Outgrower schemes and value chains: Gendered employment in the blue skies agriculture model

Abstract

Current debates on agriculture investments in Africa have shifted a little from the Malthusian and Boserupian schools of thought to model interrogation. But, these contemporary narratives also do little linkage between the value chain systems and its livelihood impacts for men and women. Drawing on qualitative interviews, the study explores the gendered segmentation and segregation of work in Ghana's largest fruit processing company, Blue Skies and its outgrower farms. The study found that whilst a significant number of outgrowers were men, the absence of women in the outgrower scheme is compensated for by their dominant presence on the farms and the factory. The study concludes that though the business model practised by Blue Skies is a good one, two significant caveats exist: casualization of labour and the sheer absence of women in the outgrower scheme which have gendered implications for livelihood outcomes and security.