Reports
Discussion Papers
No.124 Diversities and Disparities among Female-Headed Households in Rural Malawi
by TAKANE Tsutomu
October 2007
ABSTRACT
Using
data
obtained
from
a
survey
carried
out
in
six
villages
in
various
parts
of
rural
Malawi,
this
paper
examines
some
of
the
main
characteristics
of
female-headed
households.
In
the
study
villages,
most
female-headed
households
are
in
a
disadvantageous
position
relative
to
their
male
counterparts
in
terms
of
labour
endowment,
farm
size,
and
agricultural
productivity.
The
high
cost
of
inputs,
especially
of
fertilizer,
prevents
resource-poor
female-headed
households
from
improving
maize
self-sufficiency
through
increased
productivity
and
from
engaging
in
high-return
agriculture
such
as
tobacco
production.
The
paper
also
shows
that
there
are
marked
disparities
within
the
category
of
female-headed
households.
Factors
that
enable
some
female-headed
households
to
achieve
high
income
include
the
availability
of
high-return
nonfarm
income
opportunities,
use
of
social
networks
to
obtain
labour
and
income
opportunities,
land
acquisition
through
flexible
applications
of
inheritance
rules,
and
the
existence
of
informal
tobacco
marketing.
Livelihood
diversification
is
adopted
by
both
male-
and
female-headed
households,
but
many
of
the
female-headed
households
engage
in
low-return
and
low-entry-barrier
activities
such
as
agricultural
wage
labour.
On
the
other
hand,
the
high
off-farm
income
in
the
wealthier
female-headed
households
enables
them
to
purchase
fertilizer
for
own-farm
production,
contributing
to
an
improvement
in
productivity
and
resultant
increases
in
their
total
income.
Keywords:
gender,
livelihoods,
farm
income,
off-farm
income,
poverty,
Malawi,
Africa
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.