LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE GFCS ON DISSEMINATING CIS

LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE GFCS ON DISSEMINATING CIS TO SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN MALAWI AND TANZANIA Jeanne Coulibaly ICRAF/CGIAR "The Last Mile" workshop organized by UNDP and CIRDA, 15 -17 March 2016, Livingstone, Zambia

GFCS : Global Framework for Climate Services World Meteorological Organization World Food Programme (WMO) (WFP) World Health Organization (WHO) Center for International Climate and Environmental Research Nutrition CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture, Climate Change and Food Security Food security(CCAFS) Red Cross Health Disaster risk reduction Most vulnerable populations National Hydro. Meteorological Services (NHMS) (CICERO) Department of Disaster Management and Adminsitration Ministry of Agriculture Increase the resilience of people most vulnerable to the impacts of weather and climate-related events

Advantages and disadvantages of forming multi-stakeholder partnership Advantages: Holistic approach to the production and delivery of climate information Enhance weak capacities of some national partners Improved management of risk and better provision of climate services Address the numerous of challenges that communities are confronted with: food security, health, sanitation • Greater impact and sustainability in the outcomes and higher chances of achieving long term goal v • • v Challenges • Strong communication to make sure activities are well integrated and connected • Approaches to implement the activities and reach the goal may diverge • Success of one activity may be linked to the success of other activities

Lessons learned on improving the dissemination of climate information • Needs assessment to establish what farmers want and need • Presents some results of the needs assessment

Types of information farmers rely to make their farm decisions Fertilizer application Longido Weeding time Planting time Ploughing time Land allocation Crop to plant Land preparation Harvest time Fertilizer application Weeding time Kiteto Types of agricultural information Harvest time Planting time Ploughing time Land allocation Crop to plant Land preparation 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Percent of households Indigenous knowledge/observation Personal experience Traditional calendar Experience from other farmers Expert advice Climate/weather forecast Results of the baseline survey in Tanzania (Coulibaly et al. , 2015) 120%

Current climate information received by farmers

Most preferred types of information 100% 90% percentage of households 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Male Female Kiteto Male Female Longido Forecast of expected rainfall over the season Forecast of the start of the rains Number of days of rainfall Probability of extreme events Forecast on end of rainy season

Lead time: Timely 100% 90% Percentage of households 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Male Female Male Kiteto A the beginning of the season A month beforecasting event Female Longido A week beforecasting event As soon as forecasters know

Format 100% 90% Village elder percentage of households 80% Village communicator 70% Advertisment 60% Newspaper Word of mouth 50% Visit from NGO 40% Extension agents visits 30% Tv programme Radio message 20% Voice message in cellphone 10% Sms in cellphone 0% Male Female Kiteto Male Female Longido

Ways to improve delivery of climate information 100% Training of villagers on climate information percentage of households 90% 80% Use of local languages 70% 60% Extension agents specialized in weather information 50% 40% Installation of local weather stations in villages 30% Establishment of reliable communication network 20% 10% 0% Brochures/Posters Kiteto Longido

Lessons learned on improving the dissemination of climate information • Carry out a needs assessment • Co-production of Climate information • Mixed delivery method including radio, mobile, extension workers and village leaders was recognized • Timeliness in climate information • Build trust and greater understanding of scientific climate forecasts • Climate forecast overlay with agricultural extension advice • Location specific climate forecasts • Use of local languages • Traditional indicators should be valued and integrated to the conventional scientific climate information

Challenges and potential ways to respond to Farmers’ needs v. Challenges: • Human resource capacity still low • Lack of funds and equipment • Financial resources needed • Private sector representation limited v. Coordinated efforts from important stakeholders: CGIAR, NGOs, Ministry of Agriculture, National Meteorological Services, private sector (radio, cell phone operators, etc), academic institutions

Coordinated efforts from Stakeholders Nat Hydro. Met Services Radio and mobile based interventions Train radio presenters in understanding the concept of climate change and CIS Provide them with the right information content(forecast and adaptation options) Coordinated efforts from important stakeholders to support local partners ICT related services Training and capacity building Modeling tools and techniques to downscale climate information Exchange of data, improvement in the availability of high quality , high resolution , satellite data Extension workers /lead farmers Training in communicating climate information, agronomic information on frequent basis

THANKS