This study is part of an ongoing research initiative under the Climate Impact Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement in Sub-Saharan Africa (CIRCLE) programme, an initiative of the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom. This presentation was made during the Gender mainstreaming session at the 4th Climate Change and Population Conference on Africa (CC POP-Ghana 2015). The conference which was held at the University of Ghana from 29 - 31 July 2015, created an ideal platform to share ongoing research on climate change in Africa ahead of the upcoming 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21).

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Engendering Climate-Smart
Agricultural Innovations in Kenya
Catherine Mungai
Climate Impact Research Capacity and Leadership
Enhancement in Sub-Saharan Africa (CIRCLE)
Post Masters Fellow

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Setting the Scene – What is the Problem?
• Impacts of CC and variability altering food production
patterns, and food systems.
• New challenges for food security and overall economic
development.
• The impact of climate change on agricultural productivity
is severe in Sub-Saharan Africa due to low adoption of
suitable agricultural production technologies and
practices.

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Setting the Scene – What is the Problem?
• Different categories of female and male farmers have
different coping abilities.
• Need to gather more evidence to ensure that the uptake
of technologies and practices in the agricultural sector
achieves greater equity in the community.

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Objectives of the Research
• Provide empirical evidence on gender and social
dynamics that shape farmers experience of
vulnerabilities and their adaptation to the effects of
climate change with particular emphasis on the uptake of
climate-smart agricultural technologies and practices.

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Key Definitions – But, Do Not Be Boxed In
• Gender - ‘The relations between men and women, both perceptual
and material. It is a central organizing principle of societies, and
often governs the processes of production and reproduction,
consumption and distribution’.
Despite this definition, gender is often misunderstood as being the
promotion of women only.
• Climate-smart Agriculture - agricultural practices that sustainably
increase productivity and system resilience while reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.

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The Research Area – Description
• Nyando sub-county in Kenya - CGIAR Research Program on Climate
Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) research site.
• Increased variability in climate patterns and extreme events such as
droughts and floods affecting agricultural production and food security.
• Half of the population lives below the poverty line.
• Human health issues such as high HIV prevalence are widespread.
• Small holding (on average < 1 ha) mixed crop-livestock farms for their
livelihoods.
• Site lies between Kisumu and Kericho counties.

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• Qualitative research design for the in-depth analysis of the intersectional
differences in vulnerability and capacity of adaptation among smallholder
farmers
Intersectionality as an analytical tool recognizes that how individuals relate to
climate change depends on their positions in context-specific power structures
based on social categorizations.
Research Methods
• Data Collection Methods:
 Key Informant Interviews
 Focus Group Discussions
 Semi-Structured Interviews

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Initial Findings - observed changes in climate
and impacts
• According to all genders, incidences of drought (occurs every 2 years)
and flooding (every year).
• Loss of crops, livestock, trees, safety nets and social connections as
people become stingy in sharing resources.
• Women (young, married and unmarried) - crop failure leads to loss of
income, which negatively affect their social support systems and cash
flow which forces them to seek assistance from their own parents and
siblings.

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Observed Changes in climate
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Observed changes in weather during lifetime
Temperature
Rainfall amount & duration
Frequency of droughts
Floods
Men (%) Women (%)

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Assets use and access
• Asset ownership and access is highly correlated to economic status,
gender, educational level, sources of income and position in the household
• Unmarried women with children and unmarried youth own few assets and
have limited access to some.
• Married women unable to buy or sell even small animals without consulting
their husbands.
• Cultural norms hindering women from having large animals.
• Men both young and old, married or single able to migrate freely in and out
of the home.
• For all categories of men and women farmers membership to social groups
is determined by access to membership fees.

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CSA Practices - Change to farm animals
New breeds – (Diseases and heat resistant, fast growing, short gestation period, rapid weight gain, twining rate) of
chicken, sheep and goats and livestock management practices (herd reduction and zero-grazing units)

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Changes in cropping practices
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
Introduced 1-3 new crop varieties Intercropping Introduced 1-3 new crops Stopped growing 1-3 crops
Adaptation Cropping Strategies
Male headed with a wife or wives
Male headed, divorced, single or widowed
Female headed, divorced, single or widowed
Female headed, husband away, husband makes the most
household/agricultural decisions
Female headed, husband away, wife makes most
household/agricultural decisions

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Adaptation in crops – Ethnicity lens
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
No New Crop Variety 1 or 2 New Crop Varieties 3 or more New Crop Varieties
Percentagehouseholds
Kalenjin Luo

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Adaptation in crops – Education lens
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
No formal education Primary Secondary Post secondary
Percentagehouseholds
No New Crop Variety 1 or 2 New Crop Varieties 3 or more New Crop Varieties

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Access to and use of weather information
• Households’ access weather information (start of the rainy season
and drought) through radio and orally from traditional forecasters,
family and neighbors.
• Most of the households accessed information on the start of the
rainy season and drought.
• Women households (without influence of men) access seasonal and
short term weather information.
• More men accessed information on livestock production than
women.

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Other factors influencing uptake of CSA
• Enabling frameworks – institutions and policy (credit, insurance,
safety nets etc.)
• Financing and investments for CSA.
• Availability of CSA inputs and technology.
• Psychological, behavioral and socio-institutional.
• Cultural factors that determine selection of preferred crops and
varieties.
• Increased labor requirements, an inability to use technologies and
equipment.

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Conclusions and recommendations
• The interplay between gender dimensions and other factors such as
social norms within Nyando in Kenya greatly influence how the
community deals with the changing climate.
• To make progress towards a gender equity goal, attention must be
given to the interrelated issues of social structure, and relations that
define the interactions between men and women.
• Placing emphasis on climate-smart interventions that are likely to be
beneficial to different categories of men and women in different
households is important.

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Conclusions and recommendations
• Addressing climate change in the agricultural sector requires an integrated
and gender sensitive approach – sector expertise

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References:
• Carr, E. R., and Thompson, M. C. (2014), Gender and Climate Change Adaptation in Agrarian Settings:
Current Thinking, New Directions, and Research Frontiers. Geography Compass, 8(3), 182-197.
• Jost, C et al. (2014), Gender and Inclusion Toolbox: Participatory Research in Climate Change and
Agriculture.
• FAO, (2010) “Climate-Smart” Agriculture Policies, Practices and Financing for Food Security, Adaptation
and Mitigation. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy
• FAO, (2012), Gender and Climate Change Research in Agriculture and Food Security for Rural
Development Training Guide, Rome: Food and Agriculture Network.
• Mango et al., (2011), Summary of Baseline Household Survey Results: Lower Nyando, Kenya. CGIAR
Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
• Nelson, V. and Stathers, T., (2009), Resilience, power, culture, and climate: A case study from semi-arid
Tanzania, and new research directions. Gender and Development 17 (1): 81-94.
• Twyman J et al., (2014), Adaptation Actions in Africa: Evidence that Gender Matters. CCAFS Working
Paper no. 83. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and
Food Security (CCAFS)

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Other institutions supporting participation in the
CIRCLE fellowship
Thank you for your kind attention