MAINSTREAMING CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IN AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
more resilient to change. In order to identify potential risks and adaptive
strategies, we need context specific analysis that identifies the causes of
peoples‟ vulnerability.
In addition farmers need access to reliable information about the weather and
how the climate is changing and what they can do to adapt to both current
variability and predicted long-term changes. A considerable volume of
meteorological data exists in Zimbabwe, much of which covers a period of more
than 50 years. Rainfall and temperature records for many localities exist, but
remain largely unavailable to farmers. The analysis of meteorological records
from a small number of sites has already been shown to provide useful
information which when combined with weather forecasts can assist farmers in
making informed decisions regarding crop production.
SECTION 3.0
WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE AND CLIMATE VARIABILITY?
Note to the facilitator: This is quite a long presentation with a lot of detail. It
normally takes about 50 minutes. If you are running short of time or think that
there is too much detail then one can leave out slides 10, 11, 12, 16 and 19
without missing the main points of the session.
The complete slideshow can be found in Appendix 1
SLIDE 1 – Title
We have all heard a lot about climate change and its effects. But what is it and what is it
caused by? This session aims to provide us with a scientific explanation of what climate
change and variability are. It is an important starting point for this course.
In this session we will cover the following:
A Training Manual on Use of Climate Information and Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment for
Agricultural Extension Staff in Zimbabwe
Page 9