Abstract
The effects of climate change on the agricultural sector urgently call for rural farmers’ involvement in adaptation decision-making even at the community level for climate change interventions to be effective. This study assessed gender differences in farmers’ Participation in decision-making on adaptation to Climate Change in southwest Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 358 male and 222 female respondents using a questionnaire survey and discussions in focus groups. Data were descriptively summarized and presented while t-test was used for data analysis. Findings showed that more female respondents (24.2%) than male respondents (13.5%) had no formal education, and also more male (85.5%) than female farmers (25.2%) participated in making decisions on adaptation to climate change at the community level. The study indicated that traditional knowledge of adaptation (males- 19.5%, females-14.0%), adaptation strategies from the extension agents (males-19.2%, female-13.5%), and formation of self-help groups for financial support (males- 17.5%, females-13.1%) were the main focus of discussion on adaptation at the community meetings. In addition, the engagement of the female farmers in domestic tasks and their unresponsive attitudes were the major reasons attached to their non-attendance of the community meetings. The study showed a significant difference (P<0.01) between male and female farmers’ participation ( = 0.0541**) in decision-making on adaptation to climate change at the community level. This study therefore recommended that gender be considered while developing active adaptation policies that continue to be gender-responsive.