Background: Sustainable food security may not be attained unless the wide gender gap inherent in agricultural productivity is significantly reduced. This study examines how gender disparities in resource empowerment among cassava farmers in Osogbo Adp Zone, Osun State, Nigeria affects their food security. Methods: Using a multi-stage sampling procedure, controlling for endogeneity, 100 matched pairs of 200 male and female cassava farming households were randomly selected and interviewed. Data for the study were obtained using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Gini inequality index, and probit regression models. Results: Following the Feminist Political Ecology theory, the study discovered unequal gendered access to productive resources, particularly farmland. Furthermore, the males' and females’ Gini indices (0.422 vs 0.49) respectively compared to the overall population (0.45) indicated moderately more equitable resource accessibility among men than women. Additionally, women had a higher mean HFIAS score (10.0 vs 8.5) than men, and a greater variation within women's gender (std. dev. 3.0 vs 1.5), indicating women households are experiencing greater food insecurity with wider variations. Among the major significant factors influencing food security are gender and access to farmland (p<1%), independence in agricultural decision-making (p<5%). Conclusion: A land reform policy addressing women's land ownership rights is recommended.
gender disparities; resource empowerment; feminist political ecology; gini inequality; probit model; food security.
Olatunbosun, JL., Abimbola, TE. (2026): Can Gender Disparities in Resource Empowerment Affect Food Security? Evidence from Cassava Farmers in Osogbo ADP Zone, Osun State, Nigeria. Scientia Agriculturae Bohemica, 57, 1, DOI: 10.7160/sab.2026.570105