West Africa

Examining Climate Change and Food Security in Ghana Through an Intersectional Framework

Citation:

Wood, Alexa L., Prince Ansah, Louie Rivers III and Arika Ligmann-Zielinska. 2019. “Examining Climate Change and Food Security in Ghana Through an Intersectional Framework.” The Journal of Peasant Studies 48 (2): 329-348.

Authors: Alexa Wood, Prince Ansah, Louie Rivers III, Arika Ligmann-Zielinska

Abstract:

As the effects of climate change intensify, subsistence farmers in Ghana are expected to face increased food insecurity, due to their reliance on rainfed agriculture. Within households, young women are expected to support all aspects of household food security, and will experience a more burdensome load of labor, as a dwindling stock of natural resources will make daily tasks more time consuming. The intersection of age, gender, and location inhibits young women's decision-making responsibilities and wage-earning potential. Climate change exacerbates this dynamic, which restricts opportunities to acquire sufficient food and places increased stress on household food systems. (Abstract from original source)

Keywords: climate change, food security, intersectionality, Ghana, farming

Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Gender Roles, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2019

Gender Implications of Farmers’ Indigenous Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Along Agriculture Value Chain in Nigeria

Citation:

Deji, Olanike F. 2020. “Gender Implications of Farmers’ Indigenous Climate Change Adaptation Strategies Along Agriculture Value Chain in Nigeria.” In African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, 1811–34. Springer.

Author: Olanike F Deji

Abstract:

Climate change contributes significantly to the looming food insecurity in the rain-fed agricultural countries of Africa, including Nigeria. There is a gender dimension in climate change impacts and adaptation strategies along Agriculture Value Chain (AVC) in Nigeria. The chapter gender analyzed the aspects of climate change impacts; identified the indigenous and expert-based artificial adaptation strategies; assessed the gender differences in the adaptation strategies; and provided the gender implications of the indigenous adaptation strategies among actors along the AVC. The chapter adopted a value chain-based exploratory design with gender analysis as the narrative framework with Gender Response Theory as the theoretical background. There were gender differences in the production, economic, and social dimensions of the climate change impacts along the AVC. The indigenous climate change adaptation strategies were avail- ability, low cost, and easily accessible; hence they were popularly adopted by male and female AVC actors. The adopted indigenous adaptation strategies challenged the social relations, influenced reordering of social and gender relations, participation, and power relation among the male and female actors along the AVC. (Abstract from original source)

 

Keywords: gender, farmers, indigenous, climate change, adaptation strategies, Gender Response Theory, Agriculture Value Chain

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2020

Bioenergy Policies in Africa: Mainstreaming Gender amid an Increasing Focus on Biofuels

Citation:

Molony, Thomas. 2011. "Bioenergy Policies in Africa: Mainstreaming Gender amid an Increasing Focus on Biofuels." Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 5 (3): 330-41.

Author: Thomas Molony

Abstract:

Many developing countries are now working to update their existing energy strategies and to formulate their bioenergy policies to accommodate rises in domestic and external supply and demand for biofuels. This paper presents a case for mainstreaming gender into African countries’ bioenergy policies, and uses a review of the literature on gender and bioenergy to suggest some important avenues for future research to expand the current poor state of information on gender and the newer issue of biofuels. The paper opens with a brief discussion on the motivation for interest in biofuels in some African countries and suggests that in the integrated global context of biofuels, the conditions that generate inequality between rich and poor remain unchanged. It then discusses equity and energy poverty, and points to the lack of empirical evidence on gender issues relating specifically to biofuels. From this it turns to our knowledge of what the existing state of broader bioenergy use can tell us about bringing gender equity to African national bioenergy policies, and suggests that gender equity can be ‘energized’ through a perspective that focuses as much on social roles and relations between men and women as it does on ascribed responsibilities. National level bioenergy Policy Working Groups (PWGs) are then introduced as having an important role to play in ensuring that gender issues are mainstreamed into bioenergy policy within the context of the increasing focus on biofuels.

Keywords: gender, women, bioenergy, policy, development, Africa

Topics: Agriculture, Development, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Energy Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa Countries: Malawi, Mali, Tanzania

Year: 2011

Hashtagging Girlhood: #IAmMalala, #BringBackOurGirls and Gendering Representations of Global Politics

Citation:

Berents, Helen. 2016. “Hashtagging Girlhood: #IAmMalala, #BringBackOurGirls and Gendering Representations of Global Politics.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 18 (4): 513–27.

Author: Helen Berents

Abstract:

This article explores how gendered, racial and youth-ed concepts of girlhood shape the way conflict, violence and the lived experiences of girls in conflict-affected environments are understood globally. In particular, it examines the broader context and effect of social media campaigns that specifically invoke a concept of “girlhood” in their responses to crisis or tragedy. It focuses on two hashtags and their associated social media campaigns: #IAmMalala, started in response to the attempted killing of Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012 by Taliban gunmen, and #BringBackOurGirls, started by Nigerians and adopted globally in response to the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by terrorist group Boko Haram. In both instances, understandings of the broader political context are shaped by the focus on girls. Both hashtags also appropriate an experience: claiming to be Malala and claiming the Nigerian girls as ours. Through this exploration, I argue that particular ideals of girlhood are coded within these campaigns, and that these girls’ experiences are appropriated. I critique the limited representations of girlhood that circulate in these discussions, and how these limited representations demonstrate the problematic narrowness of dominant conceptions of girlhood.

Keywords: Girlhood, activism, social media, Malala Yousafzai, Chibok girls

Topics: Age, Youth, Education, Gender, Gendered Discourses, Media, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Race, Terrorism, Violence Regions: Africa, West Africa, Asia, South Asia Countries: Nigeria, Pakistan

Year: 2016

Gender Differentials in Transportation Characteristics of Students of Tertiary Education Institutions in Ilorin, Nigeria

Citation:

Usman, B.A., and O.F. Akinola. 2017. “Gender Differentials in Transportation Characteristics of Students of Tertiary Education Institutions in Ilorin, Nigeria.” Geography 15: 91-106.

Authors: B.A. Usman, O.F. Akinola

Abstract:

Women tend to be exposed to more restrictions in their mobility requirements than men and a lot of evidence from research has shown that there are differences between males and females in terms of the access, usage pattern and burden of transport. This study examines the usage of transport modes, transportation problems and adaptation strategies of male and female students in Ilorin city. A total of 381 students were sampled from four higher educational institutions in the city. The data were analysed using simple percentages, tables, graphs and chi-square statistical technique. Results show that more males (16.7%) than females (9.2%) travel by bus while 28.3% of the females as against 23.3% of the males travel to school by taxi. Magnitude of various transportation problems was also found to differ between the sexes. The difference in modal choice between the males and females was however, not significant at 0.05 level of significance. In addition, the study shows that the male and female students significantly perceive the magnitude of the various transportation problems differently and also significantly differ in their adjustment to these problems. Recommendations include the provision of more on-campus hostel accommodation particularly for female students, provision of more school buses and adoption of separate queues for males and females at bus stops.

Keywords: gender differences, travel behavior, campuses, transport modes, transportation problems

Topics: Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Infrastructure, Transportation Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2017

Land Grabbing and the Gendered Livelihood Experience of Smallholder Farmers in Northern Ghana: Through a Human Development and Capability Lens

Citation:

Agbley, Gideon Kofi. 2019. "Land Grabbing and the Gendered Livelihood Experience of Smallholder Farmers in Northern Ghana: Through a Human Development and Capability Lens." Ghana Journal of Development Studies 16 (1): 155-80.

 

Author: Gideon Kofi Agbley

Abstract:

The phenomenon of land grabbing in developing countries has led to worsening livelihood choices for smallholder farmers who depended on communal lands for subsistence. While previous analyses of land grabs were framed in a paradigm that emphasised outcomes, this study is framed within a human development approach which places emphasis on both outcomes and procedural concerns. The procedural concerns are in relation to representation prior to and during negotiations for land acquisitions. The study is based on analysis of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to assess BioFuel Africa Limited’s investments in two communities in northern Ghana. Results show the company is no longer operating its jatropha (jatropha curcas) plantation and therefore the inability to provide jobs promised. Meanwhile the clearing of large contiguous tracts of lands have had devastating impacts on the livelihoods of women and men. The study revealed that there was poor participation of women in all stages and processes of the land acquisitions for the project, and that the land acquirer had failed to fully implement the procedural concerns of equity, efficiency, participation and sustainability in the acquisitions of lands for the project. It is recommended that large-scale land deals should be conditioned on proper disposal and utilization of lands within specified time frames, failure for which land is reverted to original use.

 

Keywords: land grabs, equity, efficiency, participation, sustainability

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Land Grabbing, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2019

Gender and Land Tenure in Ghana: A Synthesis of the Literature

Citation:

Britwum, Akua O., Dzodzi Tsikata, Angela D. Akorsu, and Matilda Aberese Ako. 2014. “Gender and Land Tenure in Ghana: A Synthesis of the Literature.” Technical Publication No. 92. Ghana: ISSER, Institute of Statistical, Social & Economic Research, University of Ghana.

 

Authors: Akua O. Britwum , Dzodzi Tsikata, Angela D. Akorsu , Matilda Aberese Ako

Annotation:

“This technical paper is part of the ISSER ActionAid-Ghana Gender and Land Rights Project that seeks to address, through research and advocacy, critical issues of women’s land rights. The Gender and Land Rights Project is premised on the notion that agriculture continues to engage the vast majority of working people in Ghana despite evidence pointing to the intensification of livelihood diversification and a reduction in the proportion of the population living in rural areas” (Britwum et al. 2014, 1).

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Women, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2014

Women and Land Tenure Security: The Nigerian Experience

Citation:

Adeyemo, Remi, Michael Kirk, and Olaitan Olusegun. 2019. “Women and Land Tenure Security: The Nigerian Experience.” International Journal of Agricultural Economics 4 (2): 41-7.

Authors: Remi Adeyemo, Michael Kirk, Olaitan Olusegun

Abstract:

This study investigated the farm level efficiency and farm income among tenure secured and unsecured women farmers in Osun State, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were used to obtain information from one hundred and fifty farmers. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, stochastic frontier and farm budget analyses. Results from the farm budget analysis showed that women with secured land tenure generated higher income which was one hundred and fifty four thousand naira while that of women with unsecured land tenure was about eighty two thousand naira. Additional analysis revealed that land tenure secured women farmers were more efficient (64%) than their counterparts with unsecured tenure (48%). There was an overwhelming affirmation arising from the study which confirmed that women with tenure security were better off with respect to farm efficiency and farm income than women with unsecured tenure. 

Keywords: land, tenure, women, gender and efficiency, food, Rights

Topics: Agriculture, Gender, Women, Land Tenure Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2019

If You Don’t Find Anything, You Can’t Eat’ – Mining Livelihoods and Income, Gender Roles, and Food Choices in Northern Guinea

Citation:

Stokes-Walters, Ronald, Mohammed Lamine Fofana, Joseph Lamilé Songbono, Alpha Oumar Barry, Sadio Diallo, Stella Nordhagen, Laetitia X. Zhang, Rolf D. Klemm, and Peter J. Winch. 2021. “‘If You Don’t Find Anything, You Can’t Eat’ – Mining Livelihoods and Income, Gender Roles, and Food Choices in Northern Guinea.” Resources Policy 70 (March). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101939.

 

Authors: Ronald Stokes-Walters, Mohammed Lamine Fofana, Joseph Lamilé Songbono, Alpha Oumar Barry, Sadio Diallo, Stella Nordhagen, Laetitia X. Zhang, Rolf D. Klemm, Peter J. Winch

Abstract:

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) continues to grow as a viable economic activity in sub-Saharan Africa. The health and environmental impacts of the industry, notably linked to the use of potentially toxic chemicals, has been well documented. What has not been explored to the same extent is how pressures associated with ASM affect food choices of individuals and families living in mining camps. This paper presents research conducted in 18 mining sites in northern Guinea exploring food choices and the various factors affecting food decision-making practices. Two of the most influential factors to emerge from this study are income variability and gender roles. Results from this study suggest that through artisanal mining, women have the opportunity to earn a larger income that would otherwise be unavailable through agriculture. However, this benefit of potentially earning a larger income is often reduced or constrained by existing gender roles both at the mines and in the home, such as disparity in pay between men and women and increased pressures on women’s time. This limits the potential benefit to household food decision-making that could have been gained from higher income. These results do not seek to establish one livelihood as superior; rather, they demonstrate that even when presented with opportu­nities to earn higher incomes, women still face many of the same barriers and challenges that they would in other economic activities. Additionally, while work and time demands on women change upon arrival in the mining camps, existing gender roles and expectations do not, further restricting women’s decision-making capacity.

Keywords: artisanal mining, food choice, women's workload, income instability, Guinea

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Guinea

Year: 2021

Gender Roles in Nigeria’s Non-Violent Oil Resistance Movement

Citation:

Munir, Laine. 2020. “Gender Roles in Nigeria’s Non-Violent Oil Resistance Movement.” Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des éTudes Africaines 55 (1): 79–97.

 

Author: Laine Munir

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
Since the 1980s, Nigerians have engaged in non-violent protests against oil exploitation polluting their lands. This qualitative case study asks why Niger Delta women came to engage in seemingly separate, all-female protests starting in 2002, mobilizing in a long-standing resistance previously led by men. Using grounded theory methods, this multi-site ethnography draws on one-on-one interviews, participant observations, and university and non-governmental organization archival data. It finds that although women were indeed aggrieved by oil, their protests from 2002 to 2012 did not emerge autonomously from those of men, as described in scholarship elsewhere. Rather, these findings indicate that male elites may have had a role in initiating women’s collective action in response to their own failed prior negotiations, to increase the number of protesters, and to bolster men’s dialogue. This study provides a nuanced corrective to the Niger Delta narrative and expands our understanding of gender dynamics in social movements.

FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Depuis les années 80, les nigérians se sont engagés dans des protestations non-violentes contre l’exploitation pétrolière qui pollue leurs terres. Cette étude de cas qualitative examine pourquoi les femmes du delta du Niger en sont venues, à partir de 2002, à s’engager dans des protestations apparemment distinctes, entièrement féminines, en se mobilisant dans une résistance de longue date menée par des hommes auparavant. Fondée sur des méthodes de théorie ancrée, cette ethnographie multi-sites s’appuie sur des entretiens individuels, des observations participantes et des données d’archives universitaires et d’organisations non-gouvernementales. Elle révèle que si les femmes ont effectivement été lésées par l’exploitation pétrolière, leurs protestations de 2002 à 2012 n’ont pas émergé de celles des hommes de manière autonome, comme l’a décrit une autre étude. Ces résultats indiquent plutôt que les élites masculines ont peutêtre joué un rôle dans le lancement de l’action collective des femmes, en réaction à l’échec de leurs propres négociations préalables, pour augmenter le nombre de manifestants et renforcer le dialogue entre hommes. Cette étude apporte une correction nuancée au récit du delta du Niger et élargit notre compréhension de la dynamique des genres dans les mouvements sociaux.

Keywords: women, protest, Nigeria, environmental conflict, femmes, protestation, conflit environnemental, théorie ancrée, Grounded Theory

Topics: Conflict, Environment, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Nonviolence Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2020

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