By Praise Chinecherem
A Non-Governmental Organization, Social and Integral Development Centre, SIDEC has launched a sensitization and awareness creation campaign on the destructive impacts of climate change on women and girls in Anambra State.
The week-long exercise tagged “Climate Change and You” will be implemented under the Women’s Voice and Leadership Nigeria (WVL-Nigeria), a five-year project anchored by Action Aid Nigeria and funded by Global Affairs Canada to tackle barriers to gender equality and support empowerment of women and girls through provision of financial and technical resources to local feminist/women’s rights organizations in Nigeria.
According to the Executive Director, SIDEC, Ugochi Agalaba-Ehiahuruike, the “Climate Change and You” project in Anambra State is aimed at empowering women farmers in the selected LGAs and communities with requisite information and knowledge which will help them to cope better with the its negative impacts.
“This intervention is also to reduce the destructive effects of climate change-induced disasters such as flooding and droughts, pest infestations among others on women farmers in the selected communities.
“During the project, we shall train women farmers on agroecology which is about adapting ecological concepts to the structure, performance, and management of sustainable agricultural systems with the goal of increasing food production, and improving livelihoods for farmers”.
Ehiahuruike explained that the project would be executed in Umunankwo for Ogbaru Local Government and Umueri for Anambra East Local Government. “The choice was informed by the impact of flood disasters especially the 2022 episode on the selected communities and others in those two LGAs”.
“Many of the women farmers are frustrated and are ready to quit farming. This is why we conceived the project to share information on things they can do differently to cope better with flooding and other impacts of climate change”.
She appealed to the women leaders to ensure massive mobilization of women across all villages for the sensitization programme.
In a remark, the President, National Council of Women Society, NCWS in Anambra State, Theresa Nnalue, welcomed the intervention which she said would be very useful to the women farmers in the affected LGAs and communities.
She said, “We suffer a lot from flooding. It affects our crops, valuables and even our buildings. After the flood, we have to repaint at a huge cost. We now work round the clock only to make ends meet”.
“This project will help our women to know there is a way out and that all hope is not lost. It’s my wish that every woman in Anambra State gets to know about all these things”.
Responding, the woman leader of Umueri, Maureen Ajide, said she would be returning home with new knowledge to share with her members.
“I now know there are flood resistant as well as hybrid crops which will help our people very well.
“I will go back and massively mobilize my fellow women and girls for the coming sensitization. We really need it to survive flooding and other things climate change has caused for us,” Ajide said.
For her part, Patricia Ononuju, the leader of women at Umunankwo, Ogbaru LGA, said the intervention as a welcome development.
“I have learnt so much and I will like our women also to learn because as farmers, we need to change our oast attitude. We need to seek knowledge.
“Thanks to SIDEC and Action Aid Nigeria for this project. It is very useful for us in Ogbaru. We shall give our best to ensure it succeeds even as I advocate that the programme will continue because it will teach women especially the rural ones what they need to do and what should be avoided”.
Apart from the onboarding ceremony, the week-long awareness creation campaign will feature various activities such as
advocacy meetings with relevant state government and community stakeholders as well as training/sensitization for selected women and girls of Anambra East and Ogbaru LGAs on agroecology, climate change, impact of flooding on women farmers as well as land conservation and how to increase yield and income of farmers using organic fertilizers.
