Is Chad suffering the irreversible effects of climate change? For more than three successive years, floodings have been a recurring phenomenon in the country. 2024 holds the record. According to data from OCHA, the agency coordinating humanitarian action in Chad, the situation on the ground has changed very rapidly. In three months (July, August and September), the number of people affected rose from 960,000 to more than 1,495,000 (more than 266,000 households).
All 23 of the country’s administrative provinces are affected by the flood crisis. The damage figures are worrying. The government and its partners have recorded more than 164,000 homes destroyed, 259,000 hectares of fields destroyed and 66,700 animals washed away.
To better coordinate and manage the consequences of this crisis, the Government has set up a National Flood Management Committee. The work done by this Committee and Chad’s partners has enabled the 23 provinces to be classified into three categories, of which more than half (12) are in priority 1. These are Tandjilé, Mayo Kebbi East, Logone Oriental, Lac, Guéra, Salamat, Ennedi West, Batha, Borkou, Mandoul, Ennedi East and Tibesti. These are provinces where the situation requires urgent action. Three of the four CROPS4HD intervention provinces (Guéra, Logone Oriental and Mandoul) are in this category.
A view of the camps for flood victims in Guéra and Mandoul
The subsequent destruction of fields, homes and livestock, the exposure of households to bad weather, the resurgence of disease, etc. undermine efforts to support small-scale farmers in their drive for resilience and improved living conditions. CROP4HD can help farmers cope with this type of situation: extending emergency aid, for example by strengthening the storage capacities of seed banks, networking them to pool efforts to reconstitute seeds destroyed by flooding, sharing production knowledge based in particular on the use of varieties more resilient to heavy rainfall, and organizing farmers’ seed fairs for seed acquisition and exchange, are just some of the measures to be put in place.
A view of flooded sorghum fields and animal survivors