Women's Participation in Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in Southeast, Nigeria

Abstract

Climate change (CC) impacts are complex, it affects ecosystems and crops growth and development. Farmers must understand its  potential impacts on their crops and climate-smart measures that they can implore to be able to adapt such as the gender approach in  the development of CSA policies. This study aimed at identifying the traditional CC adaptation information-sharing mechanisms and the  CSA practices adopted by female farmers in Southeast, Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 300 female  farmers using a double huddle sampling technique. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a Likert scale method on a four- point Likert-type scale with a 2.5 decision point. Descriptive statistics result showed that most of the female farmers were young, with the  mean average age of 28 years. The result of the Likert scale show that farmers relied on community leaders (mean=3.27), women groups  (mean=2.68) and relatives (mean=4.05) for direction on immediate climate adaptive measures. It further identified high-yielding crop varieties (mean=3.06), crop diversification (mean=3.08), change in planting calendar (mean=2.96), fertilizers and manure application  (mean=4.35), minimum/zero tillage (mean=3.06), cover cropping (mean=2.80), mulching (mean=3.18), fallowing (mean=2.81), mixed  cropping (mean=2.74) and crop rotation (mean=2.54) as CSA practices used by farmers to enhance their yield and CC resilience. There is a  need for CC solutions to start with the human dimensions in recognition of women as participants and contributors. Equally, CC should  be tackled through a gender lens in defining, designing and implementing CSA activities that centre around: enhanced women's access  and control of agricultural productive resources; equal access to information and services, and enhanced ability to innovate in response  to evolving climate challenges and opportunities.