Gender-based analysis of adaptability and vulnerability to climate change among smallholder farmers : a case of Semi-arid Nguruocal government area, Northeastern Nigeria | |
| Author | Yila, Jummai Othniel |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.GD-13-03 |
| Subject(s) | Women and the environment--Nigeria--Northeastern Climatic changes--Gender |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Gender and Development Studies, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. GD-13-03 |
| Abstract | The capacity and ability to adapt to climate change has been undermined not only by natural vulnerabilities due to geographic location and the commonly associated problem of poverty in many developing countries but also by the social context, gender and institutions that interact to influence and determine household and individual vulnerabilities and responses to drought. Looking at how smallholder farmers in Nguru Local Government Area (LGA) of Northeastern Nigeria are impacted by drought, the gender pattern of their vulnerability and adaptive capacity, this thesis analyses the context of vulnerability and what shapes farmers’ vulnerabilities and adaptability to climate change. By using quantitative and qualitative mixed methods, data needed for this study was collected from the questionnaire survey of 250 households, focus group discussions, participants’ observation and key informant interviews. The findings reveal a strong gender dimension to the ways climate variability is experienced and expressed by farmers in their coping and adaptation processes to achieving livelihoods and food security. First, household socioeconomic characteristic was found to be significant in households’ ability to cope and adapt to drought. Female-headed households have been excluded from taking on opportunities that would enable them pick on a secondary or complementary income source from wage employment due to low or lack of skill/education; access to natural capital such as land that would allow for a purposeful investment on the farm for a long term adaptation plan and grant security or collateral; mobility restriction that has contained and prohibited women from full public life activities due to cultural and social barriers in the area that limit women’s access to information. Secondly, I have demonstrated that what drives vulnerability in the local communities is disparate and not only context-specific but individualized and gender specific. Thirdly, risk distribution and expected profit, cultural, political/economic pressure and past experience; Resource availability have been shown to be the three main issues that farm households consider in making decisions for the cropping pattern they adopt. Fourthly, while men are involved in religious affiliations and formal or political groupings, which probably explains why they had better access to agricultural inputs, and credits, women have sought out and are investing more in informal individual or small group social networking of reciprocity or bond friendship which offers them either the social support needed to fall back on or secure access to credit to improve their adaptive capacity. Thus, the resources and support services required for responding to climate change and variability are socially differentiated by gender, social class and political lineage This dissertation concludes that vulnerability is a function of the complex web of interactions of practices and processes that shape the conditions under which people cope at a given place in time. Within a cultural, socio-economic and political circumstance of Nguru LGA, this interconnected process produces an evolving distribution of vulnerability, differentiated within the community, essentially marked by gender of household heads and social status with specific significance to identifying and implementing effective responses to drought and the stresses that come with it. Therefore, the strategies to mitigate the impact of drought need to take account these gendered dynamics in order to strengthen the capacities of women and men to overcome their vulnerabilities and enhance their adaptation process and ability. These findings are essential for informing policy decisions by ensuring that the experiences of both women and men and the context in which they operate are embedded into policy design. |
| Year | 2013 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. GD-13-03 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Gender and Development Studies (GD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Resurreccion, Bernadette P.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Sajor, Edsel;Doneys, Philippe;Apusigah, Agnes Atia; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | International Development Research Centre (IDRC);International Tropical Timber (ITTO); |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2013 |