Gender, assets and adaptation to climate change in Kenya: The role of group-based approaches

1. GENDER, ASSETS AND ADAPTATION
TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN KENYA:
THE ROLE OF GROUP-BASED APPROACHES
Marther Ngigi , Ulrike Mϋller, Regina Birner
Corresponding author: martherngigi@gmail.com

2. Introduction
• Performance of the agricultural sector
• Impact on national economic growth, income and poverty levels
• Challenge: climate change
• Temperature has been rising by 3oC from 1960 to 2003 (Herrero et al.
2010)
• Prolonged dry-spells, erratic rainfall and frequent flooding
• Adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices
• Adoption depends on
• Individual characteristics  gender
• Inequalities in household capital endowment
• Access to rural services, such as climate and agricultural information
2

3. Gender is important for adaptation
• Vulnerability to climate change is not gender neutral
• Worsened by limited access to credit, inputs and extension services,
land (FAO 2011; World Bank 2011)
• Livelihood depends on natural resources
• No inclusion in decision making (OECD 2012)
• Climate change impacts are also not gender neutral
• Women sell their assets to ensure food security in times of drought: cf.
Angula (2010) for Namibia
• Women reduce meals portions: cf. Serna (2011) for northern Kenya
• High mortality during natural disasters (Neumayer & Plu (2007)
• Increased workload after disasters (Bynoe 2009)
• Programs supporting gender equality in Kenya
• Kenyan constitution
• Social and women funds
3

4. Objectives
There is limited empirical evidence on how gender and
intra-household dynamics influence the adaptive capacities
of men and women
1. To examine husbands’ and wives’ adaptive capacity
• Domain of differentiated access over resources
• Access to agricultural information
• Role of group based approaches: social capital
2. To assess husbands’ and wives’ adaptation strategies
3. To examine husbands’ and wives’ drivers of adoption of
climate-smart agricultural strategies
4

5. Data and Methods
5
Three agro-ecological
zones:
• Temperate zone
• Othaya
• Mukurueni
• Humid zone
• Gem
• Siaya
• Semi-arid zone
• Mbeere South
• Njoro
Othaya
Siaya /Gem
Njoro
Othaya /Mukurueni
Mbeere

6. Data and Methods
• Data collected in 2012
• Random sample
• Intra-household data of 156 households
• Total of 312 respondents
• Gender-disaggregated data
• Gender-disaggregated focus group
discussions
• Use non-parametric and parametric
analysis
6

7. Findings: Ownership and control of land and non-
land assets
7
Consumer
durable
Agricultural
durable
Cattle Small
ruminant
livestock
Draft
livestock
Decision on
land use
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Husband Wife Joint
Who owns these assets?

8. Social capital participation and accumulation
Wife Husband Diff. in
mean
Social capital index 0.68 0.71 -0.3*
Membership in social groups (%) 91 81 10**
Involvement in group activities (%) 90 83 7*
Involvement in community work (%) 36 67 -31***
Support from friends (%) 30 17 13*
Community-based organizations (%) 17 24 -7*
Soil and water management (%) 3 3 0
Farmer groups (%) 8 34 -26**
Number of groups 1.26 1.15 0.11
8

9. Gains from group-based approaches (% of responses)
9
22
32 32
74
81
38
47 49
65
69
Climate
information
Adaptation
ideas
Access to input Livelihood
diversification
Risk
management
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Percentageofresponses
Wife Husband
Did you get this benefit from the group?

10. Examples of group-based projects
10
1 2
3 4

11. Access to information (% of responses)
Wife Husband Diff. in Mean
Crop production 89 97 -9**
Livestock production 73 88 -15***
Access to extension agents 60 82 -26***
Farm visit 24 46 -21***
Farmers’ field school 42 21 21***
Climate change (CC) information 87 88 -1
Advice on adapting to CC 62 59 3
Weather forecast 64 45 19***
Early warning 26 39 -13***
11

12. Gender and adoption of climate-smart practices
• Women focus more on strategies related to crop production
• Change in crop variety and type
• Change in planting dates: early planting
• Increase land under production
• Soil conservation and management
• Men focus more on strategies related to livestock production
• Change in feeding practices
• Change in animal breeds
• Destocking
• Men focus more on agroforestry
• Changing gender roles in households during extreme climate events
• Fetching water
• Looking for distant fodder sources
12

13. Climate-smart practices
13
© Ngigi, 2013
13
Chaff cutter machine:
storage of fodder
Small livestock
Drought resistant crops: sorghum
Sack vegetable production

14. Soil and water conservation practices
14
“Tumbukiza’ technology
Planting ‘pits’ Terraces
Water harvesting

15. Drivers for adaptation to climate change
15
• Age
• Agricultural durable asset
• Farmers field school
• Trust in information
• Traditions, culture and norms
• Perception of climate change
• Social capital index
• Total livestock holding
• Early warning
• Bargaining power on land use
• Number of information sources
• Perception of climate change
Wives Husbands

16. Conclusions
• Substantial gender disparity in
• Access to assets
• Access to information
• Accumulation of social capital
• Group based approaches
• Essential for sharing information and adaptation ideas
• Important for livelihood diversification and risk management
• Women and men adapt differently
• Gender-linked factors
• Assets
• Different roles in the household
• Information
• Decision making power
• Social capital
16

17. Policy implications
• Gender disparity in the ownership of assets
• Empowering women’s bargaining and decision-making power
• Awareness and full implementation of the constitution
• Access to information
• Employ gender-sensitive extension approaches
• Use most accessible channels of communication
• Improve the quality and accuracy of the information: trust
• Capacity building
• Scaling-up of group-based approaches
• Information sharing
• Risk management
• Livelihood diversification
• Encourage adaptation of gender biased practices
• Not to increase the labor burden to one gender
• Address cultures and traditions
17

18. Acknowledgments
18