Gender dimensions of periurban climate smart agricultural technologies in the West African Sahel

Globally, extreme climatic occurrences directly affect agricultural productivity and production. Currently, in Niger, there is limited research investigating the vulnerabilities of women in rainfed peri-urban farming to climate change. The literature is underexplored on adaptation strategies developed in peri-urban areas in the country. Despite interventions of stakeholders in promoting the utilisation of climate-smart agricultural technologies (CSAT), peri-urban gender differences in agriculture still exist. Given the socio-economic and ecological challenges in the country, this study tries to close the gap in the country in the context of gender and peri-urban agriculture. Using a mixed-method cross-sectional design, the study investigated intrahousehold differences in gender decision-making in adopting CSAT. This paper utilised surveys, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to gather data from 142 farmers and 5 key informants in the peri-urban area of the Greater Niamey. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 23, and qualitative data were transcribed and grouped into themes per the study objective. The study showed that male farmers adopted CSAT more than their female counterparts. The results demonstrates that there are significant differences ( p = 0.0013 ) in access to opportunities between female and male farmers in the area. These farmers face similar barriers ( p = 0. 227) including inadequate skill training, lack of access/rights to the land and poor access to input market. These challenges affect decision-making power trajectories in households that dwell on land ownership and access to farming. The study demonstrates potential for using gender sensitive participatory CSAT in prioritising decision-making and reducing adoption gaps.