Factors influencing gendered access to climate information services for farming in Senegal

Abstract

In the context of climate change, climate variability has become a major issue in recent years in sub-Saharan countries. Climate information services (CIS) could be a vital resort for African producers to better manage climatic risks. This study aimed to identify CIS needs and analyze the most adapted dissemination channels while also determining factors that influence smallholder access. This was done with a gender lens where 1170 farmers (20% women) were surveyed from 11 regions in Senegal. Two probit regressions were performed. Results revealed that men and women have different needs for CIS, with 95% of women requesting information relating to the onset date of rainy season against 90% for men (p < 5%). Similarly, 46% of women prefer rural radios as a CIS broadcast channel compared to 39% of men (p < 5%). Also, the main factors influencing the access are ethnicity, area of residence, and farmers' perceptions of the utility of CIS. Among women, the native status and the willingness to act against climate change affect the access to CIS. Thus, to facilitate access to CIS for relevant decision-making, it remains important to capacitate farmers and to consider the producers' organizations as platforms for CIS dissemination and trainings.

Understanding gender differences in availability, accessibility and use of climate information among smallholder farmers in Malawi

“…While statistical differences could not be established in many of the analyses (often due to categories being too small), the findings nevertheless indicate that the farmers manifest a variety in terms of the use, and perceptions of climate informationand, critically, that women are disadvantaged in several aspects. These findings add to existing literature from other locations in sub-Saharan Africa that show that men had better access to climate information than women (Carr et al, 2016;Carr & Onzere, 2018;Diouf et al, 2019). Among the Kasinthula outgrowers, more than twice as many women (14.1%) as men (6.9%) do not use, or have no access to, seasonal forecasts at all.…”

Gender-specific determinants of Zai technology use intensity for improved soil water management in the drylands of Upper Eastern Kenya

“…The growing risk of vulnerability to climate shocks is not gender-neutral ( Djoudi and Brockhau 2011 ; Beuchelt & Badstue et al., 2013 ). Women farmers face different challenges in utilizing agricultural innovations to avert climate-related risks when compared to their male counterparts ( Diouf et al., 2019 ; Rola-Rubzen et al., 2020 ). Furthermore, gender inequalities and lack of attention to men and women's specific preferences and needs is associated with low use of agricultural innovations ( Huyer, 2016 ; Kawarazuka et al., 2018 ; Rola-Rubzen et al., 2020 ).…”

Exploring the Need for Developing Impact-Based Forecasting in West Africa

“…This is consistent with earlier studies suggesting that radio is the preferred means of receiving weather 2 https://ccafs.cgiar.org/bigfacts/#theme=evidence-of-success&subtheme= services&casestudy=servicesCs3 forecasts amongst rural farming communities (Nkiaka et al, 2019). In Senegal, access to weather forecast by means of SMS, WhatsApp group messages and voice call (in local language) is very common particularly among the farming and fishing communities as revealed by participants during the workshop and in other studies (e.g., Ouédraogo, 2018;Diouf et al, 2019;Ouédraogo et al, 2020). In Ghana and Nigeria, agriculture sector participants reported that SMS messages are being received by a selected few members of farming organizations involved in CIS projects.…”

“…However, this was not the case in Senegal, where evidence from workshop participants suggested that "Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie" (ANACIM) has developed a successful approach for disseminating forecasts to different user communities. The success of ANACIM in developing a better strategy to disseminate climate information may be attributed to experience in managing climate related risks following the Sahel droughts and significant investment from the international community to build the country's resilience to climate risks (Carr et al, 2016;Diouf et al, 2019;Ouédraogo et al, 2020).…”