This study examined associations between two strip-cropping innovations, cereal–legume (Mbili-Mbili) and legume–legume (doubled-up legume, DUL), and intra-household decision-making, labor allocation, and control over production benefits among smallholder farmers in Babati, northern Tanzania. Household survey data were collected from 157 households using a multi-stage cluster sampling approach, capturing variation by gender, age groups, and household characteristics. Across technologies, households were predominantly male-headed (91. 7%), with men comprising 71. 3% of respondents and managing 66. 9% of trial plots. Decision-making on production, marketing, and income use was predominantly led by men, with joint decision-making accounting for approximately 24–32% of income-related decisions. Women contributed a larger share of field labor across both systems, providing 17. 7% more labor than men under Mbili-Mbili and 29. 7% more under DUL. Economically, Mbili-Mbili was associated with higher average net benefits (US731 ha−1) and benefit–cost ratios (2. 5) than DUL (US213 ha−1; BCR = 0. 7). More than half of Mbili-Mbili participants (53. 3%) reported modifying the trial design, compared with 18. 4% of DUL participants; Mbili-Mbili farmers trained more non-project farmers on average (4. 0 vs. 0. 9) and allocated larger areas for expansion (0. 5 vs. 0. 3 ha). Exploratory analysis suggested descriptive associations between productivity and economic outcomes and selected household characteristics, including labor availability and education. Overall, Mbili-Mbili exhibited stronger economic performance but higher labor requirements, with women contributing disproportionately to field operations under both technologies. These findings highlight the need for gender-responsive design, labor-saving options, and inclusive decision-making arrangements to support equitable and sustainable adoption of diversified strip-cropping innovations.
Kinyua et al. (Sat,) studied this question.