Unveiling gendered perspectives on farmers’ climate risk perception and adaptation strategies

Climate change poses a significant challenge to farmers worldwide. It affects men and women differently due to their diverse roles, responsibilities, resource access, and socio-cultural norms. Understanding gender perspective would help policymakers to develop evidence-based strategies that address unique vulnerabilities, promoting equitable, inclusive adaptation, and resilience policies to climate risk. This systematic review utilizes the PRISMA technique using three databases: Web of Science, PubMed, and CABI Reviews, and analyzes 162 studies from 32 countries, unveiling nuanced gender perspectives and evidence gaps on farmers’ climate risk perceptions and adaptation strategies. These gender variations are primarily driven by four interrelated levers: knowledge and experience, resource availability (including land and finance), socio-cultural norms and mobility, and economic and institutional constraints. The insights from the study show notable variations among men and women farmers in their perceptions of climate risk attributes in agriculture. For instance, men’s perception of temperature predominantly revolves around its immediate consequences on crop growth and farm management, while women farmers consider broader implications on household food security and community resilience. These varied gendered perceptions arise from divergent roles, responsibilities, and social and economic status. Adaptation strategies also differed, for example, with men adopting modern approaches while women often relied on traditional knowledge as their primary means of adaptation. This study not only identifies the critical literature gap on climate change impacts and adaptation with a gender lens but also highlights the need for recognizing and incorporating gender-responsive climate adaptation strategies into policy and practices towards climate-resilient agri-food systems and sustainable livelihoods.