Dealing with climate change in semi-arid Ghana: understanding intersectional perceptions and adaptation strategies of women farmers

Abstract

Climate change has diverse physical and socioeconomic implications for communities in semi-arid areas. While several studies have sought to understand the underlying power relations that shape adaptive capacities of rural farmers, fewer studies have focused on unpacking the differences within the different social groups. In this paper, we present a case study based on women smallholder farmers from semi-arid Ghana. It explores their nuanced perceptions of climate variability and highlights how gender intersects with other identities, roles and responsibilities to influence adaptation strategies and barriers to adaptation in the semi-arid context. Farm-level data was collected from 103 women farmers using semistructured interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Rainfall patterns were perceived by the women farmers to be increasingly erratic and perceptions of average temperatures were that they are increasing. Adoption of adaptation strategies were influenced by socio-demographic factors such as age, marital and residential status, which also influenced decision-making and power dynamics within the household. The paper highlighted the complex relationships that mediate women farmers' access to resources and influence their vulnerability to climate variability and change. Highlighting the intra-gender differences that shaped the adaptation options and adaptive capacity is a prerequisite for proper adaptation policy planning and targeting.

Gender, place, and agricultural extension: a mixed-methods approach to understand farmer needs in Liberia

“…Through this approach they uncovered hidden social groups and power dynamics within agricultural systems, findings that may help development and extension practitioners to more effectively target farmer needs and build resilience rooted in local contexts. Further, Lawson et al (2020) explored the intersection of women farmers' perceptions and climate change adaptation strategies in Ghana. Their study uncovered intra-gender differences critical to effectively target climate adaption policy, specific to women farmers.…”

Can labour migration help households adapt to climate change? Evidence from four river basins in South Asia

“…There are both positive and negatives outcomes to this. On the one hand, the absence of male household members can increase the workload of the women left behind (Maharjan et al, 2012), resulting in severe time poverty and increased vulnerability (Arora et al, 2017;Bhagat, 2017;Bhatta et al, 2015;Bhattarai et al, 2015;Lawson et al, 2020;Singh, 2019b). On the other hand, it can increase women's decision-making capacity and enhance their agency (Djoudi et al, 2016;Rao, 2019), thereby facilitating household adaptation.…”

Techniques and skills of indigenous weather and seasonal climate forecast in Northern Ghana

“…The unpredictability of weather and seasonal climate influences the precision of farm-level decisions that need to be taken daily to months ahead of a season (Asante & Amuakwa-Mensah, 2015;Lawson et al, 2019). For example, farmers have to re-sow seeds several times due to delay in rains which affect germination, increasing the cost of production, and straining their livelihood (Ndamani & Watanabe, 2013).…”