Farmers News from Tanzania - Farmers, Rural Dwellers To Get Climate Data

FARMERS and rural communities commonly vulnerable to effects of climate change will start receiving regular information for sustainable planning.

This becomes possible as the government and UNDP-Tanzania promote access to relevant climate data to help reduce the impact of climate change in all development sectors.

The assurance was given in Dar es Salaam at a three-day Training Workshop on Tech Transfer and Innovation for Climate Change and Early Warning Systems, the event that brought together representatives from more than ten countries, with the aim to deliberate on practical approach in sharing information to increase resilience to climate change.

Mr Richard Muyungi, who is the Focal Point, Government of Tanzania for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), underscored the need for the farmers, policy makers and other stakeholders to have accurate information on climate.

He said irregular rain patterns have caused floods and unpredictable weather configurations which have resulted to long dry spells that subsequently ruined economies. Inadequate information on climate change complicated the situation.

"The capacity to ensure that development planning is instituted on accurate climate information and services is extremely relevant and it is an objective for which we are glad to work jointly with UNDP and regional partners. The pilot project is worth 500 million US Dollars," Mr Muyungi explained.

The efforts, he added, are being channelled through the Multi-Country Support Programme to Strengthen Climate Information System in Africa (CIRDA). This will bring new technologies and capacities to help farmers, policy makers and the private sector to make informed decisions in the face of climate change.

Emphasising on the relevance of the training, UNDP Country Director, Mr Philippe Poinsot, spoke about the immense task ahead for every nation to play an active role to strengthen climate information and early warning systems, adding no country was immune to the effects of climate change.

"Industrialised countries are the ones contributing more to carbon emission. They (nations) have the obligation to honour their financial pledges to mitigate effects of climate change and comply with international conventions on climate," Mr Poinsot explained.

Source:  http://allafrica.com/stories/201410150381.html