CottonConnect Improves the Lives of Women Farmers by Teaching Them About Climate Change
A recently released study by CottonConnect has revealed how instruction in climate-friendly agricultural science and climate change made a significant difference in agricultural practices and outcomes among women farmers who make up 45 percent of the agricultural workforce in developing nations.
Called “Women in Cotton: Addressing the Impact of Climate Change through Climate-Friendly Practices,” a follow-up to a 2020 study that identified important lapses in farmers’ knowledge, the study has led to female farmers making important changes in how they run a crop-growing property. After participating in the study and follow-up, they now use less toxic insecticides and water, they have increased crop yields and biodiversity which supports healthy crops, experienced fewer crop failures, started intercropping and planting border crops, and adopted biopesticides which they learned to make themselves and now sell to other farmers.
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Both studies were executed in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and were based on interviews and focus groups with more than 100 women farmers and CottonConnect partners. After the first study, participants were instructed on how to alleviate some of the worst problems of climate change. They were made aware of shifting seasons, rising temperatures and water challenges due to delayed or reduced rainfall, changes in the monsoon season, longer or shorter winters and summers, and the attendant temperature changes and effects on cotton crops. Bangladesh, for example, used to have six seasons. Now it has only two, according to the study.
Women in the program also learned about the impact the farming lifestyle has on physical and mental health and well-being in a culture that requires them to not just work in the fields but also manage a household of children, in-laws and livestock, procure food and prepare meals, manage family finances, and often endure domestic violence, much of which is rooted in the stresses of farming and family life. Many said they had no time to rest, especially in summer when extreme heat required them to execute farm chores while the outdoor temperature was still relatively cool. Any extra time was filled with other chores.
Many women in the study reported gender inequalities that come from traditional gender roles which limit their decision-making power, access to education, training, credit facilities, and more, all of which exacerbate their difficulties and make it harder for them to adapt or be resilient.
Rates of improvement in awareness tell a positive story, according to CottonConnect. Examples include those aware of global warming, weather change and climate change which increased to 98 percent from 2 percent; those newly aware of the wider impacts and causes of climate change jumped to 72 percent from one percent; those aware of the nature of greenhouse gases jumped to 62 percent from 36 percent, and knowledge of resilient farming practices increased to 70 percent from 46 percent.
In some African and Asian countries, the percentage of women farmers goes up to 60 percent. Problems exist across the board, and CottonConnect is one of the few organizations that give voice to the plight of these women. To date, it has trained 164,000 women in literacy, numeracy, rights and health, in addition to agricultural know-how. The goal is to train 500,000 women in Women in Cotton programs by 2030.
Alison Ward, CEO of Cotton Connect, acknowledges how disproportionately women are affected by climate change and hopes to continue to build on the awareness and understanding of climate change and reduce their vulnerability to it. “They are deeply rooted in the lives of family and community and they know what solutions are required beyond the farm,” she said. “Empowering women in the cotton value chain can have positive effects beyond farm productivity leading to improved living standards and food security.”
