It's an amazing sight. Several thousand people of all ages have gathered on a hilltop in Oromia, central Ethiopia, many having walked miles to get here. This is Oromia's first climate hearing. The hearings aim to give ordinary people the chance to tell how their lives are being affected by climate change.

With the morning sun quickly heating up, children climb trees to get a better view of women like Leake Borena, one of the speakers in the middle of the huge crowd.

Leake lives with her husband and children in the nearby village of Tedeccha. They've been farming since they were teenagers, just like their parents and grandparents before them. For decades the same small plot of land has provided them with enough food to eat, and plenty left over to sell in the market. Not anymore.

"There is not enough rain," she says. "We used to get regular rainfall for six months of the year. This year we only got two and a half. We've had to reduce what we grow. No more peppers or vegetables – now it's just the basics like corn and sorghum."

Even for these staple crops, they harvest only a quarter of the amount they used to. "It's nowhere near enough," she says.

Around three quarters of adults in Oromia rely on farming to make a living. At the hearing hundreds of men and women have similar stories of a gradually changing climate and unpredictable rainy seasons.

After seeing so many of their crops die, Leake's family has tried to adapt to the changes in the weather by planting varieties of seeds that need much less water. But this has not always been a success – the Grass Peas that she now grows instead of normal peas help to feed the children, but can potentially damage bones or even cause paralysis if they eat too many of them. "It's a big worry for me," she says. "But the alternative is for us to go hungry."

At the hearing there are different opinions on what has caused the change in rainfall. Leake blames deforestation – "There used to be big forests here but people cut them down to get charcoal to sell in the markets." Others say Oromia is part of the global picture and that farmers here are paying the price for the industrialised world's carbon emissions. Everyone agrees that the problem is getting worse and threatening their future.

As government officials sit and listen to the speakers, what does Leake hope the hearing will achieve? "Water is the most important thing. Farmers here can thrive if we have support. We don't want to rely on aid, but we need governments to help us have access to water."

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Country climate reference: The Rain Doesn’t Come On Time Anymore, April 2010. Regassa, Senait, Givey, Christina, Castillo, Gina E. McGrath, John & Pfeifer, Kimberly

Leake and her family at home Photo: Aubrey Wade/Oxfam

Leake Borana preparing for the hearing on climate change Photo: Aubrey Wade/Oxfam

Ethiopia climate hearing Photo: Aubrey Wade/Oxfam

Leake Borana walking to the hearing on climate change Photo: Aubrey Wade/Oxfam

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