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Vulnerability of Ghanaian women cocoa farmers to climate change : a typology

Friedman, Rachel ; Hirons, Mark A. and Boyd, Emily LU (2019) In Climate and Development 11(5). p.446-458
Abstract

Climate change, increasingly recognized as a hurdle to achieving sustainable development goals, has already begun impacting the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, including on the African continent. Vulnerability is a concept often employed in the context of climate change to identify risks and develop policy and adaptation measures that address current and projected impacts. However, it is situated in a broader social context, driven by factors such as land tenure and access, livelihood diversification, and empowerment, which single out historically marginalized groups like women. This paper applies a vulnerability framework to a case study of cocoa farming in the Central Region of Ghana, depicting not only the variety... (More)

Climate change, increasingly recognized as a hurdle to achieving sustainable development goals, has already begun impacting the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, including on the African continent. Vulnerability is a concept often employed in the context of climate change to identify risks and develop policy and adaptation measures that address current and projected impacts. However, it is situated in a broader social context, driven by factors such as land tenure and access, livelihood diversification, and empowerment, which single out historically marginalized groups like women. This paper applies a vulnerability framework to a case study of cocoa farming in the Central Region of Ghana, depicting not only the variety of factors contributing to climate change vulnerability but also different narratives on vulnerability that emerge based on a woman’s relation to cocoa production itself. The paper conveys how homogeneous representations of women farmers and the technical focus of climate-orientated policy interventions may threaten to further marginalize the most vulnerable and exacerbate existing inequalities. This has implications for both climate change policy design and implementation, as well as the broader social development agenda that has bearing on vulnerability.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Africa, agriculture, climate change, gender, vulnerability
in
Climate and Development
volume
11
issue
5
pages
13 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85042939298
ISSN
1756-5529
DOI
10.1080/17565529.2018.1442806
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9776a9d8-9ca8-456c-b104-37980e513ade
date added to LUP
2018-03-16 14:02:27
date last changed
2022-04-25 05:54:54
@article{9776a9d8-9ca8-456c-b104-37980e513ade,
  abstract     = {{<p>Climate change, increasingly recognized as a hurdle to achieving sustainable development goals, has already begun impacting the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, including on the African continent. Vulnerability is a concept often employed in the context of climate change to identify risks and develop policy and adaptation measures that address current and projected impacts. However, it is situated in a broader social context, driven by factors such as land tenure and access, livelihood diversification, and empowerment, which single out historically marginalized groups like women. This paper applies a vulnerability framework to a case study of cocoa farming in the Central Region of Ghana, depicting not only the variety of factors contributing to climate change vulnerability but also different narratives on vulnerability that emerge based on a woman’s relation to cocoa production itself. The paper conveys how homogeneous representations of women farmers and the technical focus of climate-orientated policy interventions may threaten to further marginalize the most vulnerable and exacerbate existing inequalities. This has implications for both climate change policy design and implementation, as well as the broader social development agenda that has bearing on vulnerability.</p>}},
  author       = {{Friedman, Rachel and Hirons, Mark A. and Boyd, Emily}},
  issn         = {{1756-5529}},
  keywords     = {{Africa; agriculture; climate change; gender; vulnerability}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{446--458}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Climate and Development}},
  title        = {{Vulnerability of Ghanaian women cocoa farmers to climate change : a typology}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2018.1442806}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/17565529.2018.1442806}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}