Reducing gender gaps in the awareness and uptake of drought-tolerant maize in Uganda: The role of education, extension services and social networks

Cultivation of drought-tolerant (DT) maize seed reduces drought risk in sub-Saharan Africa. Data from eastern Uganda reveal gender gaps in awareness and adoption of DT maize. Among surveyed male household heads, 67.6 percent had awareness of DT maize varieties and 29.2 percent grew them. Corresponding figures for female household heads were 43.3 percent (awareness) and 5.3 percent (adoption) and those for wives in spousal couple households were 51.0 percent and 11.1 percent. Propensity score matching (PSM) found that awareness of the technology has a decisive role in DT maize adoption. Regression analysis indicated that education exerts the greatest influence on agricultural technology awareness for female household heads, while social networks matter most for wives of male household heads. Policies leading to gender equity in access to education and agricultural information resources would give women farmers similar awareness of DT maize seed as men farmers and reduce the gender technology gap.