The Impact of Climate Change on Women Subsistence Farming Practices in Bumula Sub-County, Bungoma County, Kenya
Abstract
Climate change is expected to adversely affect women subsistence farming practices and make their livelihoods more unsteady than their men counter parts; however, there is limited information on the impacts of climate change on women subsistence farming practices, particularly at a localized scale, yet they constitute an integral part of the population in addressing climate change. This study was designed to examine the impacts of climate change on women subsistence farming practices and their adaptation strategies. To realize the purpose of the study, a cross-sectional survey was adopted. Systematic random sampling method was used to pick desired sample of 396 households from the total of 44,922 households. Descriptive statistics in form of frequency tabulations, together with thematic analysis and image processing were employed . The findings revealed major impacts of climate change included; new variety of pests and diseases, loss of crops and livestock, drying of rivers, water and firewood shortage and increase in HIV I AIDS infections . Based on the findings, the study recommends that the ministry of agriculture should carry out intensive research to come up with effective ways of dealing with the new pests and diseases. More specifically the study recommends that the national and county government should strive to drill boreholes close to homes in order to enable women access water easily and free them more time to spend on their farms and other educative matters.
Article Views and Downloands Counter
References
Baiphethi, M. N., & Jacobs, P. T. (2009). The contribution of subsistence farming to foodsecurity in South Africa. Agrekon, 48( 4), 459-482.
Barnett, M. L. (1969). Subsistence and transition in agricultural development among the Ibaloi in the Philippines. Subsistence Agriculture and Economic Development, 284-95.
Boko M, Niang I, Nyong A, Vogel C, Githeko A, Medany M, Osman-Elasha B, Tabo R,Yanda P (2007). Africa Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, van der Linden JP, Hanson CE, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK. 433467
Denton, F. (2002). 'Climate change vulnerability, impacts, and adaptation: Why does gender matter? Gender and Development Vol. 10(2), 10-20.
EIGE. (2010). The European Institute for Gender Equality Annual Report 2010. available :https://eige.europa.eu/about/documents-registry/eige-annual-report-2010
Fischer, G., Tubiello, F. N., Van Velthuizen, H., & Wiberg, D. A. (2007). Climate change impacts on irrigation water requirements: Effects of mitigation, 1990-2080. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 74(7), 1083-1107.
Goh, A. H. (2012). A literature review of the gender-differentiated impacts of climate change on women's and men's assets and well-being in developing countries. International Food Policy Research Institute, CAPRi Work.
Government of Kenya (GOK). (2005), Millennium Development Goals, 'Needs and Costs'. UNDP, Kenya.
Harvey, C. A., Saborio-Rodriguez, M., Martinez-Rodriguez, M. R., Viguera, B., ChainGuadarrama, A., Vignola, R., &Alpizar, F. (2018). Climate change impacts and adaptation among smallholder farmers in Central America. Agriculture & Food Security, 7(1), 57.
Henrysson, E., & Joireman, S. F. (2009). On the edge of the law: Women's property rights and dispute resolution in Kisii, Kenya. Law & Society Review, 43(1), 39-60
IEBC (2017). Boundaries Commission (IEBC).(2012). National Assembly Constituencies and County Assembly Wards Order.
KNBS, (2019). Kenya Population and Housing Census 2019. Nairobi. ISBN.
Kurukulasuriya, P. & Rosenthal,S. (2003). Climate change and Agriculture: A review of impacts and adaptations. Paper 91 in climate change series, Agriculture and Rural Development. Department and Environment Department, World Bank, Washington DC.
Nelson, V. and T. Stathers,(2009). Resilience, power, culture, and climate: A case study from semi-arid Tanzania, and new research directions. Gender and Development
Rutaisire, J., Kabonesa, C., Okechi, J. K., & Boera, P. N. (2010). Gender Issues in Fish Farming in the Lake Victoria Basin: with a Focus on Development and Dissemination of Wetland Clariid Fishes Breeding . Natural Resource Management, 157
Seleti, Y. N., & Tlhompho, G. (2014). Rural women subsistence farmers, indigenous knowledge systems and agricultural research in South Africa. Journal ofhuman ecology, 48(1), 33-41.
United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (2008).'Emerging issues, trends and new approaches to issues affecting the situation of women or equality between women and men: "Gender perspectives on climate change"'.
Copyright (c) 2021 Africa Journal of Technical and Vocational Education and Training

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice Copyright of published articles is held by AfriTVET. No limitation will be placed on the personal freedom of authors to copy or to use in subsequent work, material contained in their papers. Please contact the Publisher for clarification if you are unsure of the use of copyright material. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of research and private study, or criticism and or review, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the Publishers.