Summary
This qualitative study examined how climate change and conflict stressors shape cassava trait preferences and livelihood responses among farmers and value-chain actors in Nigeria, with explicit attention to gender differences. Findings reveal that farmers prioritise drought tolerance and early bulking traits, whilst men and women employ distinct response strategies—men engaging in frequent farm visits and non-agricultural work, women relying on backyard farming and remittances. The analysis demonstrates lower resilience capacity among women despite their preference for traits like root milking, suggesting that breeding programmes can support social inclusion and resilience by accounting for gendered preferences and access constraints.
UK applicability
This study's focus on cassava value chains in tropical Nigeria has limited direct applicability to UK farming systems or climate contexts. However, the methodological approach of disaggregating trait preferences and resilience strategies by gender across a supply chain may inform UK research on inclusive crop improvement and climate adaptation in other contexts.
Key measures
Trait preferences elicited through interviews; response strategies documented by gender and actor type; comparative resilience capacity assessment between men and women
Outcomes reported
The study identified preferred cassava traits (drought tolerance, early bulking, multiple-product use, in-ground storability) and gender-differentiated response strategies to climate change and conflict stressors among value-chain actors in three Nigerian states. Resilience capacity was found to be higher among men than women due to differential access to assets and livelihood options.
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