Can climate services serve African farmers’ needs, at scale? Evidence, good practice, and remaining gaps

Thu, November 29, 2018, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM EST

Access to relevant climate services for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa has increased substantially over the years, yet uptake and integration in decision making remains highly variable. Many crop farmers, but fewer livestock farmers and pastoralists, with access to climate services act on the information. While estimates of the economic benefits of agricultural climate services are generally positive, uncertainty remains due largely to methodological challenges and evidence gaps between available services and what we know about farmers’ needs.

As climate service practice matures, achieving scale will require overcoming some persistent weaknesses in their design and implementation, and capturing and communicating the benefits of improved climate services for reducing agricultural risk.

At the November Adaptation Community Meeting, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) will present on the state of evidence about the uptake, use and impact of climate services for farming in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on lessons learned from the USAID-supported Climate Information Services Research Initiative (CISRI) project, with illustrations from the Rwanda Climate Services for Agriculture project, as well as other USAID-supported agricultural climate services activities in Africa. The presentation will examine how growing evidence provides insights about good practice for agricultural climate services.