Gender and Climate Change Adaptation Strategies in Agriculture: Lessons from Farming Communities in Ejisu Municipality, Ghana

Sammanfattning: Climate change poses a threat to agriculture. Ghana’s agriculture is mainly dependent on rainfall, this makes subsistence farmers majority of whom are women more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. That said, the impacts of climate change are felt differently by men and women due to their social assigned roles and responsibilities. This study examined the dimensions along which gender matters in adaptation strategies.The study used a case study approach, the Ejisu municipality in Ghana was selected for the study. To understand the gender narratives and how this affects adaptation strategies 10 farmers, and 2 agriculture extension officers were sampled. An inductive approach was used to analyze the core themes that emerged from the data.The findings of the study show that smallholder farmers in Ejisu municipality are changing their agricultural practices due to the changes in climatic conditions. Female farmers were seen to be less adaptive due to gender norms and challenges with access to productive resources. The common adaptative measures used by both male and female farmers are crop rotation, mixed farming, use of agrochemicals, organic fertilizers, leaving land fallow, delayed planting, and conservative agriculture.The study findings further show there are complexities in gender dimensions in the agricultural process and this affects adaptation strategies. The study recommends raising public awareness on climate change by providing adequate support to train farmers on sustainable adaptation, strengthening institutional capacity to ensure gender-responsive initiatives in agriculture, and create equitable access to resources to enhance adaptive capacities.