Page 56 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.81, # 2, 2024, pp. 30-59

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The low R with the control function model may be due to the absence of data on
some observable characteristics of agricultural production that have not been
controlled for in the regression due to unavailability of data, other unobservable
characteristics unknown to the researcher that influence agricultural. The control
function model without interaction showed that women empowerment, access to
agricultural financing, access to credit, use of fertilizer, agricultural primary activity,
farm size, agricultural training and age have positive and significant effect on
agricultural production in Cameroon while marital status (being married) and socio-
economic status (non-poor) has a negative and significant effect. And lastly to verify
the heterogeneity effect of women empowerment on agricultural production by
marital status, the findings revealed that a married who is empowered will leads to a
large positive and significant effect on agricultural production as opposed to
empowering a single which has a negative and insignificant effect of agricultural
production in Cameroon.

On the bases of the above findings the following general conclusions can be made:
(1) empowering women by improving the sense of agency especially through
education and strengthening their access and control over resources and farm inputs
is critical for improving agricultural production and the food security status of their
household. (2) Women make up large per cent of economically active population in
agriculture. As such, the productivity and empowerment of women is a logical priority
of agriculture programs and policies that seek to promote agricultural development.
(3) Important agricultural productivity gains and massive increases in agricultural
production could be made by increasing farmers access agricultural financing, formal
agricultural training, use of fertilizers. This applies most to the poor as well as those
whose primary activity is agriculture and (4) empowering married women will bring
about significant increases in agricultural production.

The study recommends that when empowering women, most especially women
farmers for food production, every aspect of food production must be considered and
proper resources allocated to each such as land availability, access to credit and
agricultural financing, fertilizers etc. Comprehensive and intensive agricultural
trainings should be organized for women farmers. This step is vital because no matter
the sophistication of farming transformation programmes instituted by the
government or any multilateral agency, if the farmers are not aware or enlightened on
those provisions, they cannot benefit from them. As such the expected positive impact
of those programmes on food production cannot be achieved.

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