Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana

Regional climate change assessments show a likely temperature increase that is higher than the global average for all seasons in Africa, which would have extreme negative implications for ecosystem health and productivity. Most extreme climate change effects in West Africa are predicted to occur in...

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Autores principales:	Michael Mensah, Grace B. Villamor, Benedicta Y. Fosu-Mensah, Paul L. G. Vlek
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	grazing game natural resources men women climate variability adaptation Agriculture (General) S1-972
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c5d85abf71e14594a61a4f360d118317
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c5d85abf71e14594a61a4f360d1183172021-11-25T15:58:13ZExploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana10.3390/agriculture111110482077-0472https://doaj.org/article/c5d85abf71e14594a61a4f360d1183172021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/11/1048https://doaj.org/toc/2077-0472Regional climate change assessments show a likely temperature increase that is higher than the global average for all seasons in Africa, which would have extreme negative implications for ecosystem health and productivity. Most extreme climate change effects in West Africa are predicted to occur in desert and grassland areas. It is important for smallholder farmers in this region to understand the implications of these projections to their livelihood and to identify appropriate adaptation strategies. A grazing game was used to explore gender-specific adaptive responses to climate variability in the semiarid region of Ghana. The game was designed to understand the decision-making processes that result in the overgrazing of animals, leading to desertification based on the players’ interactions with the environment. A total of 44 grazing games comprising 22 games for male-headed households (HH) and 22 games for female-HH were played from August to December 2014 from 14 communities within the Bolgatanga Municipality and the Bongo district. The study revealed that males migrate to the southern part of the country to work on other people’s farms during the dry season as an adaptation strategy, while females engage in off-farm activities such as shea-butter production and basketry. Results of the game showed that males produced the highest number of cattle but created the largest desert patches. Females, on the other hand, were more conscious about the environment (long-term condition of the rangeland) than the short-term income benefits from the sale of cattle; hence, they created fewer desert patches. Strategies such as reducing the number of cattle to allow for the re-growth of vegetation in periods of feed scarcity, ploughing for one another using bulls, and family support using income from the sale of livestock were employed by both gender groups. The involvement of female farmers in decision-making is crucial to improve natural resource management.Michael MensahGrace B. VillamorBenedicta Y. Fosu-MensahPaul L. G. VlekMDPI AGarticlegrazing gamenatural resourcesmenwomenclimate variabilityadaptationAgriculture (General)S1-972ENAgriculture, Vol 11, Iss 1048, p 1048 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	grazing game natural resources men women climate variability adaptation Agriculture (General) S1-972
spellingShingle	grazing game natural resources men women climate variability adaptation Agriculture (General) S1-972 Michael Mensah Grace B. Villamor Benedicta Y. Fosu-Mensah Paul L. G. Vlek Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana
description	Regional climate change assessments show a likely temperature increase that is higher than the global average for all seasons in Africa, which would have extreme negative implications for ecosystem health and productivity. Most extreme climate change effects in West Africa are predicted to occur in desert and grassland areas. It is important for smallholder farmers in this region to understand the implications of these projections to their livelihood and to identify appropriate adaptation strategies. A grazing game was used to explore gender-specific adaptive responses to climate variability in the semiarid region of Ghana. The game was designed to understand the decision-making processes that result in the overgrazing of animals, leading to desertification based on the players’ interactions with the environment. A total of 44 grazing games comprising 22 games for male-headed households (HH) and 22 games for female-HH were played from August to December 2014 from 14 communities within the Bolgatanga Municipality and the Bongo district. The study revealed that males migrate to the southern part of the country to work on other people’s farms during the dry season as an adaptation strategy, while females engage in off-farm activities such as shea-butter production and basketry. Results of the game showed that males produced the highest number of cattle but created the largest desert patches. Females, on the other hand, were more conscious about the environment (long-term condition of the rangeland) than the short-term income benefits from the sale of cattle; hence, they created fewer desert patches. Strategies such as reducing the number of cattle to allow for the re-growth of vegetation in periods of feed scarcity, ploughing for one another using bulls, and family support using income from the sale of livestock were employed by both gender groups. The involvement of female farmers in decision-making is crucial to improve natural resource management.
format	article
author	Michael Mensah Grace B. Villamor Benedicta Y. Fosu-Mensah Paul L. G. Vlek
author_facet	Michael Mensah Grace B. Villamor Benedicta Y. Fosu-Mensah Paul L. G. Vlek
author_sort	Michael Mensah
title	Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana
title_short	Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana
title_full	Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana
title_fullStr	Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana
title_full_unstemmed	Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana
title_sort	exploring the gender-specific adaptive responses to climate variability: application of grazing game in the semi-arid region of ghana
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c5d85abf71e14594a61a4f360d118317
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Exploring the Gender-Specific Adaptive Responses to Climate Variability: Application of Grazing Game in the Semi-Arid Region of Ghana

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