Gender Effects on Adoption of Organic Weed Management Techniques

Summary

Nearly 21% of U.S. organic farmers are women, compared with 9% of all U.S. farmers. Little research has isolated the factors influencing adoption of organic farming practices by male and female organic farmers. Male organic farmers adopt more weed control practices than female organic farmers and use a different portfolio of techniques. Results from a count data model and a national survey of U.S. organic farmers were used to decompose observed gender differences in technology adoption into a characteristics effect and a coefficient effect. The analysis shows that 40% of the adoption differential is due to differences in characteristics of male and female organic farmers. Education, experience, information sources, and institutional support are key factors causing the gender gap in number and type of adopted practices.