Exploring Women’s Differentiated Access to Climate-Smart Agricultural Interventions in Selected Climate-Smart Villages of Latin America

Abstract

Much of the literature examining the role of gender in processes of climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector has focused primarily on differences between male and female farmers, implicitly treating men and women as homogenous groups. Where heterogeneity exists within these groups which impacts climate change adaptation efforts and outcomes, an understanding of such intersectionalities is vital to the design of effective and equitable policy. The objective of this study is to investigate whether interaction effects among socio-economic factors are meaningful drivers of observed differences among female farmers in their adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices, as well as their use of climate information and financial services. This study employs data from farmer surveys in three Climate-Smart Villages in Latin America, analyzed using ordinal logistic regression and canonical correspondence analysis. The results indicate that important interaction effects are present: the relationship between higher educational attainment and increased adoption of CSA practices, for example, is conditional on the degree of livelihood diversification. The relationship between greater educational attainment and increased use of climate forecasts is likewise conditional on age. These results suggest the need for researchers and policymakers to anticipate potential intersectionalities when designing research efforts and development interventions.

What makes a smart village smart? A review of the literature

“…Among the technologies, broadband and ICT were emphasised as a prerequisite for the establishment and development of SVs in Europe (Dobrota et al , 2020; Doyle et al , 2021). The role of ICT was also acknowledged as crucial for the SVs implemented in emerging economies (Ram et al , 2021; Acosta et al , 2021). These initiatives, however, were described as relying on a broader range of technologies, such as solar panels, water pumps and technologies for climate-smart agriculture (Fennell et al , 2018; Aggarwal et al , 2018).…”

“…Consistent with what has been observed in the SC literature (Mora et al , 2017), earlier research on SVs and similar constructs primarily focused on their technological aspects (Somwanshi et al , 2016; Anderson et al , 2017). Later, studies have also investigated how these initiatives can effectively benefit rural communities (Acosta et al , 2021; Philip and Williams, 2019). As noted by Zavratnik et al (2018), most research in this area remains case-dependant rather than theoretically grounded.…”

The triple differential vulnerability of female entrepreneurs to climate risk insub‐SaharanAfrica: Gendered barriers and enablers to private sector adaptation

“…Instead, if policy interventions are to inclusively target that population's needs, decision makers and development practitioners will need to focus on identifying context-specific assemblages of vulnerabilities within target populations. Methodological innovation to support and include intersectional approaches in vulnerability analysis and interventions will also be required, since we currently have limited tools to address this challenge in research or policy domains or within vulnerability assessments and indices (see e.g., Acosta et al, 2021;Chaplin et al, 2019;Kaijser & Kronsell, 2014;Ravera et al, 2016;Van Aelst & Holvoet, 2016).…”

Key challenges related to smart villages

“…It should also be noted that the Smart Village concept is developing not only in Europe, but also on other continents. 27 This leads to an assessment of the level of competitiveness of the legal solutions adopted there with European norms. This is a challenge that may determine the success of the Smart Village concept in the global sphere.…”