SOCIAL PROTECTION AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS IN THE WA WEST DISTRICTOF GHANA: A GENDER ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT

Social protection is critical for enhancing agriculture livelihoods and sustainable development in rural economies.Social protection affects the social and material situations of women and men, shapes gender relations, vulnerabilities and livelihoods. Yet, many studies on social protection insubSaharan Africa, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the North Africa regionsthat have relatively large informal economies have neglected gender relations. It is in line with the gender, social protection and rural livelihoods gap that the thrust of this study is defined. The studyexploredthe gender implications of the existing social protection mix in Ponyentanga and Dorimonin the Wa West Districtof Ghana.The study utilised a qualitative approach and exploratory study design. The maximum variation and homogeneous purposive sampling techniques were used to select research participants for the study. Evidence wasgathered through observations, semistructured interviews, focus group discussions and documentary review.The open coding method was used to categorise common trends from the data.The narratives from the data were organisedinto three central themes: first, the gendered nature of economic and social vulnerabilities;second, the coping strategies and social protection structures;and third, the effects of the existing social protection shemes. The main finding of the study was thatthe differential social roles and responsibilities of women and men are reflected in theircoping strategies. The study concludes that progress towards thetransformative goal is minimal given the gendered complexities. State interventions complemented by non-state efforts, therefore, need to be directed at interventions that empower vulnerable rural women and men.