By Quadri Adejumo
One afternoon in April, Olatayo Abidemi, a 38-year-old farmer based in Eruwa, Oyo State, walked through the ruined fields of his farm as the scorching sun bore down. He paused to point at a withered patch of land where the cassavas, potatoes, maize, tomatoes, and a variety of peppers—including bell and chilli peppers—he had once nurtured were now gone, victims of yet another unforgiving drought.
Nigeria, in particular, has been experiencing extreme weather conditions, with reports indicating a consistent and abrupt shift from drought to downpour. In a 2020 survey conducted by SBMintel, nearly 79% of farmers stated that they had been adversely affected by both drought and flooding. The survey report, titled “Nigerians Just Want to Eat,” revealed that while farmers in the northern region of the country contended with flooding, those in the south, particularly in the southwest, faced a lack of rainfall.
In Oyo State, where Abidemi resides, drought is one of the major challenges facing farmers as a consequence of the climate crisis. A study on the impacts of climate change on agriculture in Oyo State notes that small-scale farmers recognize the effect of climate change as increasing drought, rising temperature, and late onset of rainfall.
For Abidemi, the late rain caused his crops to wither and die, and as a result, he lost all his investment.
“I’ve lost about N400,000 this planting season,” he lamented. “See this?” He pointed to the withered stalks. “This was supposed to be my harvest of maize and cassava. But it’s all gone.” Abidemi lamented before he picked himself up to attend to other parts of his farm, his hoe and cutlass in hand.
It took a while for him to recover, and the turning point came when a friend introduced the early middle-aged farmer to a climate-resilient agriculture training programme. The week-long programme, which took place in Bodija, Ibadan, was a free training initiative. Abidemi recalled, “The training opened my eyes to the reality of climate change. I learned about the science behind droughts, how to manage soil moisture, and how to adapt my farming techniques.”
Before the training, Abidemi blamed traditionalists for “ceasing the rain.” According to him, many people in rural Oyo believe that traditionalists perform rituals to stop rainfall, particularly during traditional festive seasons. “Climate change wasn’t even a concept to me.” Abidemi said in an interview.
After the training, Abidemi started investing in drought-tolerant seed varieties and applied his newly-gained knowledge of crop rotation, irrigation management, and soil conservation on his farm.
Photo/Quadri A
“I now preserve water through mulching and drip irrigation. In just 3 months, I saw the difference these methods made. My farmland retained water, and the crops started to grow,” he said.
Education as First Line of Defence
According to a 2023 Afrobarometer survey, only three in 10 Nigerian adults (30%) have heard of climate change. This lack of awareness raises critical questions about how to mitigate the impacts of climate change. However, for Eco Science Generation Initiative (EcoSciGen), the climate literacy institute that trained Abidemi, the approach to tackling climate change should be different. “While mitigation is essential, without adaptation and education, the battle is only half won,” says Jumoke Omodeni, the Executive Director of EcoSciGen.
Within a year of starting its training programmes, Omodeni says they have empowered over at least 100 farmers in Oyo with knowledge on droughts, rising temperatures, desertification, and other environmental challenges.
“Our capacity building in the agricultural field is to promote climate adaptation and resilience in communities,” Omodeni explained. “It’s important that as we are mobilizing efforts to address the climate crisis, we have people from vulnerable communities equipped with knowledge to bring their learned skills to practice.”
EcoSciGen also educates young adults and schoolchildren on climate change. In Oyo State, they have partnered with schools such as Community Grammar School Mokola, Methodist Grammar School Bodija, and Community High School Ajibode. Each of these school have benefitted from their InoClimate School Programme, focused on educating students and teachers about climate science.
One of the students is 11-year-old Omo’ Aishat, who says her favourite hobby is now gardening. “I learned planting crops can help when we don’t have enough food. Now I want to share what I learned with my friends and family.”
Photo: EcosciGen
Taiwo Maruf, an older student at the University of Ibadan, developed a passion for climate research after attending one of EcoSciGen’s climate communication workshops. The training, which equipped Maruf with the skills to communicate climate science, sparked a desire in him to pursue a career in climate and environmental journalism.
“The EcoSciGen’s workshop was an eye-opener. It exposed me to the issues causing climate change and how to communicate the adverse effects of climate change,” Maruf shared. “We were encouraged to continuously spread the message across our localities.”
Despite these efforts, EcoSciGen faces challenges in tailoring lessons to meet the diverse educational needs of both adults and schoolchildren. Omodeni noted, “We can’t adopt a one-size-fits-all approach and have to constantly update our curriculum.”
From Learning to Leading
Sharon Oyelayo, a Lagos-based nurse, is another beneficiary of EcoSciGen’s training programmes. “I first learned about EcoSciGen through social media,” Oyelayo said in an interview with this reporter “As a nurse, I’d seen firsthand the impact of environmental factors on my patient’s health, and I wanted to deepen my understanding.”
“I enrolled for the EcoSciGen climate communications workshop, which covered topics such as climate science, health implications, sustainable practices, and communicating climate issues. I was motivated to join because I wanted to make a tangible difference in my community,” she said.
The training and knowledge Oyelayo got from the workshop inspired her to launch EcoHealthAfrica. “Through the trainings I got from EcoSciGen, I was inspired to launch EcoHealthAfrica, an initiative dedicated to raising awareness about climate-related issues that impact human health and protect the ecosystem,” Oyelayo said.
Since she started the initiative earlier this year, Oyelayo says through health education workshops in rural communities and public awareness campaigns on social media, EcoHealthAfrica has reached over 100 individuals on the impact of climate change on health.
With its approach to addressing the impact of climate change through education, EcoSciGen is equipping various demographics of Nigerians with the knowledge necessary for adaptation and resilience. According to the United Nations, education is the essential starting point in tackling climate change.
Despite its successes, EcoSciGen recognizes that its reach is still limited, given the prevalence of climate illiteracy across the country.
“There are still millions of people who need access to comprehensive climate education. This disparity drives our desire to scale up and expand our reach. That’s one of the gaps we’re trying to close,” Omodeni acknowledged.
Photo” EcoSciGen/Instagram
By far, EcoSciGen’s major obstacle to expanding its reach is designing a simplified curriculum for people in local communities. “We have the curriculum, but with just 18 trainers, we are struggling to provide education to the most remote communities—those that need it the most,” Omodeni said.
The institute is also advocating for the integration of climate literacy into national education programmes but its efforts have only recorded very little progress. However, the initiative is optimistic it can influence the right policies.
“We’ve received appraisals from the Ministry of Education concerning our school initiatives in Oyo State. We hope this can translate into influencing state educational policies to drive the inclusion of environmental and climate education across all syllabuses,” Omodeni said.
