Assessment of women smallholder farmers’ climate-smart agricultural strategies to address the effects of climate variability in the Tolon district, Ghana.
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Date
2019-05
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KNUST
Abstract
Agriculture remains very essential to the livelihoods of most people in the developing worldespecially women and rural dwellers. The situation is not different in Ghana where most of the citizens, especially women, are employed in the sector. Notwithstanding, a major threat to agricultural development is climate variability and change. This has necessitated the need to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices in order to mitigate the harmful effects of climate
variability. With women as well as the northern part of Ghana being one of the most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate variability and change, this study investigated the climatesmart agricultural practices of small-holder women farmers as a mechanism to address the effects of climate variability in the Tolon District of Ghana. A mixed method approach and a cross sectional design was utilized. The study purposively selected a sample of 371 women
farmers. The study, among others, found that, respondents had good perception and knowledge on climate variability, and saw crop failure or low yield as the main reason for choosing climate-smart agricultural strategies. Besides, most respondents chose irrigation and drought-tolerant crop varieties, as climate-smart strategies among others. Also, majority of the respondents felt that their climate-smart strategies were effective while most of the respondents were found to have chosen a particular climate-smart strategy mainly due to crop failure and/or low yield. In addition, majority of the respondents reported financial constraint as the main challenge to the adaptation of climate-smart agriculture. The study therefore among others strongly recommends the provision of financial assistance to women smallholder farmers by rural banks in order to enhance their adoptation to climate-smart strategies in responses to climate variability.
Description
A Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfilment Of The Requirements For The Award Of A Master Of Philosophy Degree In Geography And Rural Development.