Gender gaps in potato productivity and the role of information and communication platforms in Kenya

Wayagi, E.O.; Otieno, D.J.; Nyikal, R.A.; Okello, J.J.; Kawarazuka, N. 2025. Gender gaps in potato productivity and the role of information and communication platforms in Kenya. Development in Practice, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2025.2534151

The gender productivity gap in the agricultural sector is a major contributor to low productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Literature suggests that women’s lower productivity is deeply rooted in structural disadvantages, whose policy solutions include the potential use of information and communication technology (ICT) to incrementally narrow gender productivity gaps. This study assessed the contribution of ICT platforms to the gender gap in potato productivity using 264 sampled farmers in Nakuru County, Kenya. Men farmers had higher productivity (2.98 tons/acre) than women (2.01 tons/acre), with an observed mean gender gap of 6.7 per cent due to men’s structural advantage (65 per cent), women’s structural disadvantage (19 per cent), and endowment factors (17 per cent). The use of ICT platforms significantly lessens men’s structural advantage. These findings demonstrate the need for gender-responsive provision of technical knowledge on the use of ICT platform services through institutional support services that provide timely and relevant production and marketing information to women farmers.