Post by Hyacinth Emem Otong (@Crowd)

I remember one presidential candidate saying in 2022: "if the West refuses to give us money, we will not support THEIR climate change"
😢.
Now, my question is: why is this pear i had a lot to enjoy last year, not as available now, same time this year?

🤷🏾‍♂️Trees that used to fruit reliably suddenly dropping fewer pears, flowering late, or dropping fruit prematurely.
What you’re seeing with the pears is one of the most direct ways climate change hits farm produce and brings about Food Insecurity.

Here’s how climate change messes with farm produce, using what i noticed (pears) as the anchor:

1. DISRUPTED FLOWERING AND FRUITING CYCLES
Fruit trees like pear need a certain amount of “chill hours” (cold weather during harmattan), to break dormancy and flower properly in the rainy season. Therefore, warmer Dry Season and erratic temperature swings mean that trees don’t get enough chill, so fewer flowers open. These early warm spells trigger early flowering, then a late cold snap kills the blossoms.
Do you know that in long droughts, trees drop flowers and premature fruits in order to survive; averting the greater tragedy? That’s why you might get a “they didn’t sprout as much” this year.

The menace of climate change goes beyond quantity valuation, but extends to lower nutritional quality and size. Therefore, even when fruit grows, heat stress and water stress reduces sugar content, size, and shelf life. The pears might be there, but smaller and less sweet than before.

Climate Change doesn’t just make it “hotter”. It makes the weather more erratic. One year it's fine, the next year the timing is off and the whole crop suffers; farmers remain frustrated with the inability to predict and keep up with the trends.

BAT should learn that we are OK

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