Gendered dimensions of commercial agriculture and subjective wellbeing in rural Nepal

Agricultural commercialisation is often portrayed as a way to improve the lives of rural people in low-income countries. However, its impacts are evaluated through agronomic yields and economic returns, with little attention paid to how it shapes people’s subjective wellbeing. This article addresses that omission by examining the relationship between cash‐crop production and life satisfaction using gendered linear regression analysis of data from 791 smallholders in rural Nepal. We measure subjective wellbeing using a single question on satisfaction with life and employ a range of quantitative techniques to isolate the association between commercial cardamom farming and life satisfaction. Our results reveal a robust, positive association: cardamom producers report significantly higher life satisfaction than non‐producers, even after controlling for landholding, assets, health, marital status, caste, and demographic variables. Gender‐disaggregated analyses show the effect holds for women and men, though women’s life satisfaction is also influenced by their involvement in decision‐making. Complementary qualitative insights attribute wellbeing gains not only to increased income and risk mitigation but also to reduced physical hardship compared with subsistence cropping. While quantitative wellbeing measures alone cannot fully encompass all relevant dimensions of gender equality, integrating gender-disaggregated subjective wellbeing measures into agricultural development assessments reveals hidden, social dimensions of commercialisation that are vital for gender‐sensitive, sustainable policy design.