Women-led farms and eco-efficiency:
A hidden advantage for sustainable agriculture
Imre Fertő, Lajos Baráth & Štefan Bojnec
The role of gender in agriculture has increasingly come under scrutiny, especially within the context of sustainable development. Yet, despite a growing recognition of women’s contributions to farming, their potential to drive significant environmental improvements through enhanced eco-efficiency remains underexplored. In our recent study, we examine the eco-efficiency of male- and female-headed farms in Hungary, revealing striking differences that underscore why empowering women farmers can lead to substantial sustainability gains.
Using comprehensive data from the Hungarian Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) covering the years 2015–2020, our research investigates eco-efficiency—a measure combining economic performance with environmental impact. By applying advanced analytical techniques including Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Blinder-Oaxaca decompositions, we analysed how farms headed by men and women differ in their ability to produce economically valuable outputs while minimizing environmental harm.
Our findings indicate that women-led farms consistently achieve higher eco-efficiency than their male counterparts. On average, women-headed farms obtained an eco-efficiency score of 0.361, compared to 0.316 for farms managed by men, a statistically significant difference. Importantly, this eco-efficiency advantage persists despite the smaller size and lower resource availability typically characterizing women-operated farms. Such results challenge prevailing assumptions that scale and resource intensity inherently drive sustainability outcomes, demonstrating instead that careful management and resource stewardship play a decisive role.
To understand what drives these differences, we employed the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition—a method originally developed to analyse wage gaps, now adapted to uncover the sources of eco-efficiency disparities. The analysis revealed that most of the gap is explained not by observable characteristics (such as farm size, age of the manager, or the amount of labour employed), but by unmeasured factors likely linked to management practices and decision-making processes. These findings suggest that women may bring distinct, inherently more sustainable practices or attitudes to farming, highlighting important implications for policy and sustainability discourse.
To further unpack these insights, we conducted a Recentered Influence Function (RIF) decomposition, examining how gender-based differences in eco-efficiency vary across different segments of farm performance. Intriguingly, the advantage held by women-headed farms grows increasingly pronounced at higher efficiency levels. This suggests that as farms achieve greater sustainability performance, the gender-driven benefits of women’s management practices become even more evident.
Several underlying mechanisms may explain why women-led farms perform more eco-efficiently. First, women might possess stronger pro-environmental attitudes, influencing their decisions towards more sustainable resource management. Second, systemic barriers and resource constraints women often face could incentivize innovative practices aimed at maximizing efficiency. Lastly, women’s greater tendency towards cooperative and community-based approaches may further enhance their ability to utilize resources effectively, a theory supported by broader research on gender dynamics in agriculture.
Given these insights, our study offers several actionable policy recommendations. Most urgently, addressing barriers to resource access for women farmers—such as land ownership, credit, education, and extension services—can amplify their demonstrated potential for eco-efficient farming. Policymakers should also foster women’s engagement in collaborative networks and support tailored training programmes, emphasizing sustainable practices and resource optimization.
Additionally, our findings highlight demographic challenges. Women farm heads tend to be older (average age 64.3 years) compared to their male counterparts (61.1 years), raising critical issues for generational renewal in farming. Encouraging younger women’s participation through targeted incentives or support mechanisms could sustain and potentially expand the eco-efficiency gains identified.
Beyond the immediate policy implications, our research contributes to a broader theoretical understanding of sustainability. It challenges traditional narratives linking scale and intensification with improved environmental outcomes, advocating instead for recognizing the diversity of farming approaches and managerial styles. Incorporating gender perspectives explicitly into sustainability frameworks could help refine these models, promoting richer, more inclusive approaches to environmental management.
Critically, this research underscores that achieving environmental sustainability is not simply a matter of technological advancement or scale efficiencies. Instead, social and behavioural factors—including gendered management practices and attitudes—play crucial roles. The agricultural sector thus needs nuanced strategies that recognize and leverage gender dynamics to effectively advance sustainability goals.
As agriculture increasingly faces environmental pressures from climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss, leveraging every possible advantage becomes essential. Our study makes clear that supporting women farmers isn’t just a moral imperative; it’s strategically vital for achieving broader sustainability objectives. Women-led farms represent an underutilized resource in global agricultural sustainability strategies, offering models of resource efficiency and environmental stewardship that can guide wider sectoral transformations.
In conclusion, addressing gender disparities and empowering women in agriculture emerges as both a social justice issue and an environmental necessity. By fostering a policy environment that acknowledges and supports women’s contributions, agriculture can make significant strides toward sustainability, resilience, and environmental integrity. Understanding and amplifying women’s unique agricultural practices can help secure a more sustainable future, proving that gender equity is not just ethically right but environmentally smart.
Fertő, I., Baráth, L. & Bojnec, Š. Gender-based differences in eco-efficient farming. Scentifici Reports 15, 15895 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-00584-4
