Gender-based production and income gaps: Empirical evidence from oil palm farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria

In the warm, humid landscapes of West Africa, a single tree crop has long served as a lifeline for rural families. The oil palm, a towering tropical tree, produces heavy clusters of fruit that are processed into a rich, red oil used in kitchens and factories alike. For decades, this crop has been a cornerstone of local economies, offering a way for farmers to earn money and feed their communities. Yet, a quiet question has lingered in the fields of Nigeria: who actually benefits most from this hard work? While the trees grow for everyone, the tools to harvest them, the machines to process the fruit, and the money earned from selling the oil are not always shared equally between men and women. Understanding these differences is crucial because it reveals whether the industry is truly lifting all farmers or if some are being left behind, unable to reach their full potential despite working the same soil.

To answer this, researchers from Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology traveled to Ondo State, a region in southwestern Nigeria known as a major hub for oil palm cultivation. They set out to measure the actual output and earnings of farmers, separating the data by gender to see if men and women were producing the same amounts and making the same money. Over the course of two years, 2024 and 2025, the team visited 180 farmers across six different communities. They asked detailed questions about how many bunches of fruit each farmer harvested, how much oil they squeezed from those fruits, and exactly how much money they made from selling both the raw fruit and the finished oil. The researchers treated the farmers as two distinct groups to see if the gap between them was widening or closing, looking for patterns that might explain why some families thrive while others struggle.

The findings revealed a landscape of surprising contrasts. When it came to simply harvesting the fruit, the gap between men and women was virtually non-existent. Both groups were working the trees with similar intensity, gathering roughly the same number of fruit bunches. In fact, the average farmer, regardless of gender, harvested about 2,600 bunches in a year, with some lucky farmers gathering as many as 8,200. The data showed that men did not have a monopoly on the harvest; women were just as capable of gathering the raw material. However, the story changed dramatically once the fruit reached the processing stage. This is where the fruit is crushed and boiled to extract the oil, a step that requires equipment and often more labor. Here, men pulled significantly ahead. On average, male farmers produced over 4,000 liters of palm oil in 2024, while their female counterparts produced just over 3,000 liters. This pattern held true in 2025 as well, with men consistently processing more oil than women.

The financial results of this divide were equally complex and shifted from year to year. In 2024, a surprising twist emerged: women actually earned more money from selling their raw fruit bunches than men did. This happened because the women who sold their fruit often got a slightly better price per bunch and sold a comparable volume. But when it came to the processed oil, the advantage swung back to the men in 2025. Because men were producing and selling larger quantities of oil, they ended up with higher total incomes from that specific source. The researchers found that for both genders, the more fruit or oil a farmer sold, the more money they made. There was a direct, clear link between volume and profit. Yet, the study also highlighted that not all farmers were selling everything they produced. A small but consistent amount of oil was kept for the family's own cooking or given away to neighbors and extended family, a reminder that for these farmers, the crop serves both as a business and a social bond.

Ultimately, the study paints a picture of an industry where the potential for success is there for everyone, but the path to getting there is not the same. The researchers concluded that oil palm farming is not a job reserved for one gender; both men and women are actively growing the trees and harvesting the fruit. The real difference lies in the ability to process that fruit into oil and sell it at scale. Men, who often have better access to the necessary machinery and capital, are able to process more and earn more from the oil. Women, while equally skilled at the harvest, face barriers that keep their processing volumes lower. The researchers suggest that to truly improve the livelihoods of everyone in these communities, support programs must be designed to help both men and women, with a special focus on helping women and young people gain access to the tools and resources needed to turn their harvest into greater wealth. The trees are there for all, but the tools to unlock their full value must be shared more evenly.