Case studies of female-headed farms and households in Liberia: a comparative analysis of Grand Bassa, Lofa, and Nimba counties

Purpose: This study explores female-headed households in Grand Bassa, Lofa and Nimba counties to discern Liberia's smallholding, subsistence agriculture. Amid environmental and communal dynamics, addressing factors causing challenges of farming is imperative.Methodology: Using explanatory sequential methods this study collects, explains, and organizes farming and household situations qualitatively through field notes, observations, and extensive communications with 44 female farmers. Subsequently and quantitatively, Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID) verifies aforementioned information, accompanied by 112 observations.Findings: Stories encapsulate female farmers in Grand Bassa, Lofa, and Nimba counties. They provide evidence of marginalized, progressive, and emerging farming in order. Children (n>3) and inadequate support of Kuu (informal labor) and of community make food stability, availability and access insecure. Insufficient crop revenue further exacerbates the issues. Moderate- and mild food-insecure households need not worry about the problems above. However, their earnings notwithstanding, new challenges appear in credit practices and land conflict.Practical Implications: Extension agents should provide timely services for each community, with special attention to women-headed households. Findings imply ex-post evaluations to ex-ante extension services should be cyclical.Theoretical Implications: A gender-inclusive, gender-sensitive framework is vital to enhance food security and community resilience, transform subsistence agriculture into agribusiness and achieve fairness, gender equity and social justice for agrarian Liberians - especially women and children.Originality/Value: This study captures distinctive phases of farming and family life - yielding qualitative and subsequent quantitative validation of predictors of food insecurity in rural, women-headed farming households/operations. It should guide us to tailor ex-ante extension services.