Climate change and women employment in agriculture in the Sahel region: An empirical insight.

Abstract

In recent times, the Sahel region has been particularly identified as the flash point of climate change crisis in Africa, due to the persistent reliance on both biophysical factors and natural resources, especially agriculture for economic livelihood. Agains t this scenario, this study provides an empirical evidence to establish the nexus between climate change and women employment in agriculture within the Sahel region. The study employed panel data from 1990 to 2020 of 9 countries within the Sahel region. Consequently, a panel Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) was used to estimate the relationship between the variables of interest. Thus, the results showed that about 60% of women in the Sahel region are actively employed in agriculture. However, change in rainfall pattern has a significant adverse effect on women employment in agriculture. In view of these findings, we conclude that a rise in women's employment in agriculture would be mitigated if adverse effects of changes in rainfall pattern are controlled. Additionally, policymakers should be proactive in policy formulation that increases the region's resilience and adaptation to the future adverse effects of agriculturally induced climate change.