Eritrea's farmers harvest early as climate change shifts crop patterns

Climate change has a disproportionate impact on communities which depend on the natural environment for their day-to-day needs. In Eritrea, it's estimated about 80% of the population are subsistence farmers, mainly growing sorghum, maize and teff. Such subsistence farmers are especially vulnerable to shifting weather patterns that can devastate food production and livelihoods.

During the past few years, Eritrea, like the rest of the Horn of Africa, has experienced fluctuating weather patterns exacerbated by the ocean warming trend, El Niño. Rains fell unexpectedly in Eritrea in October last year resulting in the government advising farmers to reap early.

"Had they not reacted, or reacted based on the traditional harvest, they would probably lose their harvest," says Peter Smerdon with the World Food Programme. While El Niño is a complex and naturally occurring event, scientific research suggests that global warming could be making this cyclical event occur more frequently and intensely.

Most of the world’s scientific communities agree that long-term significant changes in the earth’s climate system have occurred and are occurring more rapidly than in the past. Continued emissions into the earth’s atmosphere are projected to cause further warming, impacting Africa in the form of increased temperatures and greater seasonal rainfall variability with more frequent extremes.

"People in wealthier countries should be worried about the effects of climate change in the Horn of Africa," says Challiss McDonough from the World Food Programme "Climate change is one of the main drivers of global hunger, second only to conflict, so, for donor countries, investing in climate and disaster risk reduction makes economic sense."

Pictured on the local Eritrean 5-Nakfa banknote, the sycamore tree has significant symbolism in Eritrea. Elders used to gather under these huge, hundred-year-old trees to discuss important community issues and laws. Many trees were cut down during colonization and war. Those that remain now have to contend with the effects of climate change.

"One impact of climate change in a coastal region is rising sea levels that impact lives along the coast and increases the likelihood of flooding or flood-related disaster such as high tides that could wash out a crop," Smerdon says. "Also, salt-water intrusion due to climate change can increase erosion and increase salinity of soils and thereby damage soil content and fertility of land."

Eritrea’s stunning coastline includes coral reefs, offering a potential boon for tourism – if they survive in their present state. "Until a few years ago, this piece of sea was full of corals, but then last year they all died,” an Eritrean diver tells DW. "The temperature of the sea was too high." At the same time, local fisherman rely on the ocean's resources to trade in fish and shells.

The weather pattern changes in Eritrea are evident elsewhere. "While working in Central America, East Africa, and the Middle East, I’ve always talked to elder people, especially those in agriculture, and the message from them is consistent," says Sam Wood with Save the Children in Ethiopia. "Weather patterns are becoming less predictable and when rain comes, it is too much or too little.”