Generating evidence on gender sensitive climate-smart agriculture to inform policy in Central America
Programs and partnerships
Lead institution(s)
Summary
The agricultural sector plays a key role in Central America’s economy and social fabric. In 2017, Nicaragua and Guatemala were among the countries most affected by extreme weather events.Read more
The agricultural sector plays a key role in Central America’s economy and social fabric. In 2017, Nicaragua and Guatemala were among the countries most affected by extreme weather events. Increasing climate variability and change are among the main threats affecting family farming livelihoods, and drastic reductions in the climatic suitability of key staple and commercial crops are expected.
Climate-Smart Agricultural (CSA) options aim to help increase farmers’ resilience to climate change, improve their food security and agricultural productivity, and capture potential mitigation co-benefits. Effective design and implementation depends on a good understanding of the types of households (by age/life cycle, gender, household composition, ethnicity, and migration status, among other factors) and their specific opportunities and constraints to using CSA practices. Specifically, it is important to understand how gender dynamics influence household priorities, capacities, and needs. It is also critical to understand the complex array of factors influencing how different types of households respond to climate-related impacts.
This project is being implemented in partnership with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, located in Cali, Colombia. It will contribute to filling the knowledge gaps on the consequences of climate-related events on women and men, including access and control over resources, time use/labour, and participation in decision-making. Among the areas being studied are livelihoods, resilience, and the adaptive capacities of different types of households (including men/women/youth-headed and migrant/non-migrant). The project will also investigate the potential for CSA to buffer or mitigate the negative effects of climate change, promote equality, and empower vulnerable members of the community.
Building on an ongoing CGIAR research program on climate change, agriculture, and food security in Guatemala and Nicaragua, the project will identify adoption profiles of the most efficient and gender-sensitive CSA options, along with drivers or constraints to CSA adoption. It will also increase individual and organization-level capacities to plan for, access, and implement gender-sensitive CSA interventions that increase climate and livelihood resilience. Recommendations on social and gender-transformative CSA strategies and mechanisms to empower women will also be produced for policy dialogues at both the regional and national levels.