This is a presentation by Jasper Mwesigwa from ICPAC at the Climate and Agriculture Network for Africa training.

1. Presented at the:
Climate and Agriculture Network for Africa Partners
(CANA) Training Workshop
11 May 2015; ILRI, Nairobi
Jasper Batureine Mwesigwa
AGROMETEOROLOGIST; ICPAC
Increasing Farmer’s Access to Tailored
Climate Services for Improved Food Security
and Better Livelihoods
Lessons from ICPAC’s Pilot Project

2. Agriculture Sector in our Region
• Mainly rain-fed, with minimal irrigation;
• Dominantly managed by women (over 2/3 of entire
female labour in Africa force are in Agriculture sector);
• Chronic Food Insecurity, Rampant Famine, Hunger
and Starvation; Poverty, Conflicts, in many parts;
• Drought and other Climate-related Disasters are
commonest; bound to be severer & more frequent
due to Climate Change (CC), according to IPCC;
• CC already causing huge economic losses; (Ref. the
2008-2011 drought in Kenya);
• The GHA region largely relies on relief food; this is not
sustainable!

3. Opportunities also Exist
• Huge unutilized productive/arable land (60%);
• Highly productive, abundant labour, technical experts;
• Favourable Weather (& Increasing Reliability of
forecasts from Met Agencies: ICPAC , NMHSs);
• More Modern Agricultural Technologies available;
• IT and other Communication Technology (mobile
phone, Radio, Internet, Social Media, etc);
• Commitment by Governments (e.g. PEAP in Ug);
• Support from Development Partners (e.g. IDDRSI);
• Strong desire for tailored climate services by farming
households;

4. But at Community Level
• No deliberate (formal) weather/climate services to
influence Agric planning and decision making
• Employ Traditional (IK) seasonal climate prediction;
• IK no longer reliable because seasons are no longer
predictable (due to Climate Change: seasonal shifts);
• As a result, crop production is no longer predictable;
• Pastures and water are no longer predictable;
• Food security is no longer predictable ;
• Communities’ livelihoods is not predictable;
• No adequate Climate Change Adaptation knowledge;

5. R² = 0.0386
0.0
200.0
400.0
600.0
800.0
1000.0
1200.0
1400.0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253
ANNTO
MAM
JJAS
OND
Linear (ANNTO)
Linear (MAM)
Linear (MAM)
Linear (JJAS)
Linear (OND)
MAKINDU STATION: 1960 - 2012 RAINFALL (ANNUAL TOTAL, MAM, JJAS & OND)
TREND SHOWS REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS ACROSS ALL SEASONS
Rainfall Amounts Reducing by Approx 150mm every 50 years

6. The Information that Farmers Need for better Decision
Making is Not Rocket Science!:
• Info needs to make seasonal strategic decisions
– Appropriately exploit all opportunities of the season
– Avoid bad weather or weather-induced conditions
– Mitigate any predictable negative weather impacts
• Info needs to make quick intra-seasonal decisions
– Protect the growing crop from un-expected hazards
– Improve on management aspects to maximise use of
good weather (fertilizer application, crop protection, )
– Avoid extra costs if losses are bound to happen
• Plan for (possible) alternatives
– Humanitarian assistance/trade/Indigenous Knowledge

7. What Information is Needed?:
• For Seasonal Strategic Planning
– Onsets & Cessation Dates
– Rain fall amounts and distribution (in time & space)
– Duration/length of growing period (days)
– Anticipated hazards (floods, outbreaks of pests and diseases)
• As the Season Progresses
– Expected number of rainy days/duration of wetness
– Intensities and distribution
– Prevailing Temperatures
• Between Cropping Seasons
– Length of dry spells
– Is the moisture adequate for any alternative farming activity

8. Through Support from the Rockefeller Foundation
ICPAC in close collaboration with KMS and other partners:
– Provided community-specific weather forecasts &
related agro-advisories to 4 communities in Kenya
– Using various means of communication including SMSs
– The Advisory comprised of a comprehensive
information package (3Ws+H: Choice of crops/varieties,
timing of farm operations like planting, fertilizer
application, erosion control & crop protection, etc)
based on the anticipated seasonal characteristics
– Advisories generated at community level with farmers,
weather & Agric experts & other relevant stakeholders.
– Also guided farmers on alternative Livelihoods options

9. Scheme: Development of Community-Specific Climate Information and Related Advisories
Onset: Rains will be enhanced from 3rd to 4th week of Mar 2014
Cessation: Rainfall will continue into 1st to 2nd week of May 2014
Length of season: At least 7 weeks
Expected Performance: The distribution, both in time and space, is expected to be
poor characterized by episodic events with long dry spells.
Onset
Expected Cessation
GHACOF
by ICPAC
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
0
50
100
150
200
250
1-Mar
8-Mar
15-Mar
22-Mar
29-Mar
5-Apr
12-Apr
19-Apr
26-Apr
3-May
10-May
17-May
24-May
31-May
Rainfall(mm)
Rainfall(mm)
Date
MakinduMAM 2014 "Long Rains" Analogue (2002 & 1997)
Yr1997
Yr2002
cum_1997
cum_AVG
Cum_Yr2002

10. How farmers used the Information Package
• Farmers used information to decide on:
– What, When, Where and How to Plant:
– Cereals, Pulses, Root tubers, Vegetables, Fruits, Agro-forestry
trees, Plantation crops, Cash crops, Food crops, etc
– How to manage the crops/soils/pastures/water/as well as
livestock as seasons progressed
– What alternative livelihoods investments to consider:
• Irrigation farming
• Greenhouse farming
• Poultry (local chicken hatchery)
• Aquaculture, Apiculture
• Pasture seed and hay production
– Value addition
– Water harvesting and proper storage for future use

11. SAFARICOM
ICPAC
SMS
SERVER
RERU
OLOITOKITOK
NGANYI
NYAHERA
The Server is used to simultaneously and rapidly broadcast information through an SMS to
selected registered users. It will be customized to allow receiving feedback from the users.

12. Project area Men Women Total
Reru 9 31 40
Nganyi 24 21 45
Nyahera 30 18 48
Oloitokitok 33 57 90
Total 96 (43%) 127 (57%) 223
Participation of Women Farmers
Nyahera is a Peri-urban community near
Kisumu City; Men dominate Commercial
Agriculture

13. Key Project Outcomes
• Yield increment of 3-4 times (Sorghum & Maize)
• Higher multiplier effect (over 1:120 – for Sorghum)
• More awareness - farmers now plan & make better
decisions based on the seasonal climate outlook
• Increased food production & storage – food remains
available till the next harvest
• Pasture & water resources better managed – livestock
condition score remains high longer than ever
• Osiram Maasai Women have re-stocked their herds
• Social benefits – less & less household/food related
husband-wife conflicts

14. Revelations from Women Participants of the FGDs during MTE:
1. “Ever since I got married in this area (Reru Community) 35 years ago, this is the first
time in one season that we are harvesting this huge amount of food (maize and
sorghum). I am sure other women will be very interested to learn how I did this”.
2. “Where we previously got one bag of sorghum, now we get up to five from the same
acreage. Many of us have sorghum from the last harvest up to this time (May), a time that
we would already be buying it to survive. So we are not hungry and this has given us
courage to work harder”.
2. “There is love at home because we have sufficient food. Our men used to migrate to
Kisumu and other towns whenever there was famine, leaving us to suffer with the children.
They are now settled at home, thanks to the project; because we have food and now they
even support us in the farms”.
Community Baselines
Omena in his Uncle’s Farm

15. Omena in his own Farm

16. Farms belonging to Climate Information user (Right)
and Traditional Farmer (Left) in Nyahera, OND 2012

17. Another Traditional Farmer (Right) in Nyahera,
OND 2012

18. GOOD SORGUM HARVESTS:
YIELDED OVER 3-4 TIMES THEIR BASELINES;
MULTIPLIER FACTOR 1:120

19. The Project also Supported Pasture Reseeding Programs in
Oloitokitok, Maasai Land, where Pasture Lands had been Severely
Degraded due to Prolonged Droughts and Overgrazing
Osiram Maasai Women With Grass Seeds

20. Key Messages from ICPAC’s Pilot Project
• Agriculture in GHA must undergo significant
transformation:
– in order to meet the challenges of food insecurity and impacts
of climate change
• Necessitates a comprehensive shift from traditional
Agriculture to Climate Smart Agriculture
– (Sustainably Increasing Productivity, Enhancing Adaptation &
Resilience, Contributing to Mitigation);
• Urgent need for extensive promotion of community-based
climate services
– For appropriate Agric planning, decision making & Mgt
• Need for extensive capacity building at all levels
– (right from Weather prediction, through interpreters and
communicators to final users).

21. Conclusion
• Effective climate-smart practices already exist here in
GHA and could significantly improve the productivity
of our current agricultural systems;
• Considerable investment in capacity building is
required to enable farmers (esp. Women farmers)
successfully go through the needed transformation;
• As we continue to face CC, we need to explore
practical & equitable climate-proof alternative
livelihoods enterprises that guarantee resilience;

22. Thank You
www.icpac.net
www.igad.int
director@icpac.net