Engendering Climate-Smart Agricultural Innovations in Kenya

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Engendering Climate-Smart Agricultural Innovations in Kenya

Catherine Mungai

Climate Impact Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement in Sub-Saharan Africa (CIRCLE)

Post Masters Fellow


Setting the Scene – What is the Problem?

• Impacts of CC and variability altering food production patterns, and food systems.

• New challenges for food security and overall economic development.

• The impact of climate change on agricultural productivity is severe in Sub-Saharan Africa due to low adoption of suitable agricultural production technologies and practices.


Setting the Scene – What is the Problem?

• Different categories of female and male farmers have different coping abilities.

• Need to gather more evidence to ensure that the uptake of technologies and practices in the agricultural sector achieves greater equity in the community.


Objectives of the Research

• Provide empirical evidence on gender and social dynamics that shape farmers experience of vulnerabilities and their adaptation to the effects of climate change with particular emphasis on the uptake of climate-smart agricultural technologies and practices.


Key Definitions – But, Do Not Be Boxed In • Gender - ‘The relations between men and women, both perceptual

and material. It is a central organizing principle of societies, and often governs the processes of production and reproduction, consumption and distribution’.

Despite this definition, gender is often misunderstood as being the promotion of women only. • Climate-smart Agriculture - agricultural practices that sustainably

increase productivity and system resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.


The Research Area – Description • Nyando sub-county in Kenya - CGIAR Research Program on Climate

Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) research site.• Increased variability in climate patterns and extreme events such as

droughts and floods affecting agricultural production and food security. • Half of the population lives below the poverty line. • Human health issues such as high HIV prevalence are widespread.• Small holding (on average < 1 ha) mixed crop-livestock farms for their

livelihoods. • Site lies between Kisumu and Kericho counties.


• Qualitative research design for the in-depth analysis of the intersectional differences in vulnerability and capacity of adaptation among smallholder farmers

Intersectionality as an analytical tool recognizes that how individuals relate to climate change depends on their positions in context-specific power structures based on social categorizations.

Research Methods

• Data Collection Methods: Key Informant Interviews Focus Group Discussions Semi-Structured Interviews


Initial Findings - observed changes in climate and impacts

• According to all genders, incidences of drought (occurs every 2 years) and flooding (every year).

• Loss of crops, livestock, trees, safety nets and social connections as people become stingy in sharing resources.

• Women (young, married and unmarried) - crop failure leads to loss of income, which negatively affect their social support systems and cash flow which forces them to seek assistance from their own parents and siblings.


Observed Changes in climate

Observed changes in weather during lifetime

Temperature

Rainfall amount & duration

Frequency of droughts

Floods

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Men (%) Women (%)


Assets use and access

• Asset ownership and access is highly correlated to economic status, gender, educational level, sources of income and position in the household

• Unmarried women with children and unmarried youth own few assets and have limited access to some.

• Married women unable to buy or sell even small animals without consulting their husbands.

• Cultural norms hindering women from having large animals.• Men both young and old, married or single able to migrate freely in and out

of the home.• For all categories of men and women farmers membership to social groups

is determined by access to membership fees.


CSA Practices - Change to farm animals

New breeds – (Diseases and heat resistant, fast growing, short gestation period, rapid weight gain, twining rate) of chicken, sheep and goats and livestock management practices (herd reduction and zero-grazing units)


Changes in cropping practices

Introduced 1-3 new crop varieties Intercropping Introduced 1-3 new crops Stopped growing 1-3 crops0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

Adaptation Cropping Strategies

Male headed with a wife or wives

Male headed, divorced, single or widowed

Female headed, divorced, single or widowed

Female headed, husband away, husband makes the most household/agricultural decisions

Female headed, husband away, wife makes most household/agricultural decisions


Adaptation in crops – Ethnicity lens

No New Crop Variety 1 or 2 New Crop Varieties 3 or more New Crop Varieties0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

Kalenjin Luo

Perc

enta

ge h

ouse

hold

s


Adaptation in crops – Education lens

No formal education Primary Secondary Post secondary0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%No New Crop Variety 1 or 2 New Crop Varieties 3 or more New Crop Varieties

Perc

en

tag

e h

ou

seh

old

s


Access to and use of weather information

• Households’ access weather information (start of the rainy season and drought) through radio and orally from traditional forecasters, family and neighbors.

• Most of the households accessed information on the start of the rainy season and drought.

• Women households (without influence of men) access seasonal and short term weather information.

• More men accessed information on livestock production than women.


Other factors influencing uptake of CSA • Enabling frameworks – institutions and policy (credit, insurance,

safety nets etc.)• Financing and investments for CSA. • Availability of CSA inputs and technology.• Psychological, behavioral and socio-institutional. • Cultural factors that determine selection of preferred crops and

varieties.• Increased labor requirements, an inability to use technologies and

equipment.


Conclusions and recommendations • The interplay between gender dimensions and other factors such as

social norms within Nyando in Kenya greatly influence how the community deals with the changing climate.

• To make progress towards a gender equity goal, attention must be given to the interrelated issues of social structure, and relations that define the interactions between men and women.

• Placing emphasis on climate-smart interventions that are likely to be beneficial to different categories of men and women in different households is important.


Conclusions and recommendations • Addressing climate change in the agricultural sector requires an integrated

and gender sensitive approach – sector expertise


References:• Carr, E. R., and Thompson, M. C. (2014), Gender and Climate Change Adaptation in Agrarian Settings:

Current Thinking, New Directions, and Research Frontiers. Geography Compass, 8(3), 182-197.• Jost, C et al. (2014), Gender and Inclusion Toolbox: Participatory Research in Climate Change and

Agriculture.• FAO, (2010) “Climate-Smart” Agriculture Policies, Practices and Financing for Food Security, Adaptation

and Mitigation. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy • FAO, (2012), Gender and Climate Change Research in Agriculture and Food Security for Rural

Development Training Guide, Rome: Food and Agriculture Network.• Mango et al., (2011), Summary of Baseline Household Survey Results: Lower Nyando, Kenya. CGIAR

Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).• Nelson, V. and Stathers, T., (2009), Resilience, power, culture, and climate: A case study from semi-arid

Tanzania, and new research directions. Gender and Development 17 (1): 81-94.• Twyman J et al., (2014), Adaptation Actions in Africa: Evidence that Gender Matters. CCAFS Working

Paper no. 83. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)


Other institutions supporting participation in the CIRCLE fellowship

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Engendering Climate-Smart Agricultural Innovations in Kenya