Potential of climate-smart agriculture in reducing
women farmers’ drudgery in high climatic risk areas
Arun Khatri-Chhetri, P. Regmi, N. Chanana, P. Aggarwal
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and
Food Security

Women and
Climate-Smart
Agriculture
 A strong relationship between women and
agriculture has significant implication for
developing climate resilient agriculture in the
many developing countries
 The level of women’s involvement in
agriculture, such as their labor contribution in
different agricultural activities, can effect to
the adoption and sustainability of climate-
smart agriculture (CSA) approach

Developing
Climate
Resilient
Agriculture
Availability of
Women
Friendly
Technologies
& Practices
Women’s
Access to
Resources
& Services
Women’s
Decision
Making
Power
Gender
Equitable
Priorities &
Policies
What makes adaptation
strategy different for women?

Significance of
this Study
• While the role of CSA in agriculture has been
widely discussed, its potential to help women in
reducing their labor burdens is not clear,
• Policy makers are looking for new approaches
of integrating gender component with CSA
options across the agricultural production
systems, that can help reducing women’s
drudgery as well as increase climate resilience,
• Our study presents a systematic approach to
assess the labor-reducing potential of selected
CSA technologies and practices

Data, Methods
and Analysis
 Identification of gender-agriculture-climate risk
hotspots (Nepal):
 % of women in agriculture in the district (50%
weight)
 Climate risks exposure at the district level
(25% weight)
 % of population under the poverty line (25%
weight)
 Gender disaggregated data (two hotspot districts
in Nepal)
 Men and women’s role in different agricultural
activities such as land preparation, crop
sowing, tillage, weeding, harvesting, and
threshing in three major crops (Rice, Wheat
and Maize)
 Estimation of potential benefits of CSA

Study locations, technologies and
indicators used for CSA technology
evaluation

Results
Identification of gender-agriculture-climate risk hotspots

Labor Gap
Assessment in
Agriculture
 Women’s labor contribution in
agriculture is significantly high
compared to men’s contribution
 This high level of women’s
involvement in agricultural
activities is largely influenced by
out-migration of male and/or low
off-farm opportunities for women
 They work primarily as family
workers in subsistence
agriculture with low technology-
driven conventional farming
practices

Labor Gap
Assessment in
Agriculture
Men and women participation in different agricultural activities (days/ha)

Labor Gap
Assessment in
Agriculture
Women and CSA technologies

Impact of
Technologies on
CSA indicators
Impact of CSA technologies on five indicatorsLevel of women’s labor contribution reduction
under different CSA technologies compared to
baseline (i.e., FP)

Conclusions
 Hotspots analysis provides locations
to promote CSA technologies
targeting to women and climate risks
reduction in agriculture
 One size may not fit all: women
targeted CSA intervention should
consider THEIR ROLE in different
activities in agriculture.
 Investment on women friendly CSA
technologies can generate social,
economic and environmental benefits

THANK YOU
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-018-2350-8