UNIPORT lecturers launch climate change project on adaptation initiatives for women

By Nneka Nwogwugwu

To adequately tackle the impacts of climate change, a team of science lecturers at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) last week launched a project, themed ‘Gender-responsive Climate Change Adaptation Initiatives in Nigerian Agriculture Project’.

The 12-month research project, sponsored by the Canadian government through the African Institute for Mathematical Science Next Einstein Initiative (AIMS NEI) fellowship for women in climate change science, seeks to increase female participation and contribution to responses to climate change.

Clara Ifeanyi-Obi, the lead researcher, said the project will be carried out in the 17 southern states and will focus on integrating gender into climate adaptation efforts and addressing issues that hinder climate change adaptation in agriculture.

She also noted that the project is targeted to mainstream gender into climate adaptation efforts and address facts that limit people from adapting to climate change in their agricultural production.

According to her, despite having more numbers in the agricultural sector, women are excluded from climate change adaptation efforts and strategies of both government and private agencies and this has affected food security in the country.

Samuel Arokoyu, Director of the Centre for Research Management, UNIPORT, said it is no longer disputable that climate change has affected food sufficiency in the country.

Also, Andrew Obafemi, Director, Centre for disaster risk management and development studies, UNIPORT, said the research is timely due to the global economic downturn and climate change which provides scientists with the opportunity to come up with innovative solutions.