The Cost of the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Ethiopia

The study presents the cost of the gender gap in agricultural productivity in Ethiopia.  The findings of this report are striking and send a strong signal to policy makers in Ethiopia as well as development partners that closing the gender gap is smart economics. Consider this: That increasing GDP by closing the gender gap in agricultural productivity has the potential to lift as many as 1,050,000 people out of poverty in Ethiopia. This Report helps to lay the groundwork for deeper investigation as to where to invest for the most cost-effective policies. Our analysis finds that women’s lesser capacity to purchase pesticides, herbicides and fungicides is an important constraint contributing to the gender gap in farm crop productivity in Ethiopia.