Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers

The report analyzes gender dynamics in Zambia's agricultural sector to support a project targeting 100,000 smallholder farmers. It identifies significant gaps in women's access to land, credit, and insurance, noting that while women provide 55% of agricultural labor, they face systemic barriers due to patriarchal norms and limited decision-making power. The analysis details the legal framework, including the 2023 National Gender Policy, and highlights the disproportionate impact of climate shocks on women, who represent 56.7% of the country's poor.

• Women are disproportionately affected by poverty in Zambia, representing 56.7 percent of the country's poor population.
• Despite providing 55 percent of the labor for agricultural activities, women in Zambia often work as contributing family members or in informal and seasonal roles, and have lower rates of land ownership (21.4%) compared to men (26.7%).
• There is a significant gender gap in insurance coverage, with 60.9 percent of men having insurance compared to only 39.1 percent of women.
• Women's decision-making power regarding agricultural income is very low; for example, only 8.6 percent of women in male-headed households decide how to use income from maize sales.
• Zambia has established a legal framework to promote gender equality, including the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2016, the Gender Equity and Equality Act 2015, and a new National Gender Policy adopted in 2023 to accelerate gender equity.
• Gender-based violence remains a critical issue in Zambia, with the Police Service recording 42,965 cases in 2023.
• Women face greater time burdens for unpaid care and domestic work than men; in households without electricity, women spend over 52 minutes daily on care work and 47 minutes on cooking, compared to 24 and 16 minutes for men respectively.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2026). Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067-gender-assessment.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers. 2026. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067-gender-assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers |date=25 March 2026 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067-gender-assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2026catalyzing, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Catalyzing a Climate Risk Protection Shield for Zambian Smallholder Farmers}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/sap067-gender-assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }