NAIROBI, Kenya \u2014\u00a0When farmers see rain clouds, they happily prepare their lands for planting. However, these days the clouds have become a source of worry to Charity Wanjiru 45, a smallholder farmer in Molo, 180 kilometers (112 miles) west of Kenya\u2019s capital, Nairobi.<\/p>\n
Not long ago, Wanjiru\u2019s one-acre plot produced 80 sacks of potatoes in three months, but that number has decreased to 60.<\/p>\n
She blames the changing weather patterns for the decline in the productivity of her farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo much rain experienced in her area lately rots the potatoes,\u201d she told Zenger News. \u201cWe are counting losses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope this year the harvest will be good. At least we have something to harvest compared to the farmers whose crops were invaded by locusts,\u201d she said. A\u00a0locusts invasion<\/a>\u00a0has hit Eastern Africa since late 2019.<\/p>\n The mother of four says at some point she thought of switching from potatoes to other cash crops.<\/p>\n \u201cYears back, we used to plant maize and beans, and we were clear on the planting seasons, but now it is not predictable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She entirely depends on her small farm to feed her family. The extra money she makes from the farm enables her to educate her children.<\/p>\n Many other farmers like her in her village and beyond are feeling the impact of the change in weather patterns in recent times.<\/p>\n \u201cAgriculture is vulnerable to climate change. Higher temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns reduce crop yields,\u201d Emmanuel Atamba, an agriculture and food consultant at the\u00a0Route to Food Initiative<\/a>\u00a0in Nairobi, told Zenger News.<\/p>\n Agriculture is Kenya\u2019s economic backbone. It\u00a0contributes<\/a>\u00a026 percent of Kenya\u2019s Gross Domestic Product and accounts for 65 percent of Kenya\u2019s export earnings, according to the\u00a0Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.<\/a><\/p>\n Other African countries which rely heavily on agriculture Liberia, Somalia, Guinea-Bissau, and the Central African Republic, according to a report titled \u201cAgriculture in Africa<\/a>\u201d by the\u00a0New Partnership for African Development.<\/a><\/p>\n The conversation on climate change evokes mixed reactions from different parts of the world.<\/p>\n On April 22 and 23, United States President Joseph R. Biden marked\u00a0Earth Day<\/a>\u00a0by hosting African leaders\u00a0on a virtual summit.<\/p>\n What caught the interest of African climate experts was the rich countries\u2019 commitments, which, if followed, could be a win for the continent.<\/p>\n Biden\u00a0promised<\/a>\u00a0to double the United States\u2019 public financial contribution to climate change in developing countries and triple funding for its adaptation by 2024. However, he did not give actual figures.<\/p>\n Other financial pledges were made by the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway, and nine private companies dubbed the\u00a0Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Coalition<\/a>.<\/p>\n The group aims to invest $1 billion in tropical and subtropical countries that reduce deforestation and forest degradation emissions.<\/p>\n African leaders who attended Biden\u2019s two-day\u00a0virtual summit<\/a>\u00a0included Kenya\u2019s President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, South Africa\u2019s Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, and Nigeria\u2019s Muhammadu Buhari.<\/p>\n For Africans, the commitments are an opportunity for developed nations to fund low carbon emission projects while African countries seek climate adaptation and mitigation opportunities.<\/p>\n Although Africa\u2019s carbon footprints are small, according to the United Nations Climate Change, African countries are the\u00a0most vulnerable and least prepared<\/a>\u00a0for extreme weather patterns like desertification and invasion of desert locusts.<\/p>\n Twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth Wathuti, an environmentalist and climate activist in Nairobi, told Zenger News that the Biden administration\u2019s commitments to fight global warming send a positive signal to the world on climate issues.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to see the United States take on climate matters,\u201d she said. \u201cThe world needs that right now. Countries should invest in low-carbon emission projects. We should reconsider our energy and transport sectors if we want to reduce global temperatures. The climate crisis is a global problem that every country should prioritize.\u201d<\/p>\n After his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2021, one of Biden\u2019s first actions was to\u00a0return<\/a>\u00a0to the 2015\u00a0Paris Climate Agreement<\/a>\u00a0after his predecessor Donald J. Trump withdrew from the accord in June 2017.<\/p>\n Inspired by the late Kenyan conservationist and Nobel Prize winner\u00a0Wangari Maathai<\/a>, Wathuti applauded African leaders for speaking in one voice during the summit and holding rich countries accountable.<\/p>\n She said African countries tried to push the developed nations to honor the polluter-pays-principle, which states that countries with high pollution levels should bear the costs of managing climate change.<\/p>\n \u201cAfrican negotiators stepped up this time. They urged rich countries to deliver their promises. This is the road map we need for United Nations Climate Change Conference. Africa bears the brunt of climate change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The 26th edition of the Parties to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change\u00a0Conference<\/a>\u00a0(COP26) will occur in November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland.<\/p>\n