Determination of Climate Trend of the Mambil Plateau From 1996- 2024 in Promoting Sustainable Tea Production by Women in a Changing Climate

Mary Cecilia Mairiga; Muhammed Ali Yobi; Muhammed Bello Mustafa

doi:10.56201/rjpst.vol.8.no12.2025.pg37.49

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Determination of Climate Trend of the Mambil Plateau From 1996- 2024 in Promoting Sustainable Tea Production by Women in a Changing Climate

Mary Cecilia Mairiga, Muhammed Ali Yobi, Muhammed Bello Mustafa

Abstract

This study examines the determination of climate trends on the Mambilla Plateau from 1996 to 2024 and their implications for promoting sustainable tea production by women in a changing climate. Specifically, the study seeks to: (i) analyse long-term trends in rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity; (ii) assess the implications of observed climatic variability for tea production; and examine the role of women in sustaining tea production under changing climatic conditions. The study is anchored on climate variability and sustainable livelihoods theory, which explains how households adapt production systems to environmental stressors. A mixed-method research design was adopted, combining quantitative analysis of meteorological data from Kakara Tea Estate with qualitative data from household surveys and interviews involving 200 tea farmers across ten communities on the Plateau. Inferential statistics, including regression and trend analysis, were employed alongside thematic analysis of qualitative responses. Findings reveal that the Mambilla Plateau climate is characterised more by pronounced inter-annual variability than by a consistent warming trend. Rainfall and humidity exhibit increasing extremes, while episodic cooling events pose short-term risks to tea productivity. These fluctuations disproportionately increase labour burdens on women, who dominate plucking and field operations. The study recommends strengthening women-centred adaptation strategies through access to low-interest, collateral-free microcredit bundled with weather insurance, the introduction of labour-saving technologies, and the provision of on-site childcare facilities during peak production periods. These measures are critical for enhancing resilience and sustaining tea production on the Mambilla Plateau.

Keywords

Climate changeMambilla PlateauTea productionClimate trendWomen farmers.

References

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Determination of Climate Trend of the Mambil Plateau From 1996- 2024 in Promoting Sustainable Tea Production by Women in a Changing Climate

Abstract

Keywords

References

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