A gendered perspective on the fish value chain, livelihood patterns and coping strategies under climate change - insights from Malawi’s small-scale fisheries

Abstract

In Malawi, fish is a form of livelihood to many poor people, despite fluctuations in catches. Female participation in natural resource activities, including fisheries improve livelihoods. However, female participation in Malawi fisheries has historically been low compared to their role in agriculture. In this article, gender roles in the fish value chain, livelihood patterns and gendered coping strategies in Malawi's small-scale fisheries under the effects of climate change were analysed. The analysis is based on interviews conducted on the western shores of Lake Malawi in two phases between January 2016 to June 2016 and June 2017 to July 2017. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to collect and analyse data from randomly sampled male and female household heads who own fishing gears and vessels. The study showed no significant differences between men and women in their perceptions of climate change in the last 30 years. The respondents' perceptions on ecosystem changes were significantly different for a number of trees and vegetation cover. However, there are significant differences on how male and female respondents perceived changes in fish catches and species composition. The statistically significant results showing differences between fish value chain activities and gender are attributed to the well-defined division of roles and responsibilities within Malawi fisheries. Respondents acknowledged the increased participation of women in grading, processing and selling fish in urban markets compared to the past. However, increased participation of women in fisheries was not due to perceived changes in climate but due to ownership of fishing gear and economic empowerment through development projects. Furthermore, this participation did not result in women having power to control or decide how to use fisheries related income. The study also shows women have a higher proportion of fisheries related monthly income than men. The main income sources are gendered and have changed in the last twenty years from heavily relying on agriculture to fisheries related sources. These changes could be attributed to climate related changes among other drivers. The study further observed significant differences in coping strategies between men and women attributed to households' social construction. Men ventured into fisheries and agriculture related initiatives while women were more into business initiatives. The findings suggest gender considerations regarding access to natural resources have implications on sustainable livelihoods. It is suggested that changes that transform gender relations should be put in place to improve women's ability to bargain.

Gender relations and decision-making on climate change adaptation in rural East African households: A qualitative systematic review

“…The screening process outlined above resulted in 21 included articles. [18, [49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68] Of these, 18 resulted from the first database search and 3 were identified through supplementary hand searches. General characteristics of the articles are summarised in Table 1, and detailed information for each article is available in S2 Table.…”

“…In some cases, this lack of information was severe enough to undermine a thorough assessment of the studies' overall quality. [52,53,57,[60][61][62]64] This issue was present in mixed-methods and purely qualitative studies alike. Remarkably, even studies that were perceived as of high overall quality tended to lack information regarding ethical considerations, [50,66,67] risk of bias and other limitations [50,54,63].…”

“…Moreover, we identified some quality-related concerns in these two studies and other papers lacked clarity in reporting, rendering a quality assessment difficult. [53,57,[60][61][62]64] As is common practice for qualitative reviews, [27] we chose not to exclude these studies from the analysis.…”

Are Chilimira Fishers of Engraulicypris sardella (Günther, 1868) in Lake Malawi Productive? The Case of Nkhotakota District

“…The fishery was dominated by males (95%) who are active in fish production as gear owners (94%), signala (100%), and crew members (100%), while there was passive involvement of women (6%) as gear owners. The harsh intensive night fishing activity [3,10], rough weather at the lake, and socio-cultural beliefs limit female participation in direct production activities in Chilimira fishing [64]. The average education level for Chilimira fishers was grade seven of primary educational level, and this was exacerbated by high school dropout rates in lakeshore areas.…”

What’s the Catch? A Review of the Fiscal Treatments of Fisheries in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…10.The particular role of women in the fishery value chain has received some attention in the literature. For an overview of the topic, see Kwarazuka et al (2017); Harper et al (2017) offer a comparative analysis of case studies on 5 different LICs; Geheb et al (2008) focus on Lake Victoria, Matsue et al (2014) on Kenya, Lymuwa and Synnevag (2018) on Malawi and Torell et al (2019) on Ghana.…”