Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Change and Conservation Agriculture: Evidence from Zambia

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is increasingly taking a central stage in agriculturalpolicies and rural development among developing countries like Zambia. The challenge ofgender gaps in agriculture has persisted despite efforts of gender mainstreaming. This paperassesses gender based impacts of conservation agriculture (CA) basins among smallholderfarmers under the Conservation Agriculture Programme (CAP) in Zambia. Qualitative andquantitative approaches were used to collect data. Quantitative data was analysed mainlyby descriptive statistics and qualitative data by thematic and content analysis. Resultsindicated that women and children experienced reduction in labour with respect to clearingof fields before tillage and during weeding where herbicides were used correctly.Improvement in household food security was also reported. Digging of CA basins was labourintensive and the chaka hoe was heavy for women. Labour requirement for women andchildren was more than for men during hand weeding. Herbicides have increased labourrequirements for men because they are predominantly involved in spraying. Women neededto reduce their labour during weeding but feared that the use of herbicides would increasefood insecurity during hunger peak period. This was because the use of herbicides isinconsistent with the practice of mixed cropping and selection of valuable wild vegetablesthat were important for food security. Results suggest that usage of herbicide such asatrazine could have health concerns that may affect women more than men. Use ofherbicides raises questions as to what extent CA is environmentally sustainable.Interventions in CA need to be both gender sensitive and minimise tradeoffs between healthconcerns, socio-economic benefits and environmental sustainability