Enhancing women and men
farmers’ adaptive capacity
through climate services
6 marzo 2015
Tatiana Gumucio
Postdoctoral Research Scientist

Outline
I. Introduction: why CCAFS and gender?
II. What do we know about gender, CIS and agriculture?
III. What are we learning?
IV. Future directions

Why gender inclusion in projects on
agriculture and climate change?
• Gender influences men’s and women’s experiences of
and vulnerabilities to climate change.
• V = f(E, S, AC)
Vulnerability
Exposure
• Roles and division of
labor
Sensitivity
• Roles and division of
labor
• Access and control of
resources
Adaptive capacity
• Access to resources and
services
• Resource control
• Decision-making power

What do we know: Information
from CCAFS
Understanding gender differences in access to
and use of climate information

CCAFS Climate Smart Villages
Access to. . . Information
on droughts
Forecast of
the start of
the rains
Seasonal
weather
forecasts
Short-term
forecast
W M W M W M W M
Nyando,
Kenya*
70 85 91 91 40 80 45 75
Wote,
Kenya**
43 92 98 97 92 88 36 41
Rakai,
Uganda***
64 78 73 83 80 81 37 91
Kaffrine,
Senegal****
20 23 65 83 64 67 55 61
No statistically significant difference
More men than women access/use
information
Percent of men and women who have access to weather information
*Women n=200; Men n=200
**Women n=175; Men n=176
***Women n=187; Men n=155
****Women n=323; Men n=200
SOURCE: Twyman J, Green M, Bernier Q, Kristjanson P, Russo S, Tall A, Ampaire E, Nyasimi M, Mango J, McKune S, Mwongera C, and
Ndourba, Y. 2014 Gender and Climate Change Perceptions, Adaptation Strategies, and Information Needs Preliminary Results from four sites in
Africa. CCAFS Working Paper no. 83. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).

CCAFS Climate-Smart Villages
Use of. . . for
making
agricultural
changes
Information
on droughts
Forecast of
the start of
the rains
Seasonal
weather
forecasts
Short-term
forecast
W M W M W M W M
Nyando,
Kenya*
73 66 96 91 83 92 47 10
Wote, Kenya** 96 94 100 100 99 94 81 4
Rakai,
Uganda***
77 45 94 94 93 75 39 57
Kaffrine,
Senegal****
43 63 92 95 68 74 81 74
No statistically significant difference
More women than men access/use
information
More men than women access/use
information
Percent of men and women who make use of weather information

Sources of information
Senegal Women Men
Traditional
forecasters or IK
88 94*
Radio 85 88
Family members 83* 68
Neighbors 80 79
Religious groups 13 14
TV 10 8
NGOs 8 24*
Community
meetings
8 17*
Government
extension
3 12*
Farmer
organizations or
cooperatives
1 1
Cell phones 1 4*
Source: Kristjanson, P., Bernier, Q., Bryan, E., Ringler, C., Meinzen-Dick, R. S., & N’Dour, Y. (2015c). Implications of gender-focused research in Senegal for
farmer’s adaption to climate change (IFPRI Project Note 2). Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Sources of information
Senegal Women Men
Traditional
forecasters or IK
88 94*
Radio 85 88
Family members 83* 68
Neighbors 80 79
Religious groups 13 14
TV 10 8
NGOs 8 24*
Community
meetings
8 17*
Government
extension
3 12*
Farmer
organizations or
cooperatives
1 1
Cell phones 1 4*
Uganda Women Men
Neighbors 91 96*
Radio 86 98*
Traditional
forecasters or IK
74 76
Family members 52 72*
Religious groups 36 31
Government
extension workers
31 67*
NGOs 31 68*
Community
meetings
24 44*
Farmer
organizations or
cooperatives
12 36*
Cell phones 6 12*
TV 2 14*
Source:Kristjanson, P., Bernier, Q., Bryan, E., Ringler, C., Meinzen-Dick, R. S., & Ampaire, E. (2015a). Gender and climate change adaptation
in Uganda: Insights from Rakai (IFPRI Project Note 3). Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Observations
• Men tend to have more access to information
• Gender variations in:
 Sources/channels
 Application of information
• Why/how?
Photocredit: Manon Koningstein (CIAT)

Gender
• Agency
• Groups & networks
• Decision-making power
• Structures
• Norms
• Division of labor
• Resources
• Technology
Conceptualizing gender & CIS
Demand
Communication
channels
Access
Use
Impact/benefit

Gender factors: trends in the
literature
• Use - resources
 Access to resources for implementation
 Education
• Demand
 Roles: Differing agricultural tasks among women and men
 Resources: access/control of farm inputs  type of CI demanded
Photocredit: Manon Koningstein (CIAT)

Gender factors: trends in the
literature
• Channels
 Norms: Time-labor burdens and
mobility restrictions
 Technology: Control and access
Photocredit: Manon Koningstein (CIAT)

Gender factors: trends in the
literature
• Channels
 Norms: Time-labor burdens and
mobility restrictions
 Technology
 Groups and networks
− Male biases in membership in
farmers groups
− Importance of women-specific
groups and women “communicators”
Photocredit: Alternative Futures

What are we learning?

Projects in progress
Project Data
collection
Gender information on
Access Sources Format Use Information-
sharing
Agro-
Climate
Information
Services
Southeast
Asia
Baseline
survey.
Participatory
scenario
planning.
Importance
of television
broadcasts
Complex
terminology
and icons
less useful
for women
Men more
likely to
share with
male
farmers than
women.
Women’s
groups’
importance
Climate
Services for
Agriculture
in Rwanda
Baseline
survey. M&E
Men greater
access,
awareness,
knowledge
than women
Both made
changes in
crops,
livestock or
livelihood
systems, but
men more
Both shared
info from
PICSA, but
men more

Some initial findings and
recommendations
• Collaboration with women’s and local groups: input on
formats, learning styles, and channels of dissemination
best suited to women’s and men’s needs.
• It is important to take into account women’s time labor
burdens and mobility restrictions regarding CI sources
and channels.
• Gender gaps in formal education, literacy level, and
technical familiarity can be significant factors for gender
equal technology access and use as it relates to CIS.

Next steps: getting to socially
inclusive CIS
• Assessment of existing data and research findings on
gender and climate information services.
 Review of empirical research
 Assessment of existing data from CCAFS and bilateral projects
− Baselines, needs assessments, monitoring & evaluation
− Support to data collection instruments and data analysis
• Production of training and guidance materials for
implementation and monitoring of gender equality
objectives in CIS projects.

Future directions
• Getting from:
 What are the characteristics and causes of gender differentials in
access and use of CIS?
• To:
 How best can the differing capacities of different groups of men
and women (based on race, ethnicity, class, caste, age, etc.) to
adapt be supported?
• Research gap: on evaluation of gender equality
outcomes from CIS projects
• Define theory of change for gender transformative CIS

Thank you!
tgumucio@iri.columbia.edu