Gender dimension of climate change, food security

Climate change is a global challenge that burdens all of humanity, but not equally. The world’s poor, the majority of whom are women, are affected disproportionately.

The distinct impacts of climate change on men and women are exacerbated in settings that are also affected by violent conflict, political instability, and economic strife.

As the world struggles to grapple with rapid onset of disasters, as well as respond to slower degradation caused by climate change, it is critical to ensure that the plight of women is firmly on the agenda of concerns, and that women – from different backgrounds – are able to lead in negotiations and participate in the design and implementation of programmes to tackle the gender dimension of climate change and food security.

Speaking during an outreach programme organised to create awareness among women farmers at Busuama in the Kintampo North Municipality of the Brong-Ahafo Region on climate change and its negative effects, the Director of the Ecumenical Association for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (ECASARD), Madam Gladys Serwaa Adusah, urged women farmers to join the crusade for the mass adoption of best farming practices to mitigate effects of climate change while sustaining their livelihoods through agriculture.

Poverty

According to her, the failure to do so could lead to the deepening of poverty and other negatives associated with climate change, global warming and desertification.

The forum was aimed at empowering and building the capacity of rural women, who are more vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change as they largely depended on natural resources for their livelihoods.

It was also used to educate and solicit views from the rural women in finding solutions to environmental and humanitarian crises that threaten the natural resources in the country.

The programme, which was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of United Nations Development Plan (UNDP), had its participants drawn from Busuama and its surrounding communities such as, Weila, Yarra and Kanduge, among other communities.

Change of attitude

Madam Adusah called on Ghanaians to change their negative attitude toward destroying the natural resources.

According to her, the environment was very crucial to the development of every nation and asked the women to advocate the protection of the environment to save the future generation.

Madam Adusah said although climate change affected the health of everyone, as well as crops and livestock, women were mostly affected in the society.

She, therefore, challenged women to take the advocacy role in the fight against the negative practices that cause by climate change threatening food security, water, health and the future generations.

Madam Adusah explained selected women drawn from about six communities were being trained to become the champions of climate change advocates of their communities.

Madam Adusah said, as part of the advocacy campaign, ECASARD would also manufacture an improved stove for the rural women in a bid to help improve on their health status.

Human activities

The Country Coordinator of the Slow Food Network in Ghana, Mr Philip Amoah, who took the participants through the causes of climate change, said climate change was a major challenge affecting the development of many countries.

He warned that if care was not taken to curtail human activities causing climate change, it would be very difficult to combat poverty and hunger in future.

Mr Amoah mentioned human factors such as farming, bush fires, the use of chemicals, among others, as major contributors to climate change.

Busuama Community and its surrounding communities, which are more than 70 kilometres away from the municipal capital, Kintampo has about 5,600 population.

Residents of the area are basically farmers who cultivate crops such as groundnut, yam, cassava and maize, among others.