FARMERS NEED TO TAKE MORE CONTROL OF CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES

Climate change issues and climate-smart action planning associated with agriculture is in need of more involvement and participation from farmers. It is very important that we begin to look at the practical realities on the ground as to what we can do to help our farmers to deal with climate change and climate variations. We are on a quest to document, test and share good small practices from around the world. There are simple things that can be done and are being done; such simple practices are seen on farms that can help farmers such as proper drainage, minimum tillage, ensuring there is sufficient ground cover, proper windbreaks, using whole system on the hillside instead of mound system etc. We need to document these practices, we need to make them practical and take them in our control.  Institutions, universities and governments need to understand the reality of farmers on the ground and work with farmers to adopt solutions to meet the social, cultural and economic situation at the farmers level.  The success of small farmers in our less developed counties is important not only for our self-control food and nutrition security but all for social and economic stability. Successful farmers and small farm families are some of your best defenders of peace and stability in many countries. The building of partnership between academia and farmers would help localize testing, upscaling, and documentation of good and potential beneficial climate-smart practices, allowing our small  “farmers to take more control of the action to do with climate change/climate-smart agriculture on their farms.

Written by Jethro Greene (Chief Coordinator ECTAD Caribbean)