Coproducing Weather Forecast Information with and for Smallholder Farmers in Ghana: Evaluation and Design Principles

Gbangou, Talardia; Sarku, Rebecca; Slobbe, Erik van; Ludwig, Fulco; Kranjac-Berisavljevic, Gordana; Paparrizos, Spyridon

doi:10.3390/atmos11090902

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The development of hydroclimatic information services has the potential to support the planning and management of agricultural activities (Gbangou et al, 2020a, Naab et al, 2019, Nyadzi et al, 2018, Rahaman et al, 2020, Kundu et al, 2020. Here hydroclimatic information service is defined as the production, translation, dissemination, and usage of the weather, climate, and water-Introduction the traditional media such as television and radio (DAE, 2018b).…”

Section: Background and Problem Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Experimental farmers currently use weather forecasts information more frequently after the initiation of service co-production for agricultural and non-agricultural decision-making. The young generation of farmers is more used to receiving updates and communicating the forecast information to fellow farmers using messenger-app and personal interactions (Gbangou et al, 2020a). This suggests that a bottom-up co-production approach has increased forecast uptake by smallholders followed by capacity building and frequent communication (Kolstad et al, 2019).…”

Section: How Co-production Support Smallholders' Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Co-production of climate services should start with quality forecasts, and building awareness, capacity, and trust of the farmers (Agyekumhene et al, 2020). Capacity-building efforts will lead to better services co-production through climate scientists and farmers (Gbangou et al, 2020a). This will ensure collaboration among climate scientists, local extension service, and farmers for governance and operational nexus of climate services (Vedeld et al, 2019, Bremer et al, 2019, Lemos and Morehouse, 2005.…”

Section: How Co-production Support Smallholders' Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The value of climate services depends on information quality, understanding, timely communication, and use to improve decision-making, crop yield, and economic benefits. To assess such value Tall et al (2018) and Gbangou et al (2020a) indicated that climate service monitoring and evaluation remains a significant challenge. Evaluation studies that track outcomes (change in decisions) and impacts (long-term perspective) at the household or farm level are limited so far.…”

Section: Value Of Co-production With Farmersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, farmers base most of their decisions on tradition and experience pertaining to agricultural decision-making (Kumar et al, 2020b. The co-production of climate information services can improve farmers' information uptake and decisionmaking (Gbangou et al, 2020a, Kumar et al, 2021, Nyadzi et al, 2019. Co-production refers to iterative science and a mutual learning process with users to develop and communicate weather and climatic information services for societal decision-making (Vedeld et al, 2019, Lemos and Morehouse, 2005, Bremer et al, 2019.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bridging science and society : Tailor-made hydroclimatic information service with farmers in Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Kumar¹

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The farming communities living in the Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh are vulnerable to hydroclimatic variability. Farming decisions are becoming risky due to unpredictable weather patterns. The southwest region of Bangladesh, located in the heart of the Lower Bengal Delta, is known as an ecologically rich and productive agriculture zone. At the same time, smallholder farming communities are confronted with recurrent hydroclimatic events such as cyclones, storm surges, tidal flooding, and salinity intrusion among others. These events severely affect the agricultural income, livelihood, and food security of farming communities. Improved management of these hydroclimate risks is necessary to improve the livelihood and food security of the smallholders. Hydroclimate information services and technology hold the potential to help smallholders to manage hydroclimatic risks through informed agricultural decision-making. However, there is a scientific challenge for developing services and bridges between the available model-based forecasts and the local context and capabilities. The central question is how hydroclimatic information services can be tailored in ways that local farmers find useful in decision-making processes for their crops and livelihood activities. Another transdisciplinary challenge is balancing information service providers and end-users, integrating social science and climate science perspectives. Understanding end-user needs and capacity, local knowledge institutions, and policy are also fundamental challenges for the co-production of services for sectoral end-users and improving the value of forecasts information. There is a need for timely, accurate, and effective hydroclimatic information services mechanisms. The existing information services are largely developed from a top-down perspective. A bottom-up approach, shaped by users' requirements, engagement and capacity building has not been attempted yet. In this dissertation, I aim to co-produce hydroclimatic information services with smallholder farmers in the lower Bengal Delta in Khulna, Bangladesh. A mixed-methods transdisciplinary research approach was applied to study current knowledge gaps that exist regarding (i) farmers' practices and the role of available information, (ii) hydroclimatic information needs of smallholders, (iii) co-production of information services with and for smallholder farmers, and (iv) willingness to pay for location-and time-specific climate information services for wider uptake, improved agricultural practices, and service sustainability. This study confirms that there is a potential for need-based tailored information services for smallholders. However, farmers' information needs assessment is not a single-step process. This requires iterative interaction and capacity building. The coproduction study shows that hydroclimate information services through actors' collaboration, capacity building of farmers, and extension officers at farmer field school lead to better understanding, accessibility, and uptake of weather...

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Section: Background and Problem Statementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How Co-production Support Smallholders' Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How Co-production Support Smallholders' Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Value Of Co-production With Farmersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bridging science and society : Tailor-made hydroclimatic information service with farmers in Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Kumar¹

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Farmers’ perspectives on water availability in the lower Volta Delta region in Ghana

Sarku

2023

Reg Environ Change

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Smallholder farmers in the lower Volta Delta of Ghana operate in a risky and uncertain context due to water scarcity. However, the conventional analyses of water availability have mainly focused on drought, rainfall occurrence, and other climatic or weather elements, using secondary biophysical data with relatively little emphasis on farmers’ perceptions and how socioeconomic factors contribute to the vulnerability of farming in the lower Volta Delta. This study examines farmers’ perceptions of vulnerability to water availability to determine how perception is socially constructed and differentiated in various locations. The study was conducted using qualitative research methods in the Ada East, Ada West, South Tongu, and Anloga Districts in the lower Volta Delta of Ghana. Findings reveal that climate is not the only stressor on livelihoods in the area. Farmers perceive their livelihoods as vulnerable to socioeconomic stressors, including limited freshwater and groundwater resources. The perceived severity of water availability conditions determines farmers’ response strategies, such as crop selection, planting dates, irrigation strategies, and other agronomic practices. These findings have important implications for researchers, agricultural extension agents, and policymakers to design appropriate measures and approaches to deal with water scarcity for farming in the region. The study also contributes valuable insights into the loss and damage incurred by farmers due to climate change and variability in the region.

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Coping with and adapting to climate and non-climate stressors within the small-scale farming, fishing and seaweed growing sectors, Zanzibar

2023

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The Eastern African region is witnessing changes in climate conditions and rising sea levels due to the in uences of global warming interacting with weather phenomenon such as El Nino and La Nina. These trends, as well as more intense extreme weather events, highlight the urgent need for appropriate adaptation responses at both the national and local level. This is especially the case for the numerous small islands of the region that are particularly vulnerable to climate change. This paper reports on a study that examined coping and adaptation responses to climate and non-climate stressors amongst coastal communities on two Zanzibar islands (Pemba and Unguja) in Tanzania. The study focused on three of the primary livelihood activities on the islands, namely, seaweed growing, shing, and crop and livestock farming. Using mainly survey data, we explored the responses of farmers, shermen, and seaweed growers to multiple shocks and stressors. We further investigated responses that were discontinued for various reasons, as well as any barriers to adaptation encountered by these communities. We found that coastal communities in both Kiuyu Mbuyuni, Pemba and Matemwe, Unguja face a range of interrelated shocks and stressors linked to their livelihood activities, some of which they were able to respond to primarily through coping strategies. However, their attempts to adapt in the longer term as well as to venture outside their traditional activities were constrained by several barriers. Some of these barriers operate beyond the individual and community capability to overcome, whilst others -like social and cultural barriers -can be addressed at the local level but need a concerted effort and political will. We draw the ndings together into a conceptual framework to help unpack the implications these hold for coastal communities on the two islands. We then suggest ways to build resilience in local livelihoods and overcome barriers to climate change adaptation in the future.

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Coproducing Weather Forecast Information with and for Smallholder Farmers in Ghana: Evaluation and Design Principles

Cited by 32 publications

References 54 publications

Bridging science and society : Tailor-made hydroclimatic information service with farmers in Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Bridging science and society : Tailor-made hydroclimatic information service with farmers in Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Farmers’ perspectives on water availability in the lower Volta Delta region in Ghana

Coping with and adapting to climate and non-climate stressors within the small-scale farming, fishing and seaweed growing sectors, Zanzibar

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