By Fatima Saka
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday has trained of women from the North Central region on climate change mitigation.
The training was centred on Mainstreaming Gender into climate change: Mitigation and Adaptation strategies for women Farmers in the North Central Zone in Abuja.
Speaking at the workshop, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Ernest Umakhihe, explained to women Farmers what climate change entails.
He said, “Climate change Mitigation means avoiding and reducing emissions of heat trapping greenhouse gases into atmosphere to prevent the planet from warming, to mere extreme temperature.
“While climate change Adaptation refers to altering our behaviours system.”
He further emphasised that the downscaling of weather information to the farming community level, would also enable Nigerian farmers assess insurance products that would help them to adapt and mitigate the effect of climate change.
The permanent secretary said that timely weather information would boost the productivity of Nigerian farmers and reduce losses from adverse weather conditions.
Umakhihe added that weather information had, over the years, shaped agriculture in Nigeria in regard to the amount of rainfall, duration, when to grow, and the length of growing season.
“Weather is extremely important to agricultural production, because occurrences of erratic weather are beyond human control.
“However, weather forecast assist planning of farming operation to adapt and mitigate the effects of adverse weather, if a forecast of the expected weather can be obtained on time.
“This is why weather information is very important and the responsibility lies with NiMet, who are to observe, collate, process and disseminate all meteorological data and information.
“Downscaling weather information to the farming community level will also enabled our farmers assess Insurance Products that will help them adapt and mitigate the effect of climate change,” he said.
Mrs Orjil Kathrine, Director of Reforming Coordination and Service Improvement of federal ministry of agriculture and rural development, who represented the permanent secretary, said, ” the weather is fast changing and the earth is becoming warms, women Farmers particularly those in rural areas are making used of firewood and it’s importance to educate our women so they will know how to go into farming activities.”
The ministry also empowered the women with cooking gas.
She said, ” We observed that most of the women uses firewood and this affect afforestation, the ministry is against people falling down trees, and that causes hazards to climate change.
In addition, she said, ” asides of cooking gas, the ministry is also giving the women some token to improve on their farming activities”.
Also, Idris Muhammed, Director of Economic Service of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, gave farmers advice that “the women Farmers should align their selves to current trend of farming activities to enabling them build capacity and understanding the dynamism in climate change in the beginning of the raining seasons, to when it ended and to embark on irrigation farming, that will make achieve the best harvest”.
“The ministry is assisting women Farmers with farterlize and seedings for them to go into the habitation and farms,” he added.
Also, Prof. Hauwa Evelyn Yusuf, Director of General Studies and Criminology, also a farmer representative of Partnership for Advancing Women Economic Development, said that “they are changing the narrative of women Farmers”.
“After today’s workshop, women will be able to understand the concept of climate change and how it affects Agricultural production, and the women Will able to annance the knowledge what the women will get here today is to improve productivity and sustainable development,” she said.