Table 1_Climate-resilient, gender-responsive aqua-horticulture for rural nutrition and livelihoods: evidence from coastal region of India.docx

Enhancing rural women’s access to productive resources, technologies and services can significantly strengthen their contributions to rural development. Their reliance on natural resources heightens their vulnerability to climate change. Yet this connection also positions rural women as key contributors to adaptive and sustainable resource management. Gender-focused interventions for climate adaptation and livelihood diversification continues to be an underexplored area globally. In this context, the impact of gender-responsive and climate-resilient homestead aquaculture and horticulture interventions on household food availability, income enhancement, and women’s empowerment was assessed among 58 rural households across five villages in the flood-prone districts of Puri and Bhadrak, India. The interventions were implemented through community mobilization, capacity building, and participatory action research. The initiative aimed to empower women to make effective use of available homestead and community resources, and to work collectively in adopting strategies that mitigate climate shocks. The key resource was homestead ponds, averaging 0.11 hectares, where women actively engaged in fish farming and integrated vegetables cultivation (averaging 97 m2) to enhance income and nutrition. As a result, fish yields from homestead ponds increased by nearly 95% (3.22 tonnes per hectare per year), generating a net income of USD 1885.41 per hectare per year. Multiple stocking and harvesting boosted per-household fish availability from 15.2 kg to 45 kg per annum. The incorporation of Puntius gonionotus with Indian Major Carps (IMC) provided an additional average yield of 1.12 tonnes per hectare per year. Vegetable harvests reached about 675 kg annually from plots ranging between 50 and 150 m2, supplying approximately 230 g of vegetables per person per day, and generating around USD 143 annually from surplus sales. Paddy straw mushroom cultivation emerged as a profitable alternate livelihood, enabling women farmers to earn about USD 5.5 per day, fostering greater confidence and enthusiasm. Women’s participation in the different aquaculture and horticulture activities increased by around 5.2–83.0%. The active involvement of women in adopting and implementing these climate-resilient, gender-responsive practices-at both household and community levels led to improved household income, enhanced nutrition, and strengthened women’s capabilities, participation, and decision-making in farm, family, and community affairs.