Goat - a Sustainable and Holistic Approach in Addressing Triple Challenges of Gender Inequality, Climate Change Effects, Food and Nutrition Insecurity in Rural Communities of Sub Saharan Africa

Abstract

Goat-centered approach can transform rural agrarian households and communities toward gender inclusive climate change adaptation in agriculture to enhance food security and nutrition in Sub Saharan Africa. Gender inequality, climate change effect and food and nutrition insecurity are the most defining and deeply intertwined socio-economic and environmental challenges in rural communities in sub Saharan Africa. This chapter offers an overview of potentiality of goat rearing as a sustainable and holistic approach in addressing triple challenges of gender inequality, climate change effects and food and nutrition insecurity in rural communities. The failure to address gender inequality and deal with the climate change effect has thrown the Sub-Saharan Africa into a state of perpetual food scarcity due to compromised food production, consequently condemning the rural communities and its people to extreme poverty and nutrition insecurity. Because of this scenario, a number of both internal and external development agencies, have put several measures in place to alleviate the situation, which has for long preyed upon the region and continues to frustrate food stability in the region. The total failure of the previous autonomously attempt to address the triple challenges of gender inequality, climate change effects and food and nutrition insecurity at the household level give ground to prominence on the endorsement of more sustainable and multifaceted approaches. A proposition is made that goat rearing is one such initiative, which combines the empowerment of women in agriculture to ensure availability of the basic food needs of the household, while sustaining animal production due to goat’s adaptability to the climate induced harsh environmental conditions. The goat centered multifactorial approach to address the triple challenges is focused on the exploitation of the interlinkages among these socio-economic and environmental ills. The major assumption is that goat rearing in rural economies simultaneously curtails the risk of food and nutrition insecurity by acting as an entry point of gender equality, while leveraging on the opportunities that goat rearing will effectively offset adversities posed by the climate change effect. In most instances, women are potentially more vulnerable compared to men as they directly experience the ponderous effects of climate change in agricultural production, in turn compromising food and nutrition security. Goat rearing is central in the removal of systemic barriers that hold women back from equal participation in agriculture, by broadening their socio-economic opportunities, hence, playing a significant role in agricultural value-chains. The goat-rearing sustainability concept is based on establishing and maintaining the circumstances under which people and nature can subsist in productive harmony, that allow fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations. Despite the climate change adverse effects, the goat population has continued to proliferate in harshest agro-ecological regions, which demonstrate that goats have managed to adapt to the current unfriendly climate induced environmental conditions. It is assumed that promoting goat rearing will narrow the gender equality gap between men and women, and enhance the participation of women in agriculture, hence, improving productivity, and food and nutrition security. Goats due to their numerical population advantage and deeply embedment in rural communities have constantly contributed to rural poor resource farmers’ livelihoods in many ways, and their contributions tend to be significant. This chapter offers an overview of potentiality of goat rearing as a sustainable and holistic approach in addressing triple challenges of gender inequality, climate change effects and food insecurity in rural communities of Sub Saharan Africa.