Rainfall scarcity and its impacts on subsistence farming: the role of gender and religious rituals in adaptation to change

Abstract

abstractThe study examined the impacts of rainfall scarcity on subsistence crop production. It describes the importance of religious rituals performed by women as adaptation measures to erratic rainfall patterns. This study is motivated by observations that unpredictable rainfall has diverse impacts on food security in rural communities that still depend on subsistence economies to supplement food sources. Focus group discussions with 50 women aged between 35 and 78 years revealed that the women draw on cultural knowledge as subsistence crop producers. They depend on rain-making, seed-dressing and crop maintenance rituals to adapt to rainfall scarcity hazards such as drought. These measures ensure food self-sufficiency in the face of climate change. The findings of this study could be used to improve the status of women by fostering their participation and use of their indigenous knowledge to increase food security in development programmes intended to end hunger and famine in the rural areas.