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The gender perspective of climate information use is not well studied although for developing gender-responsive climate information services (CIS). This study how CIS use by men and women farmers may be influenced by their perceptions climate change (CC), farm activities, and demography. The study was carried out at the -Jirapa Districts of the Upper West Region of Ghana where downscaled seasonal information through mobile phone technologies (Esoko platform) had been disseminated farmers since 2011. Data was collected from semi-structured questionnaire interviews 900 farmers (50. 2% women and 49. 8% men) and four 20-member focus group. The study confirmed 85. 2% (representing 767) farmers were aware of climate and its implications for their agriculture and other livelihood activities. Men and had similar perceptions about climate change, perceived by the majority as increased winds, higher temperatures, increased frequency of drought, increased rainfall variability increased flooding. Among other factors, it was evident that use of CIS may be by gender. Men were found to be particularly responsive in adopting CIS use for risk mitigation. This was attributed to their ability to easily access and use telephone compared with women. The study revealed that unlike women, men were able to access more financial resources and had control of household income which allowed them to mobile phones. Women generally accessed their husbands’ mobile phones. Despite in access to CIS, the study showed both men and women found it beneficial for farm decision-making such as when to begin land preparation, when to plant, and crop to select. In addition, both men and women were found to face similar constrains (such as poor network connectivity and limited of training), to accessing and using CIS the Esoko platform. The study recommends the need to explore different CIS channels and design CIS that meet gender-specific needs.
Partey et al. (Thu,) studied this question.