Globally, climate change is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies from heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes and they are increasing in scale, frequency and intensity. In Africa, climate change threatens to derail the development gains made over the last decade. This is because Africa is ground zero of the climate crisis resulting in over 110 million lives and livelihoods devastatingly impacted since 2022.[1] For many countries in Africa, a small shock in terms of delayed rain can lead to major humanitarian and emergency response. The resilience in many of those countries is significantly low such that they are left struggling through most years.

According to the world meteorological organization, African countries are losing an average of 2-5% of GDP while many others are allocating up to 9% of their national budgets to responding to climate shocks. It is estimated that it will cost $30-50 billion annually for climate adaptation in Sub-saharan Africa over the next ten years. Additionally, it is estimated that up to 118 million poor people in the continent will be exposed to drought, floods and extreme heat if adequate measures are not put in place[2].

Yet in the midst of these challenges, African countries can rewrite the narrative of vulnerability and become beacons of resilience by embracing indigenous knowledge, empowering and supporting citizens and fostering collaboration. This can be achieved by including and empowering women to participate in local institutions that govern natural resources. Their involvement fosters sustainability in the management of land, forests and water sources as well as building resilience and planning for climate change and adaptation strategies.

Rural women are especially bearing the brunt of climate change, with many of their livelihoods wiped out by extreme weather events. They have less access to resources than men, and a harder time bouncing back yet account for a significant proportion of the labour force in food systems, often working as farmers, harvesters and collectors. Globally, women in developing countries make up 45% of the agricultural labour force. In Africa, approximately 62% of women are involved in farming[3]. They produce 80% of the food in Africa on just 15% of the agricultural land.

It is estimated that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, their farm yields could increase by as much as 20-30% which translates to a reduction in the number of hungry people by around 12-17%. This is because, in their very nature, women reinvest up to 90% of their earnings back into their households- an investment in nutrition, food, healthcare, school, and income-generating activities for their family, which helps to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. This is according to a report done by inter-agency report, “Rural Women and the Millennium Development Goals”, produced by the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Rural Women

As the impacts of climate change intensify, there is a growing recognition that empowering rural women is crucial not only for agricultural development but also for broader community transformation, environmental sustainability, and economic growth. Women in rural areas are emerging as vital agents of change, leading initiatives in education, resource management, renewable energy, and health. Additionally, empowerment of rural women is crucial because of their deep local knowledge and experience of their environment and their community needs. They take pride in passing on traditional knowledge in areas involving medicinal plants, thus proving that they contribute significantly to sustaining agriculture, food security and health.

Source: UNOPS

On a global scale, there are initiatives that have been created to address the empowerment of rural women. The Joint Programme on Accelerating Progress towards Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE) is one such initiative whose goal is to secure rural women’s livelihoods, rights and resilience in the context of sustainable development[4]. The program is jointly implemented by FAO, IFAD, UN Women and WFP thus emphasizing that women’s contributions yield high returns for environmental health, economic growth, and climate resilience. In Nepal for instance, rural women are involved in community forest management through the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN). These women-led groups monitor forest health, enforce sustainable harvesting practices, and protect against illegal logging, preserving biodiversity and sustaining the ecosystem’s water cycle.

Africa has also not been left behind in their efforts to empower rural women. One such initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa is the solar sister initiative that has trained and employed women as solar entrepreneurs, empowering them to sell solar lamps and cookstoves in their communities[5]. The program was designed to foster environmental sustainability and has so far equipped over 5,000 women with training and resources to distribute solar technology. They have successfully provided clean energy access to over two million people. This shift continues to impact the environment by reducing deforestation and carbon emissions while enhancing rural women’s income. The aim has been to empower women to gain technical expertise and control over energy resources so they in turn can become key advocates for sustainable energy, which positively affects environmental and economic resilience.

Source: CGIAR Gender Platform

Another initiative in Kenya is the Green Belt Movement, led by women and founded in 1977 by Professor Wangari Maathai. They have restored millions of hectares of degraded land while offering economic benefits to rural communities. The program has encouraged the women to work together to grow seedlings and plant trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood, and receive a small monetary token for their work thus joining in efforts to mitigate negative climate impact[6]

In Uganda, women’s role in agriculture remains largely unrecognized despite making up a large part of the country’s agricultural workforce. Initiatives like “Women’s empowerment for resilience and adaptation against climate change” has formed an association of women-led groups who pool funds, allowing for the women to borrow and invest into income generating activities that address climate change. This initiative has empowered women to undertake land planning, agro-forestry and soil conservation practices.[7]

These initiatives underscore the power of community-led action, especially by rural women, in addressing the challenges posed by climate change. By integrating gender into agriculture-related climate change activities and policy, these programs enable rural women to become important agents of change and innovators in driving sustainable development. Furthermore, these women-led initiatives promote climate resilience, as healthy ecosystems are better able to withstand climate impacts.

Article by: Joan Kagotho, Agri-business Financial Consultant

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[1] Brookings

[2] World Meteorological Organization

[3] Farm Africa

[4] IFAD

[5] Solar sister initiative

[6] The Green Belt Movement

[7] UN Climate change