Does the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices reduce differences in agricultural income between men and women headed households? Empirical evidence from Burkina Faso

It is widely recognized that, in the agricultural sector, women have more limited access to productive resources than men. However, empirical evidence highlighting the role of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) in reducing the gender gap in agricultural income is remains relatively limited. This study analyzes the contribution of adopting SAPs to reducing agricultural income gaps between men and women in Burkina Faso. An econometric approach based on the endogenous switching regression model (ESR) and the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was applied to a nationwide sample of 5,023 households from the Permanent Agricultural Survey in 2022 conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Hydro-Agricultural Development (MAAH) of Burkina Faso. The results show, on the one hand, that the agricultural income of households headed by women is 44.20% lower than that of households headed by men. On the other hand, they reveal that the adoption of SAPs by these households contributes significantly to reducing gender gaps in agricultural income. These results highlight the need for targeted policies to facilitate women’s access to SAPs and remove institutional and cultural barriers, with a view to promoting structural gender transformation in agricultural production.