adminParticipants at the workshop agreed that indigenous knowledge should be used as an essential tool to come up with solutions to the effects of climate change.
The symposium noted that communities had their own ways of describing weather and forecasting weather conditions although the knowledge had not been documented.
The months of the year were named in Shona after weather conditions and depict what will be happening during the month.
For instance, April is called Kubvumbi because of the showers that would be experienced during that month.
Presenting at the symposium, Bikita weather expert Mr Kudzai Nhidza said farmers in his area had various indicators of good and bad rainfall seasons as early as May.
Another participant, Mr Marinos Chambwera, said some farmers ignored science and relied on indigenous knowledge and sometimes they end up taking wrong decisions.
He said in some cases farmers irrigate after the Meteorological Services Department would have issued out a forecast of heavy rains within that particular area.
Weather expert Mrs Juliet Gwenzi said weather and climate information should be packaged in simple language so that the information becomes useful to the intended target group. “Telling farmers the weather will be around 40 degrees Celsius will not help them,” she said.
Online Reporter