00:05In the rice fields of Tanzania's coastal district of Bagamoyo, harvest season is underway.
00:11In a normal year, farmers would cut the mature crop and dry it under clear skies.
00:17This year, rains come early.
00:20Continuous downpours have raised humidity in the fields and sharply reduced the window
00:25for both machine and hand harvesting.
00:28Farmers must harvest early to avoid losses from moisture causing insect infestation or crop diseases.
00:34I just have one acre. The government told us heavy rains are coming because of El Nino.
00:40This is what we are afraid of.
00:43Bagamoyo farmers usually plant two rice crops a year, one in March and another in October.
00:50This year, they have decided to cancel the second season and the challenges go beyond rainfall.
00:55Rising sea levels and reduced river flow are allowing salt water to push inland, contaminating
01:03irrigation sources only nine kilometers from the Indian Ocean.
01:07The result, farmers say, can cut yields by half or more.
01:12We are very close to the ocean, so during high tide, if the salty ocean water affects our river water
01:20sources,
01:21our crops are affected heavily and the yield is very low.
01:24The salt water makes the sea.
01:28Tanzania's Meteorological Authority has been issuing frequent weather alerts in recent days.
01:34This year, strong El Nino is occurring simultaneously with another weather phenomenon, a positive Indian Ocean Dipole.
01:42We see that November is a very critical month because we have a peak of El Nino and we also
01:49have a peak in Indian Ocean Dipole.
01:52This combination is sometimes devastating in terms of enhancing rainfall activities over the entire East African domain.
02:02Rice is Tanzania's second most important staple crop after maize, with the country producing about 3 million metric tons of
02:11it annually,
02:12according to the Coalition for Africa Rice Development.
02:15And with Tanzania serving as a bread basket for the East African community, the effects of El Nino this year
02:22threatened to disrupt both local food security and regional supply lines.
