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 insub
Saharan 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, semi
structured 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.
