Gender-Specific Livelihood Strategies for Coping with Climate Change-Induced Food Insecurity in Southeast Nigeria

This study assessed the livelihood strategies adopted by husbands and wives within the same households for coping with climate-induced food insecurity in Southeast Nigeria. Collective and bargaining approaches were used in collecting individual and intra-household-level data of 120 pairs of spouses in Southeast Nigeria; husbands and wives were interviewed separately. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and household surveys were used to elicit responses from the respondents. Quantitative data for the study were analyzed using percentage, mean scores, and multinomial logit regression analysis. Results of the study revealed that 90% of the wives were more food insecure than their husbands (79.2%). The respondents noted that the observed changes in the climate contributed immensely to their food insecurity situation. To cope with food insecurity, a slightly higher proportion (47.3% and 14.2%) of wives adopted on-farm and non-farm strategies, respectively, while men (39.8%) adopted more off-farm strategies (38.5%). Additionally, results of the multinomial logit regression revealed that market distance and credit access significantly influenced the choice of husbands’ and wives’ engagement in off-farm livelihood strategy; sourcing information on climate change issues significantly influenced women’s choice of engagement in off-farm/non-farm strategy; and receiving remittances significantly influenced men’s choice of engagement in non-farm strategy. The study concluded that, although women play crucial roles in addressing food insecurity within their households, gender-specific obstacles typically impede their abilities to cope with climate-induced food insecurity.