Paper short abstract:

This paper explores women's participation in aquaculture in Northern Zambia and climate resilience strategies against climate change challenges. It argues that women's involvement in the aquaculture value chain contributes to poverty reduction and increases household climate change resilience.

Paper long abstract:

The Luapula and Northern provinces account for the few Zambia provinces that receive much rain making the area suitable for fish farming. Still, these two provinces are also identified as climate change hot spots.

Within the aquaculture industry, fewer women are in a position to participate in the aquaculture value chain in the same manner as men. These inequalities are exhibited in the gendered division of labour, distribution of benefits, access and control over assets and resources, and power relations in the value chain that are influenced by gender and social norms. The impacts of climate change on women smallholder farmers in Africa increase their vulnerability in food systems.

This paper explores women's participation in aquaculture in Northern Zambia and climate resilience strategies against climate change challenges.

The paper benefits from a field evaluation study conducted in the two provinces in Zambia. The study found that despite the challenges posed by gender role barriers, lack of resources, and the effects of climate change on the fish farming industry, the few women involved in fish farming are almost at par with their male counterparts regarding knowledge and practice of aquaculture and climate strategies.

This paper, therefore, posits that women's participation in the aquaculture value chain in Zambia contributes to poverty reduction and significantly to climate change adaptation and resilience at the household level. The paper argues for government and non-governmental organisations to be intentional in their interventions and adopt a gender inclusiveness lens to engage more women in fish farming.