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Salamatu Garba, Coordinator of the Women Farmers Advancement Network in Nigeria

Montreal, June 10, 2008 - Salamatu Garba, Coordinator of the Women Farmers Advancement Network in Nigeria, and CCAA Program Officer Nathalie Beaulieu shared their views on what climate change means for Africa.

 

The two presented on the panel “Coping with Climate Change: How the Vulnerable  Must Adapt” hosted by IDRC at the International Economic Forum of the Americas, also known as the Conférence de Montréal.

 

Ms Garba presented by audiotape on the challenges facing smallholder farmers in Nigeria. Her organization is working with the African Radio Drama Association to locally produce a 26-episode radio show that will share farmers’ concerns and knowledge about climate change. This project, supported by the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa program, will also test the usefulness of radio drama in helping small-scale farmers adapt to longer dry seasons and other effects of climate variability and change.

 

Dr Beaulieu gave a brief overview of the CCAA program and its work in supporting research and capacity building for adaptation on the continent. She gave examples of how participatory action research is unfolding in projects supported by the program.

 

IDRC President Maureen O’Neil opened the panel, which was chaired by Steven Guilbeault, co-founder of the Québec-based environmental organization, Equiterre. Other speakers included IDRC Senior Fellow John Stone, Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II; Patricia Cochran, Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council; and Kaia Ambrose of CARE Canada.

 

Close to 100 people attended the panel, including the Honourable Joe Clark, former Canadian Prime Minister; representatives of a number of Canadian government ministries and NGOs; and professors and students from local universities.

 

An audio recording of the session will be available soon on IDRC’s website.

 

News 5 of 10