Impact of Climate Change on Farmers in Sierra Leone - 2009

Sierra Leone is found on the West Coast of Africa and during the pre-colonial era, the country known for it's conducive atmosphere. But today the issue of climate change is the order of the day.

Climate change leads to serious implications on agriculture, biodiversity and food security, leading to hunger and poverty. Changes in temperature and weather patterns influence drought, flood, access to water and use of land.

Rich countries usually contribute about 75% of greenhouse emissions in to the atmosphere whilst the poor countries only contribute about 3.6% (Community biodiversity development and conservation programme in Africa report - 2008) and usually feel the majority of climate change impacts. Africa is warmer which influences the amount of rainfall in the continent.

During the dry season African rivers dry quickly and which will lead to lose of biodiversity.

Before I was born in Sierra Leone, there were animals like Elephants, Lions, Buffaloes and a wide range of plants for medicinal purposes. But today they are no where to be found due to climate change.

Also, because farming is not practiced in Sierra Leone on a large scale and farm yields are low due to the climate change problem, the capital city (Freetown) is overcrowded. This has lead to serious environmental problems in the city i.e overcrowding, deforestation, poor waste management among many other issues.

Man's activities should change. Africa is more exposed to climate change because of the wide spread of poverty and unsustainable use of natural resources. Because of erratic rainfall, farmers do not now know the correct time of planting crops and therefore short varieties of rice (New Rice for Africa - NERICA) are now grown in most parts of Africa as coping mechanism to fight climate change in the continent.

There is a need to call on all stake holders to fight climate change holistically using government policies and advocacy on deforestation and reforestation in every nation in order to reduce the impact of climate change globally.