Climate crisis

16.10.23 | What means Agrobiodiversity? Warlier it is for the globale Food system increasingly important? And what is the effect it global warming? These and other questions are answered in the brochure «Agrobiodiversity on the plate» which was published on the occasion of World Food Day.

16.10.23 | Access to healthy and sustainable food is still far from being a given for all people. In an interview, Kavita Gandhi, head of the SWISSAID coordination office in India, explains why agrobiodiversity is particularly important in combating hunger in the face of climate change.

Heat, floods, silting: The consequences of the climate crisis are being felt particularly strongly on the African continent. This is driving millions of people into poverty and flight. How SWISSAID’s work is creating hope together with the local population.

Drought, hunger, terror: In Niger, 2.8 million people are acutely threatened by hunger. Pre-existing conflicts and climate change are to blame. In recent months, there has been hardly any rain. The drought is now compounded by sanctions as a result of the government crisis. Large parts of the population are cut off from the supply of essential goods. The people are left with nothing. SWISSAID is providing rapid assistance with an emergency plan consisting of food parcels and seeds.

SWISSAID supports the Climate Protection Act. Poor countries in the South are particularly exposed to the consequences of global warming: The increasingly frequent droughts and heavy rainfall there are making people’s already precarious living conditions more difficult. With a YES vote on June 18, Switzerland commits to achieving the net zero emissions target by 2050 and thus takes a step towards greater climate justice.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calls for immediate action. It underlines that climate risks and their impacts are occurring sooner and are greater than previously assumed. The 1.5 degree target can hardly be achieved if no effective measures and decisions are taken.

The Baiga tribe is a community living in central India. The loss of forest areas – their main resource for centuries – as well as the climate crisis, has made them very vulnerable. In recent years, learning agroecology has allowed them to develop new means of survival in harmony with nature and adapted to climate change.

02.09.2022 | January emergency aid in the south south of Niger is bearing fruit. The farmers in need in need have received food packages and have been able to plant fast-growing seeds for almost immediate consumption. Beyond the emergency, the project has allowed a conversion to more resistant and quality crops for fight against the climate change.

28.2.22 | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is releasing the second part of its climate report today. It takes stock of the situation and the prospects for climate change. SWISSAID is particularly attentive to this report since the health of the planet has a direct influence on the health of rural populations in the South.

21.2.22 | The emergency aid launched in December in the Dosso region of Niger is soon bearing its first fruit. Thanks to the rapid procurement of seeds, we have already been able to distribute 62 kilos of urgently needed plant seeds to the farmers. The first harvest is coming soon.

15.11.2021 | Farm-saved seeds are diverse and well adapted to local conditions – they also form the basis for healthy yet affordable nutrition. Therefore, it fulfils all the requirements for making local food systems more independent and resilient. Especially in the context of the ongoing pandemic and the global climate crisis, this sows hope.

12.11.2021 | Today, COP26 in Glasgow comes to an end. While we wait for the outcome of the negotiations, Ibrahim Hamadou, a staff member of SWISSAID Niger, gives his perspective. He reports from an African country that has been suffering the consequences of climate change for many years.

11.05.2021 | In the shadow of the Corona and climate debate, the most existential challenge of our time is often forgotten: the biodiversity crisis. On 25 May, SWISSAID discussed the silent death of biodiversity and its impact on the spread of diseases, agriculture and the central role played by women farmers.

Climate extremes, the loss of natural resources and pandemics are shaking up our food systems. What do practical solutions look like so that we can continue to nourish ourselves in the future? In the webinar on 9 March, SWISSAID discussed the urgently needed paradigm shift in our food systems.

The year 2020 was marked by uncertainty and concern – for Mariana Hortas as well. But despite the difficult circumstances, the Ecuadorian is optimistic about the future. Thanks to agroecology, she has reason for hope for herself and her family.

In Nicaragua alone, hurricanes “Iota” and “Eta” in November 2020 left 1.5 million people suffering their devastating effects. With an emergency aid project over the next six months, SWISSAID will be supporting families who were already living in extreme poverty before the disaster – and who are now struggling to survive.

Dried out or washed away: seeds have a hard time in Niger’s nutrient-poor soils. With climate change, it is therefore becoming increasingly important that seeds are resistant to extreme weather conditions. Local farmers have also recognised this. Their knowledge of the use of traditional seeds is a key element on the road to long-term food security.

The 17 SDGs, also known as Agenda 2030, commit the international community to making its contribution to a fairer and less poor world. SWISSAID is working actively and energetically to achieve some of these goals. -translated with DeepL

Nicaragua is one of the countries most affected by climate change. The people most vulnerable to climatic hazards are farming families, whose crops either dry up during droughts or drown in torrential rain. Under these conditions, greater resilience based on agroecological mehtods can mean the difference between ruin and survival.

In Nicaragua, farmers’ lives are rules by the climate catastrophe. There is nothing they can do about drought and floods. But they can tackle their effects with the help of agroecological cultivation methods and the right local seeds. The farmers first step is to more CO2 in the soil.

Farmers in Marathwada, India, are suffering from the drought – yet again. SWISSAID is supplying the poorest with water and food rations. For the moment, thanks to this and to our awareness-raising work with the authorities, hundreds of women can breathe a sigh of relief. But the climate crisis calls for long-term solutions.

The right materials to hand, the necessary knowledge in their heads: with a little support, smallholder families in the Ecuadorian Andes can find their own way out of destitution. Once organised in water committees, they can protect their valuable water reserves for the long term – and thus also arm themselves against climate change.