Active Discussion at Climate Change Adaptation Workshop

On March 3, we organized a workshop in Lilongwe, directed at policy makers who have an impact on governmental policy in Malawi. The aim was to share our research findings from the past 15 years, and present seven key policy recommendations.

Twenty-five representatives from government, the FAO, UNDP, World Bank and academia attended. There were several presentations, including a review of our findings on smallholder farmers’ perceptions of climate change, farmer experiments for climate change adaptation, and our recommendations. Four participating farmers also spoke: Esther Maona and Tinkhani Gondwe, from Ekwendeni, and Samuel Mtika and Miriam Nkhoma, from Kasungu District. They each described their own methods of adaptation. Miriam Nkhoma especially mentioned how pleased she was to find experiments led by farmers happening in her community. The addition of the farmer speakers greatly impressed those attending, and much of the questions and debating after lead from what they had to say.

Active discussion ensued! We are encouraged by the response.

The workshop appeared in an article in The Nation Malawi, link below:

http://mwnation.com/scientist-urges-malawi-adopt-climate-change-strategies/

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