Feature: Climate change consciousness in Kenya's communities

With communities around the world feeling the impact of changes to temperatures and weather patterns, change of attitudes towards environment and farming practices has become a matter of urgency.

Various Kenyan groups of women, men and youth, associations, networks and non-governmental organizations are playing a role on disseminating climate information in order to create environmentally sustainable communities.

As a member of Kenya Youth Climate Change Network (KYCCN) which has a nation-wide membership, Geoffrey Ongeri's work is to enlighten Kenyan communities on what it means when rain comes at an unexpected time, long seasons of drought mark the weather calendar and such like.

Ongeri said seeing people become more conscious of climate change gives him some satisfaction.

"Climate change is no longer a silent issue. We are all being affected by its impacts and we must act. It begins with telling people what it is all about so that they understand how it affects them," he told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Tree planting is one of the strategies they are using to educate people on how they can contribute to mitigation efforts.

"Trees are key to reducing rate of global warming and when people know that by planting even one tree they have made positive contribution then they will do more (to contribute more towards mitigation measures), " he said.

Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) first ever report on global estimates of emissions from agriculture, forestry and fisheries warn of increase of greenhouse gases from the respective sectors by 30 percent by 2050 should proactive actions fail to be taken.

In the report which adds up to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Africa is shown to have contributed 15 percent of agriculture-related greenhouse gases in 2011, a count likely to bulge unless activities aimed at lowering the emissions are implemented respectively, FAO cautions.

These agriculture-related gases, methane in particular, are produced from livestock digestion and belching, application of synthetic fertilizers and biological processes in rice paddies.

Ongeri said it is significant that information on climate change is simplified and communicated in a manner that can easily be understood by people with little knowledge on its creation and impact.

However, he said financing is critical to achieving climate awareness goals.

Alleviation of poverty in Kenyan households is strongly connected to addressing impacts of changes to climate on communities, said Geoffrey Muigai, Coordinator of Muroto Beekeeping and Research Youth Group which has integrated environmental conservation in its awareness activities in Nakuru Country.

"You see when people don't understand the connection between environmental conservation and their livelihoods, they continue to suffer even when solutions are within their reach," Muigai said.

Changing farmers habits of farming from traditional to modern is a prioritized aspect in their efforts, he said.

Traditional farming is mainly dependent on rain unlike modern in which farmers can utilize water storage technologies such as dams and waterpans to ensure an interrupted farming.

Ministry of agriculture, agricultural research institutions, food production experts and its associate thinktanks have made numerous appeals to farmers to abandon rain-fed agriculture as they argue it as a threat to food security in the prevailing weather circumstances.

However, still many Kenyan farmers fully depend on rain for farming, creating room for hungry people when long dry spells hit. It is the situation facing the country at the moment.

At least 1.3 million people are in dire need of food. This has forced International Committee of the Red Cross to run a lottery campaign to raise funds to buy food for the hungry Kenyans.

Muigai said farmers have no choice but accept existing predicaments of ravaging weather and choose to change their farming activities. Much to his delight and relief, he has seen many of those they have sensitized become agents of change in their villages.

"Long ago, rearing rabbits was taken to be an activity for the children. But farmers have now realized that it can actually be a source of livelihood," he said.

"This is the change of attitude we welcome for more farmers to know that they can escape hunger and poverty by adopting more resilient systems of agriculture," he added. Endit