As climate change becomes a harsh reality in many parts of the world, farmers need to adapt their farming techniques in order to survive. Women farmers are facing obstacles in adapting to climate change. Their rights and access to land, credit, inputs (such as improved seed and fertilizers), agricultural training and other information do not always reflect their vital role as farmers, and often providers of nutrition in the family.
Apart from using traditional method of farming and the use of local manure to protect the soil against all forms of threat,it is clear that ,The contributions of women in climate change have received increasing attention in the early 21st century.
Women in African societies are the backbone of the continent’s labor force, especially in agriculture.
African women produce approximately 80 percent of the continent’s food. This is because over 60 percent of employed women in sub-Saharan Africa are agricultural based.
However,in time of the environmental degradation caused by the rapid depletion of natural resources, the economic role played by women to support their household and societal well-being is in jeopardy.
There is no doubt that ,a changing climate affects everyone, but it’s the world’s poorest and those in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls, who bear the brunt of environmental, economic and social shocks. Often, women and girls are the last to eat or be rescued; they face greater health and safety risks as water and sanitation systems become compromised; and they take on increased domestic and care work as resources dwindle.
The following are some of the Preventive ways and contribution they used to protect their farmland
1-Integrating land and water management to protect soils from erosion, salinization, and other forms of degradation .
2-Protecting the vegetative cover, which can be a major instrument for soil conservation against wind and water erosion.
3-Integrating the use of land for grazing and farming where conditions are favorable, allowing for a more efficient cycling of nutrients within the agricultural systems.
4-Applying a combination of traditional practices with locally acceptable and locally adapted land use technologies.
Indeed Climate change is turning the lives of farmers upside-down, and is fundamentally changing the way agriculture is practiced. Drastically different weather patterns, shorter growing seasons, extreme weather, and many other changes pose daunting problems for smallholder farmers around the world—especially in the tropics.
