Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia

This study explored the use of conservation agriculture (CA) as a climate adaptation strategy among smallholder farmers in Eastern Zambia. Using 761 household interviews and 33 focus group discussions (FGDs) with smallholder farmers from six districts, data was collected on how smallholder farmers i...

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Autor principal:	Bridget Bwalya Umar
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	climate smart agriculture (CSA) minimum tillage (MT) gender role ripping smallholder farmers basins Nutrition. Foods and food supply TX341-641 Food processing and manufacture TP368-456
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/4060b514abb74f1293f60588000fbd14
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:4060b514abb74f1293f60588000fbd142021-11-18T10:27:31ZAdapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia2571-581X10.3389/fsufs.2021.748300https://doaj.org/article/4060b514abb74f1293f60588000fbd142021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.748300/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2571-581XThis study explored the use of conservation agriculture (CA) as a climate adaptation strategy among smallholder farmers in Eastern Zambia. Using 761 household interviews and 33 focus group discussions (FGDs) with smallholder farmers from six districts, data was collected on how smallholder farmers in the region experience climate change, what CA practices they had adopted, and benefits and challenges associated with CA practice. Results show that men and women farmers had similar experiences of climate change, namely late onset of a shortened rainy season, intra-seasonal drought and higher temperatures. Farmers' perceptions of gender-mediated effects of climate change had important nuances. The three most cited effects of climate change on women mentioned by women were lower crop yields, outbreaks of armyworms and reduced livestock fodder. The men thought women were most affected by increased hunger, lower crop yields and reduced domestic water sources. According to the women FGDs, men were most affected through reduced crop yields, increases in livestock diseases and increased hunger. The men self-reported reduced crop yields, reduced water for livestock and outbreaks of armyworms. Both men and women saw CA as having climate change adaptation benefits. For the women, men most benefitted from CA through the high moisture holding capacity of basins, higher crop yields and reduced labor requirements through use of oxen ripping. The men most appreciated the high crop yields, improved soil fertility and reduced costs as less fertilizer is used. The women cited the high moisture holding capacity of basins, high crop yields and improved soil fertility as benefits they most commonly derived from CA, while the men thought the women most benefitted from CA through the higher crop yields, improved soil fertility and crop tolerance to droughts. The study concludes that there is room for CA to serve as a climate smart agricultural system for both men and women smallholder farmers in Eastern Zambia. However, this will require addressing important challenges of high weed pressure, high labor demands, and low access to manure, and CA farming implements. The CA package for Zambia should include access to timely climate information and climate informed crop choices.Bridget Bwalya UmarBridget Bwalya UmarFrontiers Media S.A.articleclimate smart agriculture (CSA)minimum tillage (MT)gender rolerippingsmallholder farmersbasinsNutrition. Foods and food supplyTX341-641Food processing and manufactureTP368-456ENFrontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Vol 5 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	climate smart agriculture (CSA) minimum tillage (MT) gender role ripping smallholder farmers basins Nutrition. Foods and food supply TX341-641 Food processing and manufacture TP368-456
spellingShingle	climate smart agriculture (CSA) minimum tillage (MT) gender role ripping smallholder farmers basins Nutrition. Foods and food supply TX341-641 Food processing and manufacture TP368-456 Bridget Bwalya Umar Bridget Bwalya Umar Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia
description	This study explored the use of conservation agriculture (CA) as a climate adaptation strategy among smallholder farmers in Eastern Zambia. Using 761 household interviews and 33 focus group discussions (FGDs) with smallholder farmers from six districts, data was collected on how smallholder farmers in the region experience climate change, what CA practices they had adopted, and benefits and challenges associated with CA practice. Results show that men and women farmers had similar experiences of climate change, namely late onset of a shortened rainy season, intra-seasonal drought and higher temperatures. Farmers' perceptions of gender-mediated effects of climate change had important nuances. The three most cited effects of climate change on women mentioned by women were lower crop yields, outbreaks of armyworms and reduced livestock fodder. The men thought women were most affected by increased hunger, lower crop yields and reduced domestic water sources. According to the women FGDs, men were most affected through reduced crop yields, increases in livestock diseases and increased hunger. The men self-reported reduced crop yields, reduced water for livestock and outbreaks of armyworms. Both men and women saw CA as having climate change adaptation benefits. For the women, men most benefitted from CA through the high moisture holding capacity of basins, higher crop yields and reduced labor requirements through use of oxen ripping. The men most appreciated the high crop yields, improved soil fertility and reduced costs as less fertilizer is used. The women cited the high moisture holding capacity of basins, high crop yields and improved soil fertility as benefits they most commonly derived from CA, while the men thought the women most benefitted from CA through the higher crop yields, improved soil fertility and crop tolerance to droughts. The study concludes that there is room for CA to serve as a climate smart agricultural system for both men and women smallholder farmers in Eastern Zambia. However, this will require addressing important challenges of high weed pressure, high labor demands, and low access to manure, and CA farming implements. The CA package for Zambia should include access to timely climate information and climate informed crop choices.
format	article
author	Bridget Bwalya Umar Bridget Bwalya Umar
author_facet	Bridget Bwalya Umar Bridget Bwalya Umar
author_sort	Bridget Bwalya Umar
title	Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia
title_short	Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia
title_full	Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia
title_fullStr	Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia
title_full_unstemmed	Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia
title_sort	adapting to climate change through conservation agriculture: a gendered analysis of eastern zambia
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/4060b514abb74f1293f60588000fbd14
work_keys_str_mv	AT bridgetbwalyaumar adaptingtoclimatechangethroughconservationagricultureagenderedanalysisofeasternzambia AT bridgetbwalyaumar adaptingtoclimatechangethroughconservationagricultureagenderedanalysisofeasternzambia
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Adapting to Climate Change Through Conservation Agriculture: A Gendered Analysis of Eastern Zambia

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