LAGOS - A new study shows that conservation and agricultural production can improve when women farmers widely participate in group decisions about sustainable practices.
The report, published in February in Communications Earth & Environment, highlights that agricultural production and conservation outcomes improved among a study group when gender diversity was increased.
The findings complement a growing body of research that highlights the important influence women can have in effective and efficient management of both natural resources and agricultural pursuits.
The results were somewhat unexpected for the researchers, who had initially designed the study to examine the effectiveness of paying farmers monetary incentives to protect the environment. Their goal was to look at how farmers behave when confronted with conservation dilemmas. But they found that such payments are not necessarily reliable and may not translate to a “win-win” situation.
