How to protect African farmers from extreme climatic conditions

Protect African Farmers

Several African nations are prone to extreme weather condition such as drought. It is something inevitable and has long been endured by the Africans. Several countries have already reached out to help African farmers endure harsh weather conditions the region has to offer.

In Ethiopia, a massive effort to find ways on how to protect farmers from extreme weather conditions has already taken place. Records show that Ethiopia is quite vulnerable to droughts usually resulting to poor farming communities undergoing starvation and extreme poverty for the rest of the year. Today, a broad crop insurance policy has been conceptualized that aims to help out farmers get by and recover quickly when the weather goes back to normal. The said program is being managed by Oxfam America which is being supported by the international Research Institute for Climate and Society. The said organization is directly a part of the Earth Institute of Columbia University.

In Ethiopia, 80 percent of its people rely on a small scale rain-dependent farming. Farming in Ethiopia is proven to be a very difficult form of livelihood due to the fact that the country has an unpredictable annual rainfall. With the little options Ethiopians have in terms of livelihood, farmers are left with no other choice but to rely on that form of income generation. With this policy, the insurance pays out if the recorded rainfall falls beyond the threshold in which all parties agreed upon beforehand.

A different way to alleviate the harmful effects of harsh weather conditions is being implemented in Malawi and Tanzania. The World Meteorological Organization has launched the Climate Services Adaptation Programme back in November, 2013. The said programme will enable African farmers to be equipped with technological knowledge to fight the harmful effects of harsh weather conditions.

With this, Norway has pledged a total of $10 Million to fund the pilot project. The project aims to teach farmers innovative ways on how to combat drought by plotting different planting schedules – that is for the farmers to deal with shifting patterns with regards to rainfall. Another thing is that farmers will be taught how to use different crop varieties that are tolerant to drought. The implementing body will also teach the respondents how to use different types of harvesting and irrigation systems in order for them to battle the harmful effects of water unavailability.

According to Richard Muyungi, Climate Change Director from Tanzania’s Office of the Vice President, the Climate Services Adaptation Programme aims to see how each farmer from Tanzania utilizes what they have learned from the project. One of the main objectives of the project is to help each farmers battle the harsh weather effects caused by climate change.

Humphrey Kariuki Ndegwa is an African businessman who founded and currently heads Dalbit International, one of the leading energy suppliers in the region. Humphrey blogs about the petroleum industry, as well as his other advocacies such as sustainable agriculture and development.