A note on the influence of gender relations on the technical efficiency of smallholder coffee production in Papua New Guinea
This paper reports an analysis of the impact of gender relations on the technical efficiency of coffee smallholders in Papua New Guinea. The analysis entailed the detailed monitoring of 18 households in 6 villages in Benabena District, Eastern Highlands Province, over a 2-year period (1992 and 1993). Likelihood ratio tests revealed significant technical inefficiencies in coffee production. The mean technical efficiency for the whole period was 0.57 (with a standard deviation of 0.30). The following gender factors significantly influenced technical efficiency: the proportion of male labour; the incentive effect on women supplying their labour in coffee production; the commitment by male and female household heads to the commercial production of coffee; and the education of the male household head. An important policy finding is the pressing need to explore the reasons for productivity discrepancies between men and women in coffee production for average and "best practice" farmers. Another potential area for policy analysis is the scope for satisfying women's needs in, and commitment to, cash cropping through extension work, in light of the finding that women's attitude to cash cropping is positively associated with technical efficiency in coffee production.
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| Format: | biblioteca |
| Published: |
2001
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| Subjects: | COFFEA, PRODUCCION VEGETAL, MANO DE OBRA FEMENINA, GENERO HUMANO, MANO DE OBRA MASCULINA, PRODUCTIVIDAD, PAPUA NUEVA GUINEA, |
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