Intra-household impact of improved dual-purpose cowpea on women in northern Nigeria

This study explores the intra-household impact of transfer of improved dualpurpose cowpea from a gender perspective. Increased productivity by IDPC, has increased food, fodder and income availability. The impact of which is linked to the income it has placed in the women’s hands. Surplus income has been found to be extremely important in providing food and nutritional benefits to the home, particularly during periods of risk. Most importantly, income generated through the adoption of IDPC has entered a largely female domain, where transfers of gifts and income reserves were passed on from generation to generation. Having meaningful impact towards the social and economic development for the women. However, the technology has strengthened the separation of working spheres between men and women, with the associated seclusion of wives. Future IITA technologies, should attempt from the onset, to use alternatives, existing within the local rubric, to target women, with the aim of expanding their participation and contribution to agriculture with the associated benefits to their families

Kenya adaptation to climate change in the arid lands: anticipating, adapting to and coping with climate risks in Kenya - operational recommendations for KACCAL

Years of concerted activism to bring awareness of climate change and its consequences to the fore of global concerns are finally yielding dividends. Until recently, most climate change activity focused on medium- to long-term projections regarding the nature and trajectory of change processes. With the uncertainties inherent in long-term climate projections and the difficulty of building political and economic momentum from hypothetical future scenarios, progress was slow. The recent past has, however, resulted in a drastic increase in extreme climate events across the globe that has wreaked untold humanitarian and economic havoc. The costly present day manifestations of climate change have catapulted climate concerns to the forefront of the global arena. The recent high-level event convened by the Secretary General of the United Nations to address the leadership challenge of climate change and build momentum for climate change talks (Bali, Indonesia, December 2007) is a clear indication that the urgency of climate change has fostered the degree of serious commitment it requires from the global agenda. Whatever its impacts, it is widely acknowledged that poor communities, already vulnerable to a suite of existing risks and endowed with meagre resources, will be the most adversely affected as climate change is superimposed on their already tenuous situation. In recognition of the need to help vulnerable populations in developing countries adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), in conjunction with its partners, funds programmes aimed at reducing the vulnerability of countries to the impacts of climate change and helps them build adaptive capacity. The Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in the Arid Lands (KACCAL) project is one such initiative supported in conjunction with the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). About 80% of Kenya is arid or semi-arid and the main livelihood activities in these areas are pastoral, agropastoral and subsistence agriculture. Currently, these populations are among the poorest in Kenya, suffer from a weak natural resource base, are negatively affected by socio-economic and demographic trends that see a growing population depending on diminishing rangelands, and are relatively marginalized from the growing economy. Add to this the impacts of climate change, of which the recent severe and extended droughts of 2001, 2004–06 and the widespread flooding in 2007 are an early signal, and the livelihood threats to the communities of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) are clear and present

Engaging with cultural practices in ways that benefit women in northern Nigeria

Published online: 01 Aug 2008This study explores the intra-household impact of improved dual-purpose cowpea (IDPC) from a gender perspective, in terms of productivity and food, fodder, and income availability, the impact of which is linked to the income thus placed in the women’s hands. Surplus income is important in providing food and nutritional benefits to the home, particularly during periods of risk. More importantly, income generated through the adoption of improved cowpea varieties has entered a largely female domain, where transfers of income reserves were passed on between women of different ages, with significant impact in terms of social and economic development. However, the technology has strengthened the separation of working spheres between men and women. Future technologies should, from the outset, explore provisions existing within the local rubric, to focus on women with the aim of expanding their participation in agriculture with the associated benefits to their families

Livestock and Women's Livelihoods: A Review of the Recent Evidence

This paper synthesises evidence of the contributions that livestock make to the livelihoods of poor women in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and identifies factors that enhance or constrain livestock-related opportunities for women. We apply a gender lens to three livestock-related pathways out of poverty—securing, building and safeguarding livestock assets; increasing and sustaining livestock productivity; and enhancing participation in and benefits from livestock markets. For each pathway, we summarize what is known and what this knowledge implies for programmatic and policy interventions. Assembling this information is a first step towards identifying some of the large gaps in our evidence base as well as some indications of the kinds of research and development interventions, made in relation to which species and value chains, that appear most likely to benefit poor women and their families