内容摘要：Associated Press reporters Samuel Getachew in Tigray, Ethiopia, and Michael Atit in Wau, South Sudan, contributed to this report.

Associated Press reporters Samuel Getachew in Tigray, Ethiopia, and Michael Atit in Wau, South Sudan, contributed to this report.

Climate change is challenging agriculture in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. With long dry spells and extreme heat, water bodies are drying because the arid season is becoming longer than usual. The wet season, though it can dump excessive rain, is short.It’s fresh pain in a country where the World Food Program says 31 million people already face food insecurity. Efforts to recover from one climate shock are overlapped by the next, said WFP spokesperson Chi Lael.

The challenges faced by farmers in the north, who account for most of what Nigeria eats, are affecting food prices and availability in the booming coastal south that’s home to the megacity of Lagos.More than 80% of Nigeria’s farmers are smallholder farmers, who account for 90% of the country’s annual agricultural production. Some work their fields with little more than a piece of roughly carved wood and their bare hands.Farmers are facing low yields because the government has failed to develop infrastructure like dams to help mitigate the effects of climate change, said Daniel Obiora, national president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria.

There is little data available on the drying-up of smaller water bodies across the north. But farmers say the trend has been worsening.In Adamawa state, water scarcity caused by higher temperatures and changing rain patterns has affected over 1,250 hectares (3,088 acres) of farmland, disrupting food supply and livelihoods, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said last year.

Over-extraction of water and deforestation are other factors contributing to northern Nigeria’s drying rivers, according to Abdulsamad Isah, co-founder of local Extension Africa nonprofit that often works with farmers.

Elsewhere in Sokoto state, Nasiru Bello tilled his farm to cultivate onions without assurance of a meaningful harvest. With nearby rivers and wells drying up, he has resorted to pumping groundwater for the farm that provides the sole income for his family of 26. But the cost of pumping amid soaring gas prices has become unbearable.Standing on a bicycle wheel, Adama hesitated. Samba reached for him, setting him down on solid ground. There is a tiny scar on his forehead where broken skin has been stitched back together. Last year, Samba couldn’t explain his frequent falling, so she sought answers in Dakar. Rodriguez confirmed Adama had Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Gibriel’s genetic test results are pending. Children often lose the ability to run or climb stairs first, and later can’t walk or raise their arms. In adulthood, they develop heart and breathing problems.

Both boys are taking corticosteroids, which can slow disease progression for patients diagnosed early.“Without the medication, it would have been terrible. Once we started, after a few weeks we saw improvement,” Samba said. “Doctors are destined to investigate (the disease) and find a cure … I pray doctors will find a cure.”

A man helps Adiaratou Ba, right, lift her son Mamadou, 13, suffering from a rare genetic disease, onto the curb in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)A man helps Adiaratou Ba, right, lift her son Mamadou, 13, suffering from a rare genetic disease, onto the curb in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)