Progress and gaps
Getting climate
information to farmers:
Dr Robert Zougmoré
Africa Program Leader
CCAFS webinar on Climate Change and Agricultural
Development, 1 February 2017, Portugal

Outline
1. Climate variability and extremes:
impacts on agriculture
2. Approaches and practices of Climate
information services
3. Progress on CIS dissemination for
farmers decision making
CIS use and impact in Ghana, Burkina Faso
and Senegal
4. Current gaps

• Temperature rise of ≈0.6-0.7 °C since late 70's
• Largely higher than the global increase
• Sea level rise of 18 cm during the 20th century
I
For the last 100 years: Unequivocal temperature rise
Global terres émergéesGlobal
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
aliedetempérature(°C)
aliedetempérature(°C)
aliedetempérature(°C)
Global
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
Anomaliedetempératur
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
Anomaliedetempérature(°C)
After Benoit SARR, Aghrymet
Climate variability & change : facts!

To 2090, taking 18
climate models
Four degree rise
Thornton et al. (2010) Proc. National Academy Science
>20% loss
5-20% loss
No change
5-20% gain
>20% gain
Length of growing
period (%)
Length of growing season
is likely to decline..

Responses to variability and change
DecadesDays
Responses
Shortterm
management
Longterm
Adaptation
Tactical
decisions
Seasonal
planning
Strategic
planning
Land preparation,
planting, irrigation,
fertilisation
Land allocation,
Crop livestock
mixes, varieties
Enterprise and
livelihood shifts

How climate information services
are disseminated to farmers
North Ghana
Climate services
delivered through
mobile phones
(ESOKO)
Climate services
delivered through
PICSA (Participatory
Integrated Climate
Services for
Agriculture)
Senegal
CCAFS scientists
collaborated with the
Meteorological
Agency to develop
downscaled CIS and
to communicate them
to farmers through
radios programs and
mobile phones
North
Burkina
CIS
communicated to
farmers through
rural radio
programs and
training
workshops
7000 farmers 1.2 million farmers 7 million farmers

Seasonal forecast
 crop variety
 varieties
Onset forecast
 farm preparation
 optimum planting
Nowcasting
 flooding saving life (thunder)
Daily forecast
 use of fertilizer / pesticide
Ten-day forecast
 weeding, field work
Updating seasonal forecast
 second cropping
Ten-day forecast
 optimum harvesting
period
 rain during dry season
Before During cropping season Maturity/end season
CCAFS working with country partners to develop
downscaled seasonal and weather forecasts

65
86
64
71
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
What to plant When to plant When to begin
land preparation
When to apply
fertilizer
%farmers
N = 462
In Ghana, access and use of CIS influences farmers’
decision-making

91 89
78
94
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Reduced crop
failure
Increased crop
yield
Improved
input use
efficiency
Improved
overall
productivity
%farmers
In Ghana, access and use of CIS may improve farm productivity and
household food availability for poor and marginal farmers
N = 462

Climate-informed farmers change their
farming practices
56
56
51
40
39
36
35
32
30
21
19
13
12
10
4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Defining the size of cropping area
Date of hoeing
Selecting variety
Date of weeding
Selecting cropping site
Selecting crop
Date of plowing
Date of sowing
Date of application of NPK
Date of harvesting
Date of pests control
Date of land preparation
Date application of urea
Date of application of organic manure
Date of threshing
Percentage
Changes in farm practices in response to climate forecasts (%)

Effect of climate information on cowpea
yield-CSV BF
847
685
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Exposed Not exposed
Yield(kg/ha)
N=49 N=27

Effect of climate information on cowpea
crop revenue – CSV BF
43706
63128
56170
33797
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
70000
Exposed Not exposed Exposed Not exposed
Input Gross margin
FCFA/ha

WTP in F CFA for CI in the CSVs -
Burkina Faso
Farmers are willing to pay for Climate
information in CSV - Burkina Faso

Climate
information
Seasonal forecast Weather forecast Nowcasting
Local working Group
(Issue EWS)
Farmers
Agriculture
Livestock
Local
authority
Extensions
services Forestry
Rural
radio
Seed
growers
Rural radio Text messaging Social gatherings Bulletin
Stakeholders:
expertsanddecisionmakers
Community
Pest Disease
Control
Red Cross
Climate information up-scaled across Senegal

Impact of climate information
services in Senegal
• Through 82 rural radios,
mobile phone SMS,
seasonal climate forecasts
disseminated at national
level to potentially reaching
7,4 millions rural people
• Climate information is now
considered as an agricultural
input in Senegal

Current gaps
• Lack of complete climate data base in countries
To generate village-level tailored CIS
To cover other sub-sectors (Livestock, Fisheries)
• Public-private business models for CIS dissemination
To enable scalable, sustainable climate service dissemination to
farmers
To take on board specific needs and co-produce differing needs
of men, women and the youth
• Weak capacity of CIS stakeholders:
Capacity of met agencies to technically develop salient CIS
Capacity of public and private sector actors to organise
sustainable and large-scale dissemination schemes and
mechanisms of CIS
Capacity of CIS users to understand and make the best and
beneficial use of CIS for risk management