Amount of labour on contracted plots (persondays) 274.79 234.26Share of female labour on contracted plots (%) 6.5% 17.8%Share of hired labour on contracted plots (%) 34.8% 1.8%Gross revenu from farming (FCFA) 1,854,113 2,116,276 1,056,241Gross revenu from contract-farming (FCFA) 751,953 732,107Share of revenu from contract-farming

controlled by women (%)

2.7% 3.4%

Notes: 1Control over agricultural land is defined as taking management decisions (such as what to plant,when to plant, when to harvest) on the plot.2Control over gross revenue is defined as to whom the earnings belong.Source: Calculated from survey data.



15/20

These findings from Senegal contradictother empirical findings. Some studies show that while

men control the contracts as contracting party, the majority of the farm work done on

contracted plots is performed by women as family labourers and thereby replacing labour from

food production: for example Singh (2002) on vegetable contract-farming in the Indian Punjab;

and Eaton and Sheperd (2001) on contract-farming in China. Other studies report conflicts over

land and labour resources between high-value contract production by men and basic food crop

production by women: for example Eaton and Sheperd (2001) on China and Dolan (2001) on

vegetable production in Kenya.

The difference in findings might be related to specific case study settings but also to the

peculiarities of a gender division of labour in agriculture. In the Niayes casestudy the results

might be driven by specific aspects of the environment, the farming system and the market. The

Niayes region is not a land scarce region and beans are exported during a confined period from

November till April (when the domestic supply in the EU is small) which does not coincide with

the main rainy season when food crops are cultivated. Also, women usually work on the same

plots and crops as men but perform different tasks such as sowing, weeding and especially

marketing. With such gender sequential division of labour in agriculture, the effect of contract-

farming on intra-household resource allocation might be more limited compared to for examplecase studies from Kenya where the labour division might be more gender specific. In addition,

gender roles in the Senegalese horticulture export sector might change when the export sector

further develops and the season extends or when land becomes more scarce.

5.6. Income and Intra-Household Decision-Making Power

In previous work, we have shown that high-value contract-farming and employment in agro-

industries results in substantial increases in household income. We find that wage employment in

the export industry increases income by 60 per cent in the Niayes region and 80 per cent in the

Senegal River Delta region, and that bean contract-farming increases household income by 110per cent (Maertens and Swinnen, 2009; Maertens et al., 2011). An important gender issue is

whether the increased income also benefits women directly.

Gross revenue from contract-farming in the Niayes case study is mainly controlled by men.

The data in Table 5 show that there is a discrepancy in the share of work that is done by

women on contracted plots and the share of the revenue from contracting that they control.

In bean contracting women represent 6.5 per cent of the labour force but control only 2.7 per

cent of the revenue and in mango contracting they perform 17.8 per cent of the work for

controlling only 3.4 per cent of the revenue. These data suggest that the exclusion of women

from MSC as contracted farmers results in very limited control over the additional income

derived from contract-farming.

Women involved in MSC through labour contracts with the agro-industry might benefit more

directly. In this case women are themselves the contracted party and directly receive cash wages.

Figure 3 present total household income for the 12-month period prior to the survey,

disaggregated over different sources and, where possible, over gender.14 It is clear that in both

case studies an important share of the income derived from wages in the horticulture agro-

industry is earned by women and that these wages contribute importantly to the income of those

households that are employed in the sector. In the Niayes region, these wages are 80 per cent

earned by women and make up a quarter of total household income. In the Senegal River Delta

region agro-industrial wages have become the major source of income and constitute 50 per cent

of household income while female wages in particular account for 26 per cent of total income. In

comparison, in households without members employed in the horticulture agro-industry, femaleincome earned outside the own family farm represents only a small part of total household

income: 8.8 per cent in the Niayes region and 6.5 per cent in the Senegal River Delta region.

Hence, apart from leading to higher household incomes, the growth in MSC also has a large

impact on the importance of wages earned by women in total household income.



16/20

This change in the level and composition of household income has implications for intra-household bargaining power and for female empowerment. Women in the Niayes region were

specifically asked for additional advantages of their employment in horticulture export

companies: 94 per cent of these women indicated that their decision-making power in the

household has increased, 67 per cent indicated that they receive more respect in their community

and 78 per cent indicate that the contact with other women is a main additional advantage of the

employment.

The evidence from Senegal suggests that the growth in MSC has created direct economic gains

for women through labour market channels and that female-generated wage income has become

an important part of household income, leading to more economic independence and

empowerment of women.

6. Conclusions

In this article we reviewed the literature on gender aspects of the growth of MSC, and identified

several mechanisms through which women are affected. We used original survey data from

Senegal to quantify various effects.

We find that the growth of MSC in developing countries has important and complex gender

implications. Part of the complexity is due to the fact that the industrial organisation of these

supply chains has taken various forms. In some of the chains companies use smallholder

contract-farming to source their supplies. Others are organised as vertically integrated supply

chains with large-scale farm production. Our analysis shows that these different organisationalarrangements lead to very different gender effects in Senegal.

In MSC with smallholder contract-farming schemes, female farmers have been mostly

excluded, in the sense that the contracts are almost exclusively signed with men. Women do

perform some of the work on contracted plots controlled by men but the share of female family

Figure 3. Gender disaggregated sources of income in two case-study regions in SenegalSource: Calculation from survey data.



17/20

labour is relatively small. In contrast, women make up a large share of the work-force on large

farms, where they benefit from employment and direct access to wages, which also enhances their

bargaining power in the households. The growth in MSC has increased access to rural labour

markets for (poor) rural women. It thus leads to an increased feminisation of rural labour

markets.

Moreover, while there appears to be gender discrimination in employment in MSC, the gender

discrimination is much smaller than in other sectors. We find evidence that in the Senegalese

horticultural chains there is gender discrimination in wages, be it mostly indirect, and in other

employment conditions. This corroborates earlier findings from the literature and the validity of

policy conclusions drawn in previous studies about the need to address gender discrimination in

rural labour markets and the need for more gender sensitivity in labour standards and codes of

conduct. However, our results from Senegal also show that MSC entail much less direct and

indirect gender discrimination as compared to other rural employment sectors. Therefore the

growth of MSC might contribute to decreasing albeit not eliminating existing gender

inequalities in rural labour markets.

An important insight from this article is that women benefit more and more directly through

labour market effects than through product market effects in these chains. Women benefit moreas hired employees in the agro-industry because of direct access to wages and because the wages

they receive improve their bargaining power over household income while income derived from

contract-farming is mainly controlled by the mostly male contractors. This is a particularly

important result since earlier studies have indicated that labour market channels in MSC are also

more effective in reducing rural poverty as compared to product market channels from which

poorer households are often excluded (see Maertens and Swinnen, 2009; Maertens et al., 2012).

Hence, MSC can be more effective in assuring that the benefits from high-value production and

trade are more equally shared among the rural poor and rural women when supply chains are

based on agro-industrial production and hired labour rather than on smallholder contract-

farming and family labour.These findings contrast strongly with most studies in the literature, and with most

development policy. Development policy in this field almost exclusively focuses on the inclusion

of smallholder farms in modern value chains and the promotion of smallholder contract-farming

to assure an equitable distribution of the gains from high-value agricultural trade. While one

should be careful not to generalise based on a few casestudies, our findings should at least induce

people to reflect on the potential benefits of other types of development models. Hence, there is a

need for integrating insights on labour market effects of MSC, including gender aspects, in policy

thinking.

The focus of this article was on gender issues related to the direct economic effects of MSC and

many issues, especially related to indirect effects and the interaction with the reproductive

activities of women, remain unresolved. We need better conceptual frameworks and more

empirical evidence. Some issues which certainly need more research are the following. First, there

is mixed evidence on whether high-value contract-farming results in land and labour resources

being shifted away from basic food production and it is unclear what the ultimate effects are in

terms of food security and child nutrition. The reallocation of resources between high-value

contract production controlled by men and basic food crop production controlled by women

might strongly depend on the gender division of labour in agriculture.

Second, there is very little evidence on whether, besides employment effects in the emerging

agro-industries, MSC entail indirect labour market effects through an increased demand for

hired labour on contracted smallholder farms. If such indirect labour market effects exist, their

implications in terms of female participation and gender discrimination is a potentiallyimportant issue as well.

Third, the allocation of female labour to rural off-farm wage labour in emerging modern agro-

industries might have indirect effects on the allocation of household resources. On the one hand,

the wage income generated by women might increase their decision power in the household. On



18/20

the other hand, resources, including land, household labour and the claim on income from other

household activities, might be taken away from women working outside the home and the family

farm.

Fourth, as womens economic activities interfere with their reproductive work, the growth in

MSC and the related feminisation of rural labour markets might entail consequences for matters

such age at marriage, maternal age, fertility rate, and so forth. In addition, while female income

is discussed to be positively related with spending on childrens education, the feminisation of

rural labour markets might have adverse effects on the schooling of girls if they withdraw from

school either to participate in the labour market or to replace their mothers in household

maintenance and child care activities. None of these issues have been substantively analysed, and

certainly require attention.

In summary, important questions remain. Specific characteristics of the commodity, the

region, the company involved, and the prevailing social and gender norms may make our

casestudy a unique positive outcome. However, gender outcomes might even be better in other

cases and regions, for example, where there is more competition for labour among companies.

We can speculate on this, but we acknowledge that the gender effects documented in this article

could be less, equally, or more successful in other cases. Institutions, infrastructure, commoditycharacteristics, government regulations, constraints in accessing inputs, existing gender roles and

socio-cultural norms are factors which differ between locations and which may affect the

outcome. That said, our study challenges several conventional wisdoms and will hopefully

induce further research on this important issue.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers. The authors thank Fide` le Ange

Dedehouanou, Thijs Vandemoortele, the Institut Senegalaise de Recherche Agricole (ISRA) in

Dakar and Saint-Louis and the NGO Amicale Socio-Economique Sportive et Culturelle desAgriculteurs du Walo (ASESCAW) in Ross Bethio for their much appreciated assistance with

data collection. The authors gratefully acknowledge research funding by the KU Leuven

Research Council (Excellence Financing and Methusalem Project), and the Research

Foundation Flanders (FWO).

Notes

1. The share of high-value non-traditional exports in total food exports from developing countries increased from

14 per cent in 1985 to 30 per cent in 2005 (Maertens et al., 2012).

2. Indirect effects in MSC include consumption effects, analysed by Minten and Reardon (2008), investment spillover

effects, analysed by Maertens (2009) and technology spillover effects, analysed by Minten et al. (2009).3. Contracts are defined here in a broad sense and can include an informal oral short-term agreement as well as a signed

formal contract extending over a longer period of time.

4. When agricultural production involves gender sequential labour women perform different tasks (often planting,

sowing, weeding, harvesting) than men (often ploughing, land preparation, fertiliser application) on the same plots.

This type of gender division of labour in agriculture is often observed in Western African countries.

5. When agricultural production involves gender specific labour women cultivate different crops (often food crops) than

men (often cash crops) on different plots. This type of gender division of labour in agriculture is often observed in

Eastern and Central African countries.

6. See Maertens et al. (2011) for more details on the tomato supply chain in Senegal.

7. See Maertens and Swinnen (2009) for more details on the bean supply chain in Senegal.

8. Similar observations on supply chain restructuring have been observed in other studies, for example by Jaffee (2003)

for Kenyan vegetable exports, by Minot and Ngigi (2004) for FFV exports from Cote dIvoire, and by Danielou andRavry (2005) for pineapple exports in Ghana. Usually increasing food standards are mentioned as the main driving

forces of these changes.

9. Three hundred of the 450 households surveyed in 2007 were already surveyed in 2005 as described in Maertens and

Swinnen (2009) and constitute a panel data set. For the purpose of this article we only use the 2007 data as the

second survey round is richer in terms of gender disaggregated data.



19/20

10. Additionally, our data do not cover the dynamics of intra-household bargaining.

11. This has been documented by Maertens and Swinnen (2009) for the Niayes region and by Maertens et al. (2011) for

the Senegal River Delta region. These studies find that employment in the export agro-industry is biased towards

households with less land and non-land assets and a lower level of education.

12. Our sample from the Niayes region does not include permanent workers as the bean and mango exporting companies

in this region are mainly family-run businesses where the permanent positions are filled by family members which are

not included in our sample of rural farm-households.

13. Maertens and Swinnen (2009) provide descriptive and econometric evidence on this issue.14. The data do not allow distinguishing between male and female income for income derived from the own farm and for

transfers. In addition, farm input data are not detailed enough to distinguish income from contract-farming from

other farm income.

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Documents

Gender and Modern Supply Chains in Developing Countries