Climate change is expected to reduce crop and livestock productivity, thereby leading to increased hunger and food insecurity. Negative impacts of climate change on food security can, however, be mitigated by implementing effective adaptation strategies. These strategies can reproduce societal gender dynamics. Financial, social, individual, cultural, and institutional factors are involved in these dynamics and influence the ability of men and women, as well as the households they form part of, to adapt to climate change. The question thus arises: How do these differences shape adaptation strategies pursued by males and females and what are the implications of these for food security?
This study will be conducted in Samburu County, Kenya, where most of the population practice livestock keeping and are also food poor. We will randomly select 225 households and interview two members – one man, one woman – in each household. Qualitative interviews will be supplemented with focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews. The outcome variable in this study is food security. Food security will be measured by means of a dietary diversity score and the household food insecurity and access scale (HFIAS in order to determine the effect of adaptation strategies on food security.
Understanding differences in adaptation to climate change between men and women is important for developing gender-responsive policies to promote the adaptive capacity of all genders. Such policies contributes towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 of promoting gender equality. Furthermore, understanding how different adaptation strategies affect household food security is an important starting point for identifying effective ways to reduce food insecurity and thereby contribute to the SDG 2 goal of zero hunger.
