Tackling climate change adaptation by consulting women

Pick up a copy of IWMI's new book: Tackling Change at the COP19 Global Landscapes Forum in Warsaw November 16-17. 

Climate change is often considered a purely biophysical phenomenon. But human vulnerability to its effects varies considerably according to social factors.

A few years ago Dhanmanti Pradhan, a farmer in Nepal, noticed that things were changing. “In recent years we had less and less rain,” she says. “There is a borehole that the villagers use to irrigate the fields, but it is not enough. It is far away from our fields and my husband is not here to help me with the labor.”

Women comprise a growing proportion of the agricultural labor force in some parts of Nepal. Photo: EcoAgriculture Partners on Flickr

As so many others, Dhanmanti’s husband has gone to the Middle East for work. For the villagers of Dhanusha District, in southern Nepal, climate change is a reality.  But for the women of this community this issue is most acute. They are the ones who will have to adapt how they farm to cope with this new challenge.

“Women comprise a growing proportion of the agricultural labor force in developing countries, particularly as men are leaving the villages in the search of work”, says Fraser Sugden, researcher at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). “Female farmers often produce less than male farmers, not because they are less efficient as farmers, but because they have less access than men to productive resources and opportunities.”

The 2010-2011 FAO State of Food and Agriculture report, Women in agriculture: closing the gender gap for development, showed that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20–30 percent. This could raise total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent.

However governments are often slow to reform property rights, citizenship laws, and access to credit in ways that would open up opportunities for women.

A team of researchers from the IWMI conducted a study in the Indo-Gangetic Plains to understand the patterns of vulnerability to climate change and the adaptive capacity for female and male farmers.

This study is being featured in the book, Tackling Change, newly published by IWMI - highlighting the latest research in climate change adaptation for agricultural water management.

Rules and regulations restrict women’s right to land

In Bangladesh, Nepal, and India the researchers found that rules and regulations exclude women from rights to land and other resources, and assign property and responsibilities to men.

In India, men and women’s education levels and literacy were found to affect their access to information on the weather. Women generally receive less education and have limited access to information and opportunities; in return they are less likely to develop new food production skills.

“We also found that farmer groups do not pay much attention to women, as they are often seen by male farmers as ‘less educated’ and hence not suitable for training programs”, says Sugden. “But educating both men and women will boost their capacity to raise agricultural production and adapt to climate change.” Women also have less time to participate due to their heavy workloads.

Social and cultural attitudes are slow to change

A group of 12 women from Dhanusha District, south Nepal, shot their own stories about how climate change has affected their livelihoods. Photo: CCAFs on Flickr

But education is just one factor. Caste and class also play roles and a change in attitude is still a long way off. But Sugden sees positive changes emerging.

“In communities where men are leaving for work, women have become more involved in traditional male domains. As the men are leaving rural areas women are taking over their husbands’ responsibilities, such as in the engineering aspects of irrigation or negotiating access to canal and groundwater”, he says. “However, this also poses challenges as women-focused interventions often are still focused on the traditional domains of household water use, or water for kitchen gardens or livestock”.

IWMI is working in the Indo-Gangnetic Plains to increase the understanding of climate change adaptation, and the different options which are available to men and women. A participatory video project, for example, is giving both women and men the opportunity to make their voices heard.

“A new approach to engaging with female farmers will be important for adapting to climate change,” says Sudgen. “Raising awareness of changes that are happening and why, and educating and informing both men and women will help.”

After all, if these trends continue, the key decision-makers in agriculture in the future will increasingly be women.