Livestock ownership among smallholder farming households in Eastern Zambia: a gendered pathway for enhancing climate resilience?

This study administered 379 questionnaires to smallholder farming households to determine livestock ownership, climate change, and its impacts on livestock production, including measures to adapt livestock production to climate change. Data were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression model, Two sample Z proportions test, and percentages. Results indicate that few livestock were owned by households, commonly cattle, goats, pigs and chickens. Joint ownership dominated, followed by ownership by household heads, be they male or female, then spouses. Non-household heads rarely owned livestock. Joint livestock ownership significantly increases the total livestock units a household owns. The respondents overwhelmingly reported that the climate had changed, with a shorter rainy season, droughts, floods, and higher temperatures. There were slight variations in the perception of climate change across the study sites and by gender. Livestock production had been affected by increased incidences of disease, water, and fodder shortages, ultimately reducing livestock productivity across all the sites. Livestock households have adapted to climate change and other production constraints more broadly by addressing livestock health through administering vaccines, consulting with veterinary officials, and using traditional remedies for livestock diseases. Some respondents supplemented fodder and water, while others resorted to selling off the livestock. More men reported the provision of water as they more likely deal with large livestock that need bigger quantities of water. Similarly, while more commonly reported by men, the provision of fodder shows variability across chiefdoms, suggesting that fodder scarcity is a region-specific constraint. The use of traditional remedies such as herbs remained an important adaptive measure, especially among women. The study concludes that livestock production has high potential to contribute to inclusive climate change adaptation in the study region and more broadly but there is an urgent need to increase the percentage of livestock owning households and the size of the herds for livestock to make meaningful contributions to household welfare and climate resilience.