Farmers Review Africa May/June 2017 Farmers Review Africa | Page 15

Country Focus
need during climate-related disasters such as
droughts or oods.
while also restoring fertility simply by producing
e way forward
Despite these challenges, there are ways to litter which eventually makes its way back into
mitigate the effect of climate change. For the earth.
Chad also hosts some 300,000 refugees from instance, farmers in Chad's semi-arid Sahelian
Darfur on its eastern border with Sudan, zone have been using an indigenous rainwater
Of course, any country would be better placed
according to UN gures, while an additional harvesting technique called Zaï to successfully to deal with climate change if it simply became
67,000 refugees from the Central African grow crops. Zaï involves the digging of small much wealthier. Chad began producing
Republic are in camps on its southern border. pits and sowing crops in them. e pits retain petroleum in 2003, and it now accounts for 93%
ese refugees consume Chad's limited water for a long period of time and are of all exports. However, this le the country
resources and sometimes compete with the particularly efficient when there isn't much vulnerable to declines in oil prices. So, when the
local population. is creates resentment and rain.
price did indeed crash in late 2014, Chad
sometimes violence between the refugees and
their hosts.
suffered a signi cant loss of revenue. Needless to
e Zaï technique was enhanced by say, the impact of climate-related disasters such
introducing manure and compost into the pits as droughts or oods becomes magni ed if the
To make matters worse, the Boko Haram crisis to provide nutrients to the crops. is helped country does not have the resources to combat
in northeastern Nigeria has spilled over to the rehabilitate soils that are heavily degraded and them.
Lac region of Chad, which now has more than signi cantly increased the yields of food crops.
60,000 displaced people registered there and
several thousand more that are unregistered.
Chad cannot rely on oil forever. Farming is still
Agroforestry, the combining of crops and trees
the mainstay of its economy and, in the longer
is is worrying as the country's unemployed in the same patch of land, can also help term, developing sustainable agriculture and
youth, restless and with plenty of time on their mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate livestock farming will be key in providing
hands, could be at risk of recruitment and change. Tree roots stabilise soils and protect employment and maintaining food security.
radicalisation by Boko Haram. them from eroding during heavy rainfall,
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FARMERS
REVIEW AFRICA
May - June 2017