Download The Big Read April 2009

Climate Change
in Malawi
www.oxfam.org.uk/education Copyright © Oxfam GB. You may reproduce this document for
educational purposes only. Based on ‘Winds of change’ in Malawi by Oxfam.
Malawi
Malawi is a small country in
South-East Africa.
Population is 15 Million
(UK population is 60 million)
Capital city is Lilongwe, shown below
Images taken from wikicommons
The majority of people (4 out of 5) live
in rural areas (countryside), with the
rest living in urban areas (towns and
cities).
Over half of the population can’t find
enough food to live properly. This
means that food security (not being
able to make sure you can get enough
food to eat) is a problem for many
people.
(map from the CIA word factbook)
Most people in rural areas are farmers
and grow food to consume themselves
(subsistence) and sell any extra.
They grow a variety of crops such as
maize, sorghum and vegetables, which
need rain.
Traditionally they have been
able to harvest different crops 2
or 3 times a year.
Maize is the most important
crop, and the economy and
farmers income depend on it.
Maize (which gives corn) is
planted when the rains come and
harvested in March and April.
It can take 3 months to mature.
Farmers keep enough to eat for
their families and sell the rest.
Some farmers grow crops to sell
for money (called cash crops),
such as cotton, coffee or
macadamia nuts.
In some areas there are large
plantations (farms with very large
fields of one crop) of crops to
export (sell abroad) of things like
tea and tobacco.
A boy plays in harvested
cotton.
A woman harvests tea.
What are the impacts of
climate change on the people
in Malawi ?
Look at each of the 4 worksheets
Using 2 coloured pens for each one underline:
• What is the change to the climate
• What is the impact of this change on farmers lives?
The Impact on Cotton
Read the story
Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind?
The Impact on Maize and
Coffee
Read the story
Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind?
The Impact on Houses
Read the story
Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind?
The Impact on Electricity
and Soil
Read the story
Is this a result of changes to temperature, rain or wind?
Summary
What did you find out?
Use the sheet to summarise the the changes to:
• Temperature
• Wind
• Rain
Was there a pattern? Or was it becoming more
unpredictable (harder to know what to expect)?
What did this mean for farmers?
Summary
You probably found something like this…
• Temperature
generally increasing
• Wind
changing direction /
more erratic
• Rain
sometimes less (drought)
sometimes more (flood)
more erratic
Which do you think is the most important change? Why?
Now…
USE what you have found out to decide
how you can simulate the changes to the
climate in Malawi with YOUR plants
What changes could you make to how you
grow your plants?
How could you measure the effect of the
changes on your plants scientifically?