Kenyan 'Climate Change Intermediaries' Interpret Meteorological Data for Farmers
In a hive of activity, the members of the Huruma Women Group weigh and pack their dried mangoes, cassava flour and millet. Formed in 1998, the group of 30 women based in Kibwezi, 119 miles (190km) east of Nairobi, grow and dry grains, fruits and vegetables, which they package and sell to local markets and dealers for export. For a long time, the women relied on the rain to grow their crops and the sun to dry their harvests, which wasn’t a problem in the arid and semiarid region of Makueni. Until late 2015, when El Niño reached east Africa.
“The weather changes hit us hard,” says Rehema Madege, a 45-year-old mother of five, who coordinates the group’s work. “It was rainy and cloudy as opposed to the mostly sunny and high temperatures we were used to.” As parts of Kenya flooded, the group began losing money. They missed delivery dates because their produce wouldn’t dry or their products were rejected by customers because the excess rain resulted in a change of color or too much moisture. “We had not anticipated it. Neither did we know how long it would last,” says Madege.
According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, over half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s labor force works in agriculture. But most farmers are caught unawares by extreme weather events, which are becoming more frequent with the effects of climate change. Often, the consequences are devastating, as crops are destroyed by sudden dry spells or unanticipated heavy rainfall.
To help farmers adapt to variable weather phenomena, the county government of Makueni decided last year to train people as “climate information intermediaries.” Their job is to take data from the Kenya Meteorological Department, interpret what it means for farmers in the area, and then make sure that information gets to everyone who needs it.
Mike Freedman