Unveiling smallholder farmers’ risk perception, vulnerability, and adaptation strategies to climate change: A gendered perspective

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Manije Dargahi Maraghe 1
Marzieh Keshavarz 2
Farid Ejlali 1
1 Department of Agriculture, Payame Noor University, Islamic Republic of Iran.
2 Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Agricultural College, University College of Agricultural and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P. O. Box: 31587-77871, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
Climate change increasingly threatens the livelihoods of smallholder farmers by reducing agricultural productivity and intensifying food insecurity, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Although gender is widely recognized as an important dimension of climate vulnerability, empirical evidence remains limited regarding how gender shapes farmers' risk perception, vulnerability, and adaptation in Middle Eastern agricultural systems. This study examined gender differences in climate change risk perception, vulnerability, and adaptation strategies among smallholder farmers in Tehran Province, Iran. A cross-sectional survey of 350 male- and female-headed farming households was conducted using a multistage stratified random sampling design. Vulnerability was assessed using the IPCC framework, which conceptualizes vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Independent-samples t-tests and composite vulnerability indices were used to compare gender groups. The results showed no significant gender differences in perceived climate change impacts or overall vulnerability. Both groups identified increasing temperatures, rainfall variability, drought, and water scarcity as the principal climate-related challenges. Although male-headed households exhibited significantly higher sensitivity, they also demonstrated greater adaptive capacity, resulting in comparable overall vulnerability. Likewise, no significant gender differences were observed in the adoption of major on-farm and off-farm adaptation strategies. These findings suggest that climate vulnerability and adaptation are shaped primarily by the interaction of environmental and socioeconomic conditions rather than by gender alone in the study area. The study contributes empirical evidence from an underrepresented semi-arid context and highlights the importance of context-specific, multidimensional vulnerability assessments for informing evidence-based climate adaptation policies.
Keywords
Adaptation strategies
Climate change perception
Climate vulnerability
Gender
Iran. Smallholder farmers
Subjects
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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 01 September 2026