Women's Land Use Performance and Production Constrains: Gender Disparity in Southwest Ethiopia's Agricultural Investment

Abstract Gender disparity in agricultural investment in Ethiopia remain a significant challenge, particularly in the Southwest, where women face systemic constraints to land, resource allocation and productivity. Although women comprise large portion of the agricultural labour force, their agricultural performance is impeded by a combination of limits on land ownership, the ability to access finance and agricultural inputs. This study investigated the land use performance and production constraints faced by women agricultural investors in Southwest Ethiopia. It found considerable gender disparities, with male investors not only securing more land (mean land area = 293 hectares, mean land area for women = 134 hectares) but also significantly higher mean access to capital (22.5 million Birr versus 15.8 million Birr for women). Women faced near total exclusion from credit (0% access), and tax privileges (0% access). Moreover, while joint ownership was observed to be a positive model for agricultural output, women were still limited in productivity. The finding also revealed that women had considerably less area cultivated with rain fed crops, and that smallholder efficiency existed where resources were evident. Moreover, structural barriers which included the complete lack of policy support for women in agriculture, the susceptibility to climate risks or hazards (40% of women compared to 8.9. %) and institutional factors bias women in agricultural Investment. This study recommends gender audits of agricultural programs, cooperative mechanism leasing to increase gender equity, and providing better extension services to narrow the productivity gap. Addressing constraints facing women mean capitalizing on the full potential women in contributing to agricultural production and advance domestic economic growth and gender equity constraints are addressed, Ethiopia can