Effect of access to arable land on women’s empowerment inBurkina Faso: A double-censored regression approach

Fidèle Odilon Avou & Noël Thiombiano

Abstract
This paper analyses the effects of access to arable land on women’s empowerment in Burkina Faso. It uses data from the harmonised survey on household living conditions (EHCVM 2021–2022). A women’s empowerment in agriculture index was constructed as the dependent variable, and a double-censored regression method was employed for the analysis. Adopting the capabilities approach, this paper distinctly examines the role of access to arable land in the process of women’s empowerment. The results show that women’s access to arable land contributes to significantly increasing their empowerment and reducing gender inequalities in household decision-making. These findings call for targeted policy action, including inheritance law reform, to eliminate discriminatory practices against women, simplify land registration procedures to make them accessible to rural women, and provide support for women’s cooperatives through the creation of local processing units. These aspects will enable women to fully capture the added value of their production.