Ethiopian farmer says climate change is God’s wrath

By Aregu Balleh

An Ethiopian farmer at the just-ended fourth edition of the Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA-IV) conference says that there is need for more awareness campaigns to educate farmers in the Horn of Africa nation about climate change because some of them say it is a religious punishment.

“Farmers in Ethiopia believe that the changing of climate is God’s wrath and, are waiting for some kind of divine intervention to ameliorate their deteriorating agricultural yields. I am sure that is the case in other African countries too,” said Mulualem Berehanie.

Apart from educating farmers on the reality of climate change, Mr. Berehanie said more has to be done in terms of providing user-friendly meteorological data, and there should be an effective  local communication mechanisms for farmers to share experiences and ways of addressing the impacts of climate change.

According to the farmer, the government is best-placed to educate farmers about climate change and adaptation mechanisms. He stressed the need for the government to facilitate local communication mechanisms such as community radios where farmers can exchange experiences.

Mr. Berehanie also said that farmers' training centres are ideal for disseminating basic farming techniques in relation to climate change.

“It begins with the farmers understanding of what climate change is before attempting to tackle the problem,” he concluded.