10 March 2014: The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has announced the results of a study in Malawi identifying the role of women and men in on-farm tree planting. The study reveals that the gender of the heads of households impacts decision-making.

The study, conducted in collaboration with the University College Dublin, covered 135 households in two districts in rural Malawi, one of which has mostly patrilineal kinship, while the other has mostly matrilineal kinship. Overall, the study notes that in male-headed households most decisions regarding tree-planting are made by men, while in female-headed households, most decisions are communal.

The study notes that the gender of the head of household did not impact the number of trees planted, however more trees tend to be planted when decisions are made jointly. The study also highlights, however, that decision-making responsibilities cannot be determined by a single criteria or model and, as such, site specific information about tree planting and management should be gathered for each agroforestry project. ICRAF is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) [ICRAF News] [Publication: The Role of Gender in Household Decision Making on Tree Planting: A Case Study from Malawi]