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WHAT CLIMATE CHANGE MEANS FOR FARMERS IN AFRICA: A TRIPTYCH REVIEW LEFT PANEL: INCREASING CLIMATE VARIABILTY AND A RESPONSE APPROACH FOR AFRICAN FARMERS
Stigter, CJ & Ofori, E
Abstract
In this paper in three parts, climate change is approached by dealing with the three
sides from which the danger comes: (i) global warming, (ii) increasing climate
variability, (iii) more (and possibly more severe) meteorological and climatological
extreme events. These are the three panels of this triptych review and this left panel is
about (ii). This second panel starts with a compelling review of the present situation
of food security, referring to African examples to improve the situation. Then the
influence is discussed that the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has on increasing
climate variability as a consequence of climate change. It is indicated that, to date,
climate models have been developed with little knowledge of agricultural systems
dynamics. On the other hand one can illustrate that agricultural policy analysis has
been conducted with little knowledge of climate dynamics. As a direct consequence
of capricious behaviour of particularly rainfall in West Africa, the adaptation of its
farmers has lagged behind enormously. This statement is valid for most farmers in
sub-Saharan Africa. Within the climate science community there is an emerging effort
to make findings more suitable for decision making, but as yet there is little consensus
as to how data may be relied upon for decision making. Then a lot of attention is paid
to how response farming, that is thoroughly defined, can play an important role in
coping with the consequences of climate variability. Response farming is often
limited envisaging rainfall events, but coping with weather and climate (and often
soil) disasters as well as using windows of weather and climate (and often soil)
opportunities are other forms of responding to weather and climate (and often soil)
realities. Services such as in advice on design rules on above and below ground
microclimate management or manipulation, with respect to any appreciable
microclimatic improvement: shading, wind protection, mulching, other surface
modification, drying, storage, frost protection and so on belong to such “response
farming” agrometeorological services. Ideally, to get optimal preparations, farmers
get advisories/services through extension intermediaries, backed by scientists, to
properly understand decision options through discussions supported by economic
analyses. Throughout the paper text boxes are used that illustrate local conditions that
must be taken into account if one wants to understand the impacts/consequences of
climate change for African farmers and how they may cope with them.
Keywords
Climate variability; response farming; services
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