Gender Gaps and Adoption of Climate Smart Practices Among Cereal Farm Households in Nigeria

Abstract

Women are more active as economic agents in Africa than anywhere else in the world and perform the majority of agricultural activities in some countries. Societal norms, beliefs and economic constraints limits their access to agricultural productive resources, decision making process and adoption of climate smart practices(CSPs). This paper documented the effect of gender gaps on adoption of CSPs in Nigeria. Primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire using a multistage random technique from a cross section of 1,747 rice and maize farmers in Nigeria. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics abbreviated women empowerment in agriculture index (AWEAI) and Multivariate Probit regression. The AWEAI results showed that men are more empowered than women in four indicators out of the six indicators of empowerment except for use of credit (37%) and workload (68%). The adoption of CSPs revealed that female farmers adopted agroforestry more in the derived savannah (78%), northern guinea savannah (79%) and rain forest (64%) while Male farmers generally adopted crop rotation (28%) in derived and zero tillage (52%) in northern guinea savannah. The Multivariate probit results indicated that female plot managers have higher probability of adopting green manure(p<0.05) and agroforestry (p<0.01), while male plot managers were more likely to adopt crop rotation (p<0.01). The study showed that adoptions of CSPs are strongly influenced by gender of plot manager suggesting that efforts to promote green manure and agroforestry should target female farmers who would warmly welcome the complimentary role these practices played in plots where they are adopted.