Abstract
The challenges and opportunities in livestock farming are different for women smallholder farmers compared to the men influencing individual empowerment and consequently impacting food-security, well-being and livelihood. In several countries, women are primary producers of food and tend to control vital livestock products to produce the same. Studies have demonstrated that women are primary caregivers of cattle, thus empowering women in livestock health decisions can benefit households and communities, as their unique perspectives and skills can contribute to disease prevention and overall livestock management.
This study aims to investigate the relationship between women empowerment and cattle health management using a lab in the field experiment. The experiment is scheduled to take place from February to May 2024 in Narok county, Kenya. The preliminary data of this experiment is expected to come by mid April. Participants will take part in a multi-stage exercise administered using a customised app developed in otree. The sampling strategy would include recruiting participants that are born female, married, and actively engaging in daily livestock activities. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the three groups, indicative of different empowerment levels, ensuring a rigorous assessment of the anticipated effects on decision dynamics and household outcomes. The experiment will progress through two stages, comprising a total of six rounds, effectively reproducing a decision-making process related to hypothetical calf vaccination, milk production, and potential animal sales. At the end, payments will be provided to participants based on their performance and decisions made throughout the experiment. The level of empowerment will be defined based on two dimensions of Women's Empowerment Livestock Index (WELI). They are related to involvement and autonomy in decision-making regarding cattle ownership activities and the control of revenue from cattle production activities such as milk. The decomposability of the index will allows this study to overtly observe the extent of rights related to decision making over assets can impact outcomes. Additionally based on the definition of empowerment the study is able to isolate reverse causality such that choices do not have an impact on the level of autonomy.
This study contributes to the literature in following ways. It contributes to the body of literature on gender and intra-household decision-making for animal health management through engagement in livestock. It examines the causal impact of women's empowerment as defined in the experiment on individual well being due to hypothetical ECF vaccine adoption. In addition, it also contributes methodologically, by employing an innovative lab in the field experimental exercise to elicit preferences and overtly observing the decision making process. Lastly, in order to get a proxy for household bargaining power this study uniquely defines empowerment using two dimensions of WELI, a topic which has previously not been given much consideration in past animal health management studies.
This experiment will provide participants with information about ECF management and contribute to the literature on gender specific technological adoption differences in animal health decision-making in rural communities. The findings from this research will provide insights on the impact of women's empowerment on ECF vaccination decisions, potentially guiding policy interventions to enhance vaccination uptake and improve livestock health outcomes. The findings will not only have direct implications on outcomes like milk production, calving intervals, and mortality rates, but also influence indirect outcomes such as poverty levels and the health and nutrition of mothers and children. This experiment also aligns with broader efforts and draws inspiration from successful women's empowerment policies and programs in the livestock sector. Understanding the factors influencing women's decisions regarding ECF vaccination further aligns with the broader goal of promoting sustainable livestock production and rural development.