The The Role of Gender-Sensitive Participatory Communication in Disseminating Climate Messages in Machakos County, Kenya
Main Article Content
Keywords
Adaptation Communication, Climate Change Communication, Adaptation Messaging, Gender, Participatory Communication
Abstract
Globally, effective communication is acknowledged as main tool in promoting adaptation of agricultural practices amidst climate variability. This is because communication and more so, participatory communication and lay knowledge approaches are key in promoting meaningful engagement and empowering farmers to social change. Despite the proliferation of information on climate-adaptive agricultural innovations, the uptake among farmers remains inadequate. This study examines the communication strategies employed in disseminating climate change adaptation technologies to rural farmers in Kenya, focusing particularly on smallholder farmers. This study specifically examined how climate change technology messages are designed and communicated to small holder farmers. The study adopted the relativist constructivist paradigm, qualitative research approach and case study method while utilizing an inductive thematic approach to analyze the data. A purposive sampling method was chosen to identify the area of study, Katumani, Machakos location and consequently, to select specific farmer groups and farming households to participate in the focus group discussions The qualitative approaches included observations during farmer meetings, conversations with farmers in focus groups, one-on-one interviews with experts and document analysis of the seasonal weather based advisory flier. Findings reveal a prevalent assumption among climate message designers that mere information provision suffices for technology adoption, overlooking significant barriers faced by women farmers, who constitute substantial farming demographic. Effective adaptation strategies necessitate equitable access to information, particularly through channels accessible to marginalized groups, like women. This illustrates the importance of using participatory communication and lay knowledge approaches when designing and communicating climate-resilient technologies for smallholder farmers who are confronted with climate related challenges.
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Moser, S. C. (2017). Communicating climate change adaptation and resilience. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.436
Nhemachena, C., & Hassan, R. (2007). Micro-Level Analysis of Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change in Southern Africa (IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 00714). International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Environment and Production Technology Division.
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Shome, D., & Marx, S. (2009). The Psychology of Climate Change Communication: A Guide for Scientists, Journalists, Educators, Political Aides, and the Interested Public. New York
Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative Case Studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443–466). Sage Publications Ltd.
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Ackerl, T., Weldemariam, L. F., Nyasimi, M., & Ayanlade, A. (2023). Climate change risk, resilience, and adaptation among rural farmers in East Africa: A literature review. Regional Sustainability, 4(2), 185-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsus.2023.03.006
Adeola, O., Evans, O., & Ngare, I. (2024). Explaining gendered vulnerability to climate change: The contextual conditions. In Gender equality, climate action, and technological innovation for sustainable development in Africa (pp. 33-54). Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. Retrieved 12 August 2024, from https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40124-4_3
Alam M., Bhatia R., Mawby B., (2015). Women and Climate Change: Impact and Agency in Human Rights, Security, and Economic Development. Hillary Rodham Clinton Research Fellow,
ALIN (2012). National Climate Change Action Plan: Knowledge Management and Capacity Development: Public Awareness and Communication Strategy. Nairobi, Kenya.
Climate Change Communication Advisory Group (2010). Communicating climate change to mass public audiences. Working Document, September
Elfanne, F. I. (2023, April 20). African women in agriculture burdened by climate change. Enheduanna: A blog of the Middle East Women's Initiative. Wilson Centre. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/african-women-agriculture-burdened-climate-change
Ensor J., & Harvey B. (2015). Social learning and climate change adaptation: evidence for International Development Practice WIREs Clim Change. 6:509–522. doi: 10.1002/wcc.348
Eunice, K., & Mwangi, M. G. (2019). Handicraft Industry Challenges and Opportunities In Cultural Tourism Development in Machakos County, Kenya. https://doi.org/10.18510/ijthr.2018.524
FAO, (2009). A Collaborative. A Communication Framework for Food Security.
FAO, (2011). Closing the gender gap for development: Women in agriculture. A Report on The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA 2010-2011).
FAO, (2013). Facing the challenges of climate change and food security: The role of research, extension and communication for development. Occasional papers on Innovation in Family Farming. https://www.fao.org/family-
farming/themes/innovation-in-family-farming/en/
Farm Africa. (2023, October). Climate crisis: Drought in eastern Africa. https://www.farmafrica.org/what-we-do-1/climate-crisis-drought-in-eastern-africa. Accessed 9 August 2024.
Gebre, G. G., Amekawa, Y., Fikadu, A. A., & Rahut, D. B. (2023). Farmers' use of climate change adaptation strategies and their impacts on food security in Kenya. Climate Risk Management, 40, 100495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2023.100495
Government of Kenya (2013). National Climate Change Action Plan 2013-2017. Executive Summary, Nairobi Kenya
Grigorieva, E., Livenets, A., & Stelmakh, E. (2023). Adaptation of agriculture to climate change: A scoping review. Climate, 11(10), 202. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11100202
Hall, T. (2021) Communicating climate change and adaptation options is at the root of effective action,https://cdkn.org/story/feature-communicating-climate-change-and-adaptation-options-is-at-the-root-of-effective-action.
Harvey B, Ensor J, Carlile L, Garside B, Patterson Z, Naess LO. (2012). Climate change communication and social learning–Review and strategy development for CCAFS. CCAFS Working Paper No. 22. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). www.ccafs.cgiar.org. Retrieved 27/7/2022.
Ibuot, U. P., Majemu, S. A., & Nwantah, F. (2021). Participatory development communication: An audience-centered initiative. The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, 9(6), 223. https://doi.org/10.24940/theijhss/2021/v9/i6/HS2106-030
IRIN (14 September 2012), Climate Change: Farmers too hungry to adapt. Retrieved March 7, 2014, from http://www.irinnews.org/report.
Jelagat, J. (2023, June 20). Strengthening communication of weather and climate information in Eastern Africa. With contributions from the IGAD Climate Change Technical Working Group.
Jessop, S., Stanway, D., & Abnett, K. (2023, December 13). COP28 calls for adapting to a warmer world without resolving how to pay for it. Reuters. Retrieved July 2024 from https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/cop
University of Leeds. (2020, September 9). Climate change: Putting women at the centre of the solutions. Are women farmers in Africa receiving the information they need to adapt to changing weather patterns? University of Leeds. https://medium.com/university-of-leeds/climate-change-putting-women-at-the-centre-of-the-solutions-cd8f7dbdf1a
Leeuwis, C., & Hall, A. (2013). Facing the challenges of climate change and food security: The role of research, extension and communication for development. Occasional papers on Innovation in Family Farming: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Lorez, C., & ICPAC Climate Change Technical Working Group. (2020, July 2). Communicating climate change in East Africa: A paradigm shift for effective mitigation and adaptation. ICPAC. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@ICPAC/communicating-climate-change-in-east-africa-a-paradigm-shift-for-effective-mitigation-and-adaptation
McGahey, D. J., & Lumosi, C. K. (2018). Climate change communication for adaptation: Mapping communication pathways in semi-arid regions to identify research priorities. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 20(1), 152-5509.
Mefalopulos, P. (2008). Development Communication Sourcebook: Broadening the Boundaries of Communication. World Bank, Washington USA
Monroe, C., Martha., Megalos A., Mark (2017). Challenges in Communicating Climate Change to Extension Audiences. IfAS Extension, University of Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr392.
Moser, S. C. (2017). Communicating climate change adaptation and resilience. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.436
Nhemachena, C., & Hassan, R. (2007). Micro-Level Analysis of Farmers’ Adaptation to Climate Change in Southern Africa (IFPRI Discussion Paper No. 00714). International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Environment and Production Technology Division.
Ngigi, M. W., Mueller, U., & Birner, R. (2017). Gender differences in climate change adaptation strategies and participation in group-based approaches: An intra-household analysis from rural Kenya. Ecological Economics, 138, 99-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.03.019
Ngigi, S. (2009). Climate Change Adaptation Strategies: Water Resources Management Options for Smallholder Farming Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. MDG Centre, East and Southern Africa & the Earth Institute at Columbia
University, New York.
Okaka, W. T. (2022). Climate change-induced flood disaster policy communication issues for local community adaptation resilience management in Uganda: Climate information services for effective national flood risk assessment decision communication. In Research anthology on environmental and societal impacts of climate change (pp. 15). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-3686-8.ch03
One Acre Fund. (2020). What Climate Change Means for Agriculture in Africa Farmers who depend on rain to grow crops are already feeling the effects of our changing climate. https://oneacrefund.org/blog/what-climate-change-means-agriculture-africa/ Retrieved August 31, 2022,
Otieno, S., Pauker E., & Maina P. (2010). Kenya Talks Climate The public understanding of climate change. BBC world Service Trust, UK.
Ray, C. A. (2021). The Impact of Climate Change on Africa’s Economies. WMO-No. 1275 State of the Climate in Africa 2020. Downloaded 7.6.2022.
Shome, D., & Marx, S. (2009). The Psychology of Climate Change Communication: A Guide for Scientists, Journalists, Educators, Political Aides, and the Interested Public. New York
Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative Case Studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443–466). Sage Publications Ltd.
UN Climate Change News. (2023, March 8). Five reasons why climate action needs women. https://unfccc.int/news/five-reasons-why-climate-action-needs-women
United Nations Development Programme. (2016, June). Overview of linkages between gender and climate change (Gender_Climate_Change_Training Module 1 Overview.pdf). Retrieved from https://undp.org
United Nations Development Programme. (2024, January 30). What is climate change adaptation and why is it crucial? Climate Promise. Retrieved on 10 August 2024, from https://climatepromise.undp.org/news-and-stories/what-climate-change-adaptation-and-why-it-crucial
USAID. (2023, November 27). Kenya: Climate Change Country Profile (November 2023) [News and Press Release]. ReliefWeb. Retrieved from Climate Change Country Profiles | U.S. Agency for International Development (usaid.gov). United States Environmental Protection Agency. (undated) Climate Change: Basic Information. Retrieved on June 23
2014 from, http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basis
Tufte, T., & Mefalopus P (2009). Participatory Communication: A Practical Guide. World Bank, Washington DC
Waaswa, A., Nkurumwa, A. O., Kibe, A. M., & Kipkemoi, N. J. (2021). Communicating climate change adaptation strategies: Climate-smart agriculture information dissemination pathways among smallholder potato farmers in Gilgil Sub-County, Kenya. Heliyon, 7(8), e07873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07873
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Aug 23, 2024
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Kihara, S., & Masibo , L. (2024). The The Role of Gender-Sensitive Participatory Communication in Disseminating Climate Messages in Machakos County, Kenya. Journal of Frontiers in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(2), 134–151. Retrieved from https://blueprintacademicpublishers.com/index.php/JOFHSCS/article/view/127
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Author Biographies
Stella Kihara, Department of Communication Studies, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Kesses, Eldoret, Kenya
Department of Communication Studies, Moi University, Kenya
Lumala Masibo , Department of Communication Studies, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Kesses, Eldoret, Kenya
Department of Communication Studies, Moi University, Kenya