Speaker
Description
Climate change continues to threaten the sustainability of food systems, particularly for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana’s Ejura Sekyedumase Municipality, these impacts are compounded by gender disparities that influence access to resources and adaptation strategies. This study employs an interdisciplinary framework grounded in Feminist Political Ecology to identify gender-just climate solutions that strengthen resilience and promote food security. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 200 household surveys, eight focus group discussions, and four key informant interviews, complemented by long-term climate trend analysis. Analytical tools included the Mann-Kendall trend test, the Relative Importance Index, Binary Logistic Regression, and thematic analysis. Findings reveal a significant rise in mean annual temperature (p < 0.05) alongside a non-significant decline in rainfall (p > 0.05), reinforcing farmers’ perceptions of early rainfall onset and increasing heat stress. Both men and women adopted on-farm measures such as crop diversification (RII = 0.398) and pesticide use (RII = 0.433), and off-farm strategies such as food rationing (RII = 0.388) and livelihood diversification (RII = 0.325). Gender emerged as a critical determinant in the adoption of indigenous knowledge and migration-based strategies. However, systemic barriers, including high seed costs (WAI = 1.970) and inadequate irrigation (WAI = 1.965), limit adaptation effectiveness. The study advocates for gender-responsive, climate-smart agricultural policies to enhance resilient and sustainable food systems in Ghana and similar contexts globally.