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Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho

Mini Dissertation (MA (Environment and Society))--University of Pretoria, 2022.

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Other Authors: Davis, Nerhene. C.
Format: Thesis
Published: University of Pretoria 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Davis, Nerhene. C.
author_browse Davis, Nerhene. C.
author_facet Davis, Nerhene. C.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MA (Environment and Society))--University of Pretoria, 2022.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:17.390Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/89595 Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho Davis, Nerhene. C. liznamane14@gmail.com Ndarana, Thando Namane, Refiloe Manapo Judith UCTD Farmers Climate variability Vulnerability Adaptation Gender Mini Dissertation (MA (Environment and Society))--University of Pretoria, 2022. This study is an exploratory and descriptive inquiry to provide an in-depth account of women farmers in Maseru and Quthing districts in Lesotho to capture how they perceive, experience, and respond to climate variability. The study adopted a mixed-methodology research approach using qualitative and quantitative data analysis. Forty-two women farmers (14 respondents in Maseru and 28 in Quthing) were recruited using a snowball sampling approach. The women farmers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires with the assistance of the Lesotho National Farmers Union. Secondary climate data were obtained from Lesotho Meteorological Services (LMS) to analyse the trends in temperature and rainfall over the 1990-2020 period. The climate trends were analysed to determine whether the women farmers’ perceptions aligned with the actual climate trends. Results of the climate data showed an increasing trend in mean maximum temperature and mean minimum temperature in Maseru and Quthing. The increasing trend of the mean minimum temperature was statistically significant in Maseru (p=0.035) at a 95% confidence interval. In Quthing, the mean maximum temperature increase was also statistically significant (p=0.014). Mean annual rainfall showed a decreasing trend in Maseru (τb =-0.086). The mean annual rainfall in Quthing showed an increasing trend (τb =0.017) that was not statistically significant. The study found that 59.5% (n=25) of the women farmers' perceptions about temperature and rainfall patterns aligned with the actual observed trends. Quthing farmers perceived a decreased annual rainfall, while thestudy verified an increasing rainfall trend using recorded data. The most cited changes in climate variables over recent years were increased temperature (57%) and unexpected and erratic rainfall (44%). The study concludes that the women farmers were more inclined to deploy reactive land management adaptation strategies, which included, amongst others, the installation of irrigation, use of grey water, double digging, and machinery. The adaptive capacity of the women farmers also seemed to be influenced by their access and use of forecast information, external support, farm organisation membership and the type of farming they practice. Furthermore, the intersecting identities of the women farmers, linked to their location, age, education, and marital status, interplay with their livelihood capital to promote or inhibit their coping and adaptation. This study thus recommends farmer organisation membership, improved forecast information dissemination, and strategic multi-stakeholder collaboration in the Lesotho agricultural sector to mitigate the vulnerability of women farmers in the country. Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology MA (Environment and Society) Unrestricted 2023-02-15T14:03:17Z 2023-02-15T14:03:17Z 2023-04 2022 Mini Dissertation Namane, RMJ 2022, Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho, Mini-dissertation, University of Pretoria, viewed yyyymmdd https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89595 A2023 https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89595 10.25403/UPresearchdata.22100585 © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Farmers
Climate variability
Vulnerability
Adaptation
Gender
Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho
title Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho
title_full Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho
title_fullStr Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho
title_full_unstemmed Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho
title_short Coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in Maseru and Quthing districts, Lesotho
title_sort coping and adaptation of women farmers to climate variability in maseru and quthing districts lesotho
topic UCTD
Farmers
Climate variability
Vulnerability
Adaptation
Gender
url https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89595