Land Tenure Inequality as a Barrier to Women’s Climate-Smart Adoption in Baringo South Sub-County-Kenya

Abstract

Climate change continues to threaten agricultural productivity and livelihoods in Kenya, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas such as Baringo-South Sub-County. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) has been promoted as a key strategy for enhancing climate resilience, food security and sustainable livelihoods. However, women’s adoption of CSA practices in Baringo South remains limited due to land tenure insecurity. The research design used was correlation research design whereby a study sample size of 128 women participants was selected using a simple random sampling procedure.15 Key informants were also interviewed totaling to 143 respondents.  Customary land ownership system, patriarchal inheritance practices and weal enforcement of statutory land laws restrict women’s access to, control over, and decision-making authority regarding land. This insecurity discourages women from investing in long-term climate smart practices such as soil and water conservation, agroforestry, pasture improvement and others. Moreover, lack of secure land tenure reduces women’s access to credit, climate adaptation programs which further constraint CSA uptake. Given that women play a central role in agricultural production and are disproportionately affected by climate variability, these land-tenure-related barriers undermine local climate adaptation efforts. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, specifically correlation and regression analysis. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The regression analysis indicates that land tenure has a coefficient of B = 0.308, which rejects the null hypothesis (Ho₃). This means that Land tenure has a significant and positive influence on the adoption of climate-smart agriculture among women. Secure land rights encourage farmers to invest in long-term CSA practices such as soil conservation, agroforestry, and terracing. This paper examined land tenure as a key barrier to women’s adoption of climate smart agriculture in Baringo South Sub-County and highlighted the need for gender responsive land governance, strengthened policy implementation, and localized institutional support to promote equitable and sustainable adoption of CSA practices.