TY  - BOOK
AU  - Atheena, U P
AU  - Smitha, S (Guide)
TI  - Gender disaggregated analysis of climate-change adaptations among vegetable farmers
U1  - 630.71 
PY  - 2023///
CY  - Vellanikkara
PB  - Department of agricultural extension education, College of agriculture
KW  - Age, gender, education
KW  - Farming experience
KW  - Social participation
KW  - Financial assistance
KW  - Market orientation
KW  - Scientific orientation
N1  - Msc
N2  - 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)
ER  -