Published: July 9, 2024
Last updated: July 17, 2024
MONROVIA — In Liberia’s sun-soaked fields, farmers struggle with changing weather and pests, but their resilience is palpable. Access to climate information could ease their burden.
Report by Aria Deemie with The Liberian Investigator
Battling Against Climate Odds
Gleekeh Peters, 45, relies on farming to support her five children. As a single mother, growing lettuce, rice, and cassava is a monumental task.
“I grew up in the village where farming was the only thing to do,” she says. “Since I lost my husband, farming provides for me and my children.”
She wakes up at 5 am daily and treks for 30 minutes to the outskirts of Mila village – a 20-minute ride from Kakata, the capital city of Margibi County. Her challenge isn’t just trekking and toiling the soil; climate change is her new nemesis.
“I used to sell 100 to 150 bags of cassava per harvest, but now, I barely harvest 50 bags,” she explains. “Cassava is strong, but the changing weather and soil disease spoil the cassava, leaving little to eat and sell.”
Gleekeh Peters discusses the challenges she faces in farming with reporter Aria Deemie at Moore’s Farm on January 12. Photo credit: Olivia Banwon
The Nemesis: Climate Change
Liberia’s National Adaptation Plan 2020-2030 shows that agricultural productivity, already suffering from land degradation and extreme weather, is now more vulnerable to climate change. It warns that climate change will increase pests and diseases and the frequency of droughts and floods due to shifting rainfall patterns and temperatures.
The FAO estimates that insects destroy 10% to 30% of all food produced in Africa each year.
Garmonyou A. Sam, an Entomologist at the Ministry of Agriculture, says rising temperatures cause pests to thrive.
“This surge in pest populations poses a risk to crops, leading to yield losses and reduced food production,” he explains. “Many future pests are currently in ‘diapause,’ awaiting climate change to spread and flourish.”
These conditions impact small farmers like Gleekeh and Fatu Darmo, another rice farmer in Margibi County.
“I face many challenges, like picking grass from the rice and driving away birds, but pests on the ground eat the rice, and I don’t have chemicals to stop them,” Fatu explains.
“The weather is changing,” adds Jackson Williams, a vegetable farmer in Kakata. “When we expect rain, the sun comes, and when we expect sun, it rains. Sometimes droughts come and affect the farm, other times it’s too much rain.”
Halala Willie Kokulo, Director of Land Development and Water Resource at the Ministry of Agriculture, agrees that local farmers are increasingly vulnerable to climate change.
“Climate change is hard for poor farmers; they lack the resources for innovations like irrigation or greenhouses,” he says.
Navigating Climate Chaos
Some farmers are finding innovative ways to tackle the problem, but climate change remains a difficult adversary.
Augustine Moore, 55, runs a large rice farm of over 100 acres in Gborferhlah town. After suffering harsh weather between 1999 and 2001, he built an irrigation system in 2005.
“I positioned a pipe from the hilltop and created a dam to supply water to my rice farm and fishpond during diverse weather conditions,” Moore explains. “This protects the rice crops from drought and the fish from dying.”
The water pipe running through Moore’s farm Photo credit: Olivia Banwon
Despite his efforts, a flash flood during the 2023 rainy season forced him to build a canal. Now, he lacks meteorological information.
Augustine Moore discusses innovative ways to tackle climate change issues at his farm, including the pipes he positioned from the hilltops through his rice farm and fish pond, providing water during both dry and rainy seasons. Photo credit: Olivia Banwon
“Not all of us have internet access, but many can listen to the radio. If we had weather reports on the radio, we could adapt and adjust,” he says. “For now, we depend on experience and that’s why I’m working on the canal to stop the flooding.”
Like Jackson, many farmers lack accurate weather reports, prompting calls for government intervention.
“We don’t just want grants and tools; we need education on weather changes and how to fight soil disease,” adds Williams.
Fatu agrees that government intervention is crucial. “I want the government to train and support us because there’s no information about climate change among us,” she says.
Awareness Could Help
Experts say more awareness on pests and climate change will help farmers protect crop yields and ensure food availability.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency need to engage farming communities more,” suggests Mr. Sam. “Promoting awareness about climate change and pest control, educating the public about preventive measures, identifying early signs of infestations, and reporting pest sightings.”
Amid the lack of weather information, the Director at the Division of Land Development and Water Resource at the Ministry of Agriculture claims they “anticipate collaboration with the Ministry of Transport” to provide farmers with weather information.
“We’ve been discussing an Environmental Knowledge Management platform,” says Mr. Kokulo. “We’re expecting the Ministry of Transport to collect weather information and display it on that platform, which we can disseminate to farmers.”
Despite these challenges, local farmers remain optimistic that farming can reduce food import dependency and improve food security.
“When attention is paid to agriculture in Liberia, we won’t be bothered about imported rice prices and shortages,” Gleekeh says. “The government should visit farms to see how we’re managing and understand how they can help us.”
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