Integration in export marketing channels and farms' labor force composition: Female agricultural workers in the Moroccan vegetable sector

The Moroccan agricultural sector employs around 40% of the country's total working population. Since the early 1990s, there has been a striking increase in the proportion of female wage laborers. This article investigates the effect of the gendered composition of the agricultural wage labor force on horticultural farms. We draw on an original data set collected in 2010, comprising 240 agricultural holdings located in the region of Souss Massa. The results suggest that local labor shortages do not play a major role in explaining the ratio of female hired wage laborers. Instead, it seems that quality requirements are encouraging farm holdings to hire a female labor force. [EconLit citations: Q12, O13, J43]

Automated summary

The Moroccan agricultural sector has a high proportion of female wage laborers, and this article examines their impact on horticultural farms. The study finds that labor shortages are not the main reason for the ratio of female hired laborers, but instead, quality requirements are driving farm holdings to employ a female labor force.