Irregular rainfall and prolonged dry seasons are creating confusion for farmers in the highlands region and they are not sure on when to plant or harvest.
Harvesting is happening earlier or later than usual. National Research Institute (NRI) in its latest reports writes that these are pieces of evidence of climate change which has and is threatening the food security of local communities.
There is often a gender gap in agriculture and women face more constraints than men in accessing resources, markets, and services. Women farmers tend to face more challenges than men because of low literacy, societal and cultural norms and their responsibilities in the family.
The National Research Institute Spotlight, Volume 17, Issue 2, titled "Lessons from the gendered impacts of climate change on agriculture in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea" by Evelyn Malala provides baseline information about the farmers who would be involved in a project aimed at adopting climate-smart practices to improve agricultural practices and farmer livelihoods.
The spotlight uses the UN Women’s data from the gender analysis of the ‘Adaptation of Small-Scale Agriculture (ASSA) for improved food security of resilient communities in PNG’ project in Enga Province.
Gender-specific climate change training and awareness should be done to target women’s needs and women should be encouraged to take part in these programs.
The Publication can be accessed on the PNG NRI website https://www.pngnri.org.