Despite the considerable soybean varietal improvement and dissemination efforts in Nigeria and other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, empirical evidence on farm-level yield and revenue impacts of improved soybean varieties (ISVs) from a gender perspective are limited. In this paper, we analyze the impact of the adoption of ISVs on soybean yield and net revenue, and the associated gender differential effects in northern Nigeria. We use the endogenous and exogenous switching treatment effects regression frameworks to estimate the impacts. We find that the adoption of ISVs significantly increased soybean yield and net revenue of the soybean-producing households by 26% and 32%, respectively. In addition, we find that the gender gap in yield between male and female-headed soybean-producing households was small, with a yield gap of about 1%. However, we find a substantial gender gap in soybean net revenue, as the net revenue of female-headed households was lower by about 20%, as compared to male-headed households. Overall, our findings show that policymakers and their development partners can leverage varietal improvement to boost the yields of both male- and female-headed households. However, closing the gender gap in crop income necessitates reducing the disparity in market linkages so that the female farmers can equally have better market access.

https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fes3.385

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Julius Mandahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9599-5906

Kamaihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7030-338X

https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fes3.385

Plant Production and Health; Social Science and Agribusiness

Agribusiness; Agronomy; Food Security; Gender; Grain Legumes; Plant Breeding; Plant Production; Socioeconomy; Soybean

Adoption; Soybeans; Varieties; Grain Legumes; Yields; Nigeria

Africa; West Africa

Nigeria

Eastern Africa Hub; Headquarters and Western Africa Hub

Food and Energy Security