The unusually hot summer of 2018 showed that climate change affects a central part of our lives: agriculture. The severe drought in Liechtenstein led to large losses in the hay harvest. In countries of the Global South, the consequences of climate change are already much more drastic. In Africa, for example, extreme weather conditions threaten food security for millions of people.
Agroecology as a solution to Climate Change
East Africa has encountered droughts at increasingly shorter intervals in recent years, most recently in 2005-6, 2009, 2011, 2014-15, and 2017. Apart from drought, the conditions for agriculture are also becoming increasingly difficult due to the gradual rise in temperature, salinization and changing rainy seasons. Serious consequences include decreasing availability of food and increasing conflicts over water–both obstacles to development opportunities of the affected states and possible triggers for migration.
New platform established for climate friendly agriculture
For this reason, in mid-February Biovision and other organizations iniated a multi-stakeholder platform in Kenya to exchange information and promote climate-adapted and climate-friendly agriculture. More than 30 experts met in Nairobi. Participants came from a wide range of backgrounds, including government, research, academia, development partners, NGOs, the private sector and civil society organizations. The meeting was hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The platform is intended to support the implementation of Kenya’s “Climate Smart Agriculture Implementation Framework” (KCSAIF), which the Kenyan government adopted in October 2018. Other participants included the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Climate Change Unit of the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture.
