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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

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Innovation Policy and Scaling

Leocardia Nabwire

Research Analyst

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Bio

Leocardia Nabwire is a Research Analyst in the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). She joined IFPRI in 2019 and is based in Kampala, working on research projects in Uganda and Malawi.

Leocardia works on research related to agri-food value chain development, agricultural technology adoption, behavioral economics, and policy/program targeting. Most of her research involves impact evaluation methods, mainly using Randomized Control Trials. Prior to joining IFPRI, she worked as a researcher in several organizations, including the CGIAR’s International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC). She also worked as an Assistant Lecturer at Makerere University.

She holds an MSc in Economic Policy and Planning from Makerere University, Uganda, an MSc in Africa and International Development from Edinburgh University (UK), and a BA in Development Economics from Makerere University, Uganda.

Publications

CV

Publications

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Working Paper

The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda

2023Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia
Details

The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda

In rural societies with strong gender norms and customs, small informal agribusinesses may often be one of the few ways in which women can independently generate revenue. However, previous research has indicated that female run business may be perceived less favorably compared to their male counterparts. In this paper, we examine potential consequences of these biased perceptions on business transactions. In particular, we test whether the gender of the seller has an impact on buyers’ negotiation strategies and eventual outcomes in bilateral price negotiations. We use a lab-in-the-field experiment in eastern Uganda, where a representative sample of smallholder maize farmers are offered the opportunity to bargain over a bag of improved maize seed variety from a male or female seller. We find that buyers confronted with a female seller are less likely to accept the initial offer price and respond with a lower counter-bid price than farmers faced with a male seller. Negotiations take an average of one round longer when the seller is a woman and the transaction price is almost 9 percent lower. For comparison, we also look at the effect of the starting price on the same bargaining outcomes and find that the gender disadvantage is roughly equal to a 20 percent higher starting price.

Year published

2023

Authors

Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia

Citation

Van Campenhout, Bjorn; and Nabwire, Leocardia. 2023. The role of gender in bargaining: Evidence for selling seed to smallholders in Uganda. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2225. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137074

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Gender; Seeds; Smallholders; Maize; Bargaining Power; Gender Norms

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137074 Source record

Project

Market Intelligence

Record type

Working Paper

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Brief

A field experiment on bargaining for seed reveals bias against women agripreneurs: Summary of findings and policy recommendations

2023Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia
Details

A field experiment on bargaining for seed reveals bias against women agripreneurs: Summary of findings and policy recommendations

This policy note summarizes results from a Lab-in-the-field experiment1 in eastern Uganda, where a representative sample of 760 smallholder maize farmers were given the opportunity to bargain over a bag of maize seed from either a male or female seller. Specifically, we test whether the gender of the seed seller impacts the seed buyer’s negotiation strategies and the eventual outcomes in bilateral price negotiations. The findings reveal that buyers confronted with a female seller were less likely to accept the seller’s initial offer price and responded with a lower counter price compared to farmers faced with a male seller. Negotiations, on average, took one additional round when the seller was a woman and resulted in a transaction price that was almost 9 percent lower. These results relate to previous research with agro-input dealers in Uganda which showed that female managed/owned agro-input shops are perceived less favorable in terms of quality of seed sold and price competitive ness. Policies and programs working to advance women’s empowerment through agribusiness need to recognize these gendered biases, and increase investment in public campaigns, extension and training to change attitudes towards women entrepreneurs.

Year published

2023

Authors

Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia

Citation

Van Campenhout, Bjorn; and Nabwire, Leocardia. 2023. A field experiment on bargaining for seed reveals bias against women agripreneurs: Summary of findings and policy recommendations. Seed Equal Policy Note December 2023. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135962

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Gender; Women’s Empowerment; Seeds; Agricultural Sector; Entrepreneurs; Farmers; Maize; Prices; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Seed Equal

Record type

Brief

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption

2023Miehe, Caroline; Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; Spielman, David J.
Details

Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption

To fully benefit from new agricultural technologies like improved seed varieties, significant investment in complementary inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and practices such as systematic planting, irrigation, and weeding are also required. Farmers may fail to recognize the importance of these complements, leading to unsatisfactory crop yields and outputs and, eventually, dis-adoption of the variety. We provide a simple model of biased expectations, complementary input use and technology adoption and test its predictions using a field experiment among smallholder maize farmers in eastern Uganda. We find that pointing out the importance of complementary investments using a short, engaging video effectively deters some farmers from using commercial improved varieties. Consistent with the theoretical model, we find some evidence that this behavior change emanates from increased knowledge and expectations that are more in line with realized outcomes.

Year published

2023

Authors

Miehe, Caroline; Campenhout, Bjorn van; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; Spielman, David J.

Citation

Miehe, Caroline; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Nabwire, Leocardia; Sparrow, Robert; and Spielman, David J. 2023. Miracle seeds: Biased expectations, complementary input use, and the dynamics of smallholder technology adoption. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2183. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700

Country/Region

Uganda

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Agricultural Technologies; Seeds; Investments; Fertilizers; Pesticides; Planting; Irrigation; Weeding; Farmers; Crop Yield; Outputs; Innovation Adoption; Smallholders; Maize; Behaviour; Knowledge

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136700 Source record

Project

Market Intelligence

Record type

Working Paper

Blogs

Gender bias in bargaining: Lessons from haggling over the price of seed in rural Uganda
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 04, 2024

Gender bias in bargaining: Lessons from haggling over the price of seed in rural Uganda

By Bjorn Van Campenhout and Leocardia Nabwire

An experiment shows women face disadvantages.

‘Miracle seeds,’ informational curses? The risk of high expectations for new agricultural technologies
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 22, 2023

‘Miracle seeds,’ informational curses? The risk of high expectations for new agricultural technologies

By Caroline Miehe, Leocardia Nabwire, Robert Sparrow, David Spielman, and Bjorn Van Campenhout

Using videos to test skewed perceptions of improved crop varieties.