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The threats posed by climate change are no longer a far-off phenomenon and
has become more widespread in many countries of the semi- arid tropics including
India. Among agrarian populations, these impacts are particularly pronounced, as they
contend with ever-more uncertain conditions to raise food and earn a living. Climate
change found to have different impacts on women’s and men’s natural, physical, social
and financial capital. Therefore, a gender sensitive perspective is essential while
responding to the environmental and humanitarian crises caused by climate change.
With this backdrop, the present study was conducted to know gendered difference in
climate change adaptations among vegetable farmers.
The respondents were selected from four randomly selected blocks of Palakkad
district. Data collection was carried out among 80 male farmers, 80 female farmers with
minimum ten years’ experience in vegetable cultivation and 20 extension personnel
from the selected area. An interview schedule was developed and standardized to
collect data from the respondents.
The results revealed that among the 160 vegetable farmers, more than 90 per
cent farmers were found to be aware of climate change indicators except increase in
number of rainy days. The gender disaggregated analysis of perception on the effect
climate change shows that a greater number of male vegetable farmers have perceived
severe effects of climate change on water, soil, animal husbandry and other effects
including increase in cost of cultivation. While, greater number of female farmers
experienced crop related effects and calamities at severe levels.
Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), adaption strategies were
examined among male and female key farmers and found that the most substantial
strategy among male farmers was use of organic manure (global priority-0.13) and that
of female farmers was crop rotation (global priority- 0.12). Analysis of farmers levels
of adoption for each adaptation strategy within each component shows that crop rotation
(92%), use of organic manure (99.38%), supplementary irrigation (76.25%), pest
surveillance (65.62%), income diversification (72.50%) and getting help from
government and other agencies (71.25%) are the most adopted practices. With regard
to the mean climate change adaptation index, two sample t-test was employed and
results indicated a significant difference in the adoption of financial management and
other strategies by male and female farmers (p values 0.5 and 0.42). Results of binary
logistic regression of climate change adaptation with socioeconomic variables taken as
independent variables revealed that gender and change in level of extension contact or
risk bearability could bring a corresponding chance of 21, 14 and 87 per cent
respectively for a farmer to adopt a climate change adaptation strategy. The major
constraints faced by vegetable farmers, associated with the climate change adaptation
were lack of government support, high cost of the agricultural inputs needed for
adaptation strategies and inadequate credit facilities and lack of agricultural subsidies.
Other salient findings from the study shows that, majority of the farmers
(58.75% male and 63.75% female farmers) belonged to middle age groups. Slightly
above half (51.25%) male farmers and 37.5 per cent female farmers had secondary level
of education. Majority of the male farmers (70%) and female farmers (62.5%) had
medium range of farming experience (12-26 years). Majority of farmers belonged to
marginal farmers (65% male and 78.75% female). More than half of the respondent
male farmers (60%) and female farmers (51.25%) had medium range of annual income
(1.30- 3.74 lakhs). Majority (61.25% of males and 65% of females) of the respondents
have not integrated any of the components. Vast majority of the respondents (93.75%
male and 91.25% female farmers) acquired climatic information through fellow farmers
regularly. A large number of farmers (57.5% male and 46.25% female) have been
attending training programmes regularly. VFPCK officials followed by Agricultural
Officers were the most preferred extension officials. All the male vegetable farmers and
majority of the female vegetable farmers had social participation with 13.75 per cent
males and 8.75 per cent females held official position in the organizations. Majority of
the farmers were found to be availed credit (70% male and 75% female) and insurance
(63.75% males and 60% females). A greater number of the respondents have medium
risk bearability (67.5% male and 87.5% female), market orientation (72.5% male and
female) and scientific orientation (68.75% male and 67.5% female)

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