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Transcript
00:00 This practice-based course teaches farmers how to produce rice despite the shorter rainy
00:07 seasons caused by climate change.
00:11 The class takes place at SIDAP, a 50-acres training centre located in northern Togo.
00:18 Here students learn agroecological practices along with traditional methods for preserving
00:24 water and soil.
00:25 "The smallest amount of rainfall is controlled on site and is sufficient to adequately irrigate
00:31 the rice."
00:32 "During the last 40 years, SIDAP has trained over 10,000 farmers.
00:38 It is the only agricultural program in the country that integrates climate change in
00:43 its curriculum."
00:44 "SIDAP has incorporated agro-meteorology into its training program to play an important
00:51 part in guiding young people to understand the weather.
00:54 The first lesson is to be aware that there is a change."
01:00 Near the training centre stands an open-air lab spanning 24 acres, built by SIDAP's founders
01:08 Tieda and Seda Bawena.
01:11 In this eco-village, a system of 100 tanks collects rainwater, while small stone embankments
01:19 protect against erosion and guide water to spread into the dry soils.
01:25 "We have managed to replicate this small miracle that SIDAP in Baga had already achieved.
01:32 The same methods can make the land fertile, bring forth water and create forests everywhere."
01:38 "This is the difference between a soil that has accumulated humus and a soil that hasn't.
01:53 Locals can't believe that we can harvest cassava or yam in this area.
01:57 Who would have believed that citrus fruits could thrive here?"
02:03 The agricultural accomplishments of the Bawena couple attract communities from all the region.
02:10 Their villages are severely affected by climate change, facing both floods and long periods
02:17 of droughts after the short rainy seasons.

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