Seeds of disparity: The gender land divide from Brazil’s agricultural transition

Abstract

Gender gaps in land ownership are common worldwide, favoring men. This paper studies the impact of agricultural modernization on female land ownership. Focusing on the adoption of genetically engineered (GE) soy seeds in Brazil, we find a decline in female landownership in GE soy-exposed municipalities. We examine the role of mechanisms like credit access, property rights, and gender norms. The effects are more pronounced where rural credit is more abundant but weaker where women receive a larger share of it, and are amplified where property rights are stronger and gender norms more unequal. Our findings highlight the unintended consequences of the spread of new technologies on rural asset ownership, underscoring the importance of considering gender disparities in crafting agricultural and climate change strategies.