As we enter the new year, we are continuing to use our platform to share the voices of those on the frontline of climate change. This month, we hear from Gaudance; a 50 year old farmer who lives in rural Rwanda and has seen an array of impacts caused by increasingly severe changes to the climate.
Have you seen any effects of climate change over your lifetime? If yes, what are these effects?
Yes, I have seen effects of climate change over my lifetime but most in the last two to three decades. There has been an increase in temperature, and we are getting much more sun than it used to be. We are also having variation in precipitation, sometimes we get too much rain and other times less.
How has climate change affected your livelihood?
When we get too much sun, it makes our crops dry and it affects the production. This results into famine that keeps repeating over and over. The floods destroy our soils, houses and sometimes take people’s lives.
What are your attitudes towards climate change?
This a serious issue that needs our collective action because these conditions are always undermining the efforts of farmers and we suffer the most.
Have you taken any action to adapt to changes in the climate? If yes, what action have you taken?
Yes, we have taken a few actions to adapt to climate change like adopting irrigation to be able to adapt to the extended drought. We are also planting trees to help our environment. We are also adopting cleaning cooking by adopting cookstoves that don’t use much wood.
What are your concerns for future generations?
My concern is that climate change conditions are worse year after year and show no sign of slowing down and this doesn’t give hope for our future generation.