Gendered Adaptation Debt: A Human Security Analysis of Climate-Driven Water Scarcity and Credit Exclusion among Female Smallholders in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

References

[1] United Nations. Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/70/1; 2015.

[2] Hughes KM. Climate and gender justice in sub-Saharan Africa: Emerging trends post-Paris 2015. Wisconsin International Law Journal. 2021;38(2):197–231.

[3] Onwutuebe CJ. Patriarchy and women’s vulnerability to climate change in Nigeria. SAGE Open. 2019;9(1):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019825914

[4] Federal Republic of Nigeria. Climate Change Act, 2021.

[5] National Bureau of Statistics. Consumer price index and food inflation report: June 2024. Abuja: NBS; 2024.

[6] National Bureau of Statistics. Consumer price index and inflation report: October 2025. Abuja: NBS; 2025.

[7] United Nations Development Programme. Human development report 1994: New dimensions of human security. New York: Oxford University Press; 1994.

[8] Malaci J. Sustainable Development Goal 13 and food security in Nigeria, 2016–2025 [PhD dissertation]. Keffi: Department of Political Science, Nasarawa State University; 2026.

[9] Malaci J. State capacity and resource starvation: Assessing the impact of policy inconsistencies on domestic food access and infrastructure resilience in Nigeria. Unpublished manuscript; 2026.

[10] Adger WN. Vulnerability. Global Environmental Change. 2006;16(3):268–281.

[11] Rocheleau D, Thomas-Slayter B, Wangari E, editors. Feminist political ecology: Global issues and local experiences. London: Routledge; 1996.

[12] Palinkas LA, Horwitz SM, Green CA, Wisdom JP, Duan N, Hoagwood K. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health. 2015;42(5):533–544.

[13] Patton MQ. Qualitative research & evaluation methods. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks (CA): SAGE; 2015.

[14] Black JA, Champion DJ. Methods and issues in social research. New York: Wiley; 1976.

[15] Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 2006;3(2):77–101.

[16] Guest G, Bunce A, Johnson L. How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods. 2006;18(1):59–82.

[17] Edewor SE. Climate change, natural resource conflicts and insecurity in Nigeria: Implication for food security. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2026;13:1805921. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2026.1805921

[18] Ukwe C. Nigeria and food security challenges: Intertwining of climate change and non-state armed groups and policy interventions. IntechOpen; 2024.

[19] Caroli G. The gender-climate-security nexus: Conceptualizing the pathways of interaction. CGIAR Focus Climate Security; 2022. https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstreams/191a42c8-87ba-4522-b595-1000c2a808c6/download

[20] Shekoni AS. Gender, security, and climate change in Africa: Examining women’s unique challenges in the 21st century. Lagos State University Journal of Peace and Security Studies. 2025;4(1):112–131.

@article{1724362,
      author = {Janice Malachi, Jacho David Sunday, Godiya Pius Atsiya, Shamsiya Umar},
      title = {Gendered Adaptation Debt: A Human Security Analysis of Climate-Driven Water Scarcity and Credit Exclusion among Female Smallholders in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {10},
      number = {4},
      pages = {4665-4672},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1724362.pdf},
      abstract = {Climate adaptation policy in Nigeria is meant to advance food security and gender equality together, yet little is known about how it plays out for women farmers on the edge of the capital. This article examines the gendered side of climate adaptation in the agrifood sector of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 2016 and 2025. It combines Human Security Theory, Feminist Political Ecology and the Climate Vulnerability Framework to ask how gaps in public adaptation support become private burdens for female smallholders, a burden described here as “gendered adaptation debt”. The study is qualitative and draws on 20 in-depth interviews with officials and association representatives in Abuja and two focus group discussions with smallholder farmers and food traders. Participants described dry-season water scarcity that pulls women from their fields for several hours each morning, land and collateral rules that keep them out of formal credit, and reliance on high-interest informal loans to buy seed and equipment. Interviewees reported that distribution of climate-smart inputs is fragmented and often defaults to male-dominated local leadership. Because the sample is small and Abuja-centred, the findings are presented as exploratory. The article recommends low-interest, cooperative-guaranteed credit for women’s groups, community-managed water points, shared storage and gender-disaggregated tracking of input distribution.},
      keywords = {adaptation debt; Federal Capital Territory; gender; human security; Nigeria},
      month = {October},
  }