Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho

Abstract

This study is an exploratory and descriptive inquiry to provide an in-depth account of women farmers in Maseru and Quthing districts in Lesotho to capture how they perceive, experience, and respond to climate variability. The study adopted a mixed-methodology research approach using qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Forty-two women farmers (14 respondents in Maseru and 28 in Quthing) were recruited using a snowball sampling approach. The women farmers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires with the assistance of the Lesotho National Farmers Union. Secondary climate data were obtained from Lesotho Meteorological Services (LMS) to analyse the trends in temperature and rainfall over the 1990-2020 period. The climate trends were analysed to determine whether the women farmers’ perceptions aligned with the actual climate trends. Results of the climate data showed an increasing trend in mean maximum temperature and mean minimum temperature in Maseru and Quthing. The increasing trend of the mean minimum temperature was statistically significant in Maseru (p=0.035) at a 95% confidence interval. In Quthing, the mean maximum temperature increase was also statistically significant (p=0.014). Mean annual rainfall showed a decreasing trend in Maseru (τb =-0.086). The mean annual rainfall in Quthing showed an increasing trend (τb =0.017) that was not statistically significant. The study found that 59.5% (n=25) of the women farmers' perceptions about temperature and rainfall patterns aligned with the actual observed trends. Quthing farmers perceived a decreased annual rainfall, while thestudy verified an increasing rainfall trend using recorded data. The most cited changes in climate variables over recent years were increased temperature (57%) and unexpected and erratic rainfall (44%). The study concludes that the women farmers were more inclined to deploy reactive land management adaptation strategies, which included, amongst others, the installation of irrigation, use of grey water, double digging, and machinery. The adaptive capacity of the women farmers also seemed to be influenced by their access and use of forecast information, external support, farm organisation membership and the type of farming they practice. Furthermore, the intersecting identities of the women farmers, linked to their location, age, education, and marital status, interplay with their livelihood capital to promote or inhibit their coping and adaptation. This study thus recommends farmer organisation membership, improved forecast information dissemination, and strategic multi-stakeholder collaboration in the Lesotho agricultural sector to mitigate the vulnerability of women farmers in the country.