Abstract
This study investigates gender disparities in household decision-making regarding agricultural production and their impact on agricultural diversity, dietary diversity, and food security, in Tanzania. These outcomes are interlinked, with production diversity enhancing dietary diversity, and both contributing to better household food security. Our analysis assesses gendered decision-making’s direct influence on food security and its indirect effects operating through production diversity and dietary diversity. Using data from the 2014/15 and 2019/20 waves of the Tanzania National Panel Survey-Extended Panel Sample, the analysis focuses on planting, input use, and harvest decisions made individually or jointly by spouses. Guided by the Cooperative Collective Model, the study highlights how intra-household collaboration shapes agricultural and food outcomes. Descriptive results reveal persistent gender gaps, with men primarily making key production decisions. However, econometric analysis using Tobit random effects models shows that joint decision-making significantly improves agricultural production diversity and food security, particularly through planting and input use. Surprisingly, joint harvest decisions are negatively associated with dietary diversity, possibly reflecting prioritization of market-oriented crops over diverse household consumption. Mediation analysis finds that neither agricultural diversity nor dietary diversity meaningfully explains the link between joint decisions and food security, suggesting other mechanisms at play. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the benefits of joint decision-making are more pronounced in urban and middle-wealth households. These findings emphasize the importance of promoting inclusive decision-making within households to improve agricultural production and household well-being, aligning with progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2.
