Every morning, Anastasia Wanjiru wakes up early to tend to her farm in Kamira Village, Murang’a County approximately 85 kilometers northeast of Nairobi, Kenya.

For years, farming was a predictable routine for her, with well-deined planting and harvesting seasons dictated by the rains. Traditionally, the irst season would begin in mid-March and ended in August, while the second season would run from mid-October to late January.

However, things have changed dramatically.

Climate change has disrupted her once-predictable planting calendar, with delayed and erratic rains turning farming into a gamble. Planting seasons have shifted to April and November due to these unpredictable patterns. While some farmers still risk planting early, they often ind themselves replanting when the rains eventually arrive.

“Before, I knew exactly when to plant and could plan everything around the rains. Now, the rains come late, and very little, and it’s hard to know when to expect it,” she explains.

Decreased production

According to her, a decade ago, by the irst week of December, her maize crops would typically be at waist-reach height.

But today, due to delayed planting and the late arrival of rains, it’s not uncommon to ind crops that are not even kneelength on that same month.

The bad thing is that even after late planting, harvesting is not guaranteed due to insuicient rainfall, which often hinders crop growth and reduces yields.

Crops that once lourished now struggle to survive, leaving many farmers with empty granaries and dwindling incomes.

“This has completely disrupted my way of life. My three acres land used to give me about 11, 90kgs bags of maize. But for three years now, the same acreage could barely produce three bags of maize, and that was on a good season. This drastic decrease forced me to start buying maize lour to feed my family, something I never imagined I would have to do,” she says.

The uncertainty according to her has left not only her, but even other farmers in her community battling food insecurity and inancial strain. According to the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform, smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly women, are among the hardest hit by climate change. Erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, and soil degradation have signiicantly reduced agricultural productivity, threatening both livelihoods and food security across the region.

According to Nicoline de Haan, the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform Director, women who make up more than 70 per cent of the agricultural labour force in rural areas reliance on agriculture and natural resources to make a living makes them more vulnerable to climate shocks and stressors than men within agricultural sector. Apart from that, women farmers also face a lack of access to essential resources such as irrigation, improved seed varieties, and climate-resilient farming techniques. These challenges limit their ability to adapt efectively to the changing climate, leaving them more vulnerable to crop failures and income losses.

But since farming is Wanjiru's primary livelihood, she has been compelled to ind new ways to adapt. Today, she has embraced climate-smart practises, such as using improved early-maturing seeds instead of saved seeds and opting for organic manure over chemical fertilisers. These changes have yielded positive results. As a result, she now harvests not less than three bags from her two acres, as one acre is left to regenerate. However, experts warn that without substantial investment in climate adaptation strategies, the gains made by smallholder farmers may not be enough to counter the growing impacts of climate change.

“Last season, I harvested three 90kgs bags of maize and one bag of beans. This lasted us until this season. Though farming is no longer what it used to be, we are learning to adapt because we have no other choice. If we can get more support, especially with water resources and better seeds, we can survive this crisis,” she says.

Empowering women farmers

According to Nicoline, empowering women with access to climate-resilient farming resources, such as droughttolerant seeds, irrigation systems and training on sustainable practises, is critical to enhancing their resilience and ensuring food security in the face of climate change.

That is why the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform and other CGIAR research centers are actively working in various regions since 2010, particularly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to empower women farmers by promoting gender-responsive agricultural solutions. These include providing access to improved seed varieties, facilitating training, and advocating for policies that address the unique challenges women face in farming.

Although the speciic number of beneiciaries from these eforts is still being compiled, CGIAR aims to close the gender gap in agriculture for over 500 million women globally.

They are also working to provide valuable for the 267 million youth in food, land, and water systems. Programs aimed at enhancing women's access to irrigation technology and inancial resources are also being implemented by CGIAR in several regions to strengthen women's resilience to climate change.These programs also emphasise the need for equitable access to resources, including irrigation systems, inancial services, and market opportunities.

However, the scale of these eforts often falls short of meeting the vast needs of women farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.

“Providing women with the necessary tools, knowledge, and support can help them not only adapt to the changing climate but also thrive, enabling them to sustain their families and contribute to community-wide food security. Additionally, fostering women's participation in decision-making processes related to agriculture and climate adaptation can further strengthen their ability to overcome these challenges and build more resilient farming systems,” says Nicoline.

According to a CGIAR Gender Impact Platform report, while CSA ofers tools to enhance productivity, incomes, and resilience to climate change, women have not widely beneited from it. This is partly due to the failure of researchers to incorporate women’s inputs when designing technologies and crop varieties.

As a result, women farmers are less likely to adopt modern technologies, improved crop varieties, and new livestock breeds, as these solutions often do not meet their speciic needs, limiting their uptake.

“Co-developing technologies with women, men, youth, and diverse groups of farmers and consumers as well as investing in research that shows what breeds and technologies work for women will be necessary to ensure wide use of improved breeds and varieties in a more sustainable and resilient food system,” reads part of the brief.

Taking action

If this is the case, what has helped women like Wanjiru adopt CSA? According to her, the support women farmers in Murang’a are receiving from both local leadership and the broader community is what has led to CSA adoption. The adaptation journey has not been a women's journey alone. Men are also playing a signiicant role in helping farming communities cope-up with climate change.

For example, Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata has been providing farmers with free early-maturing, improved seeds, ensuring that even those who cannot aford to buy them have access to climate-resilient crops.

This initiative has eased the inancial burden on farmers, improving their chances of successful harvests despite unpredictable weather patterns.

The county government has also been actively promoting soil health initiatives and encouraging farmers to adopt organic farming practises, and also ofering training on using manure and compost alongside chemical fertilizers.

This story was produced with support from CGIAR and MESHA

PROVIDING WOMEN WITH THE NECESSARY TOOLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND SUPPORT CAN HELP THEM NOT ONLY ADAPT TO THE CHANGING CLIMATE BUT ALSO THRIVE- —NICOLINE DE HAAN