Hydroclimatic Information Needs of Smallholder Farmers in the Lower Bengal Delta, Bangladesh

Abstract

Hydroclimatic information services are vital for sustainable agricultural practices in deltas. They advance adaptation practices of farmers that lead to better economic benefit through increased yields, reduced production costs, and minimized crop damage. This research explores the hydroclimatic information needs of farmers by addressing (1) what kind of information is needed by the periurban delta farmers, and (2) whether information needs have any temporal dimension that changes with time following capacity building during coproduction of information services. Results reveal that the attributes of weather and water-related forecasts most affecting the farmers are rainfall, temperature, water, and soil salinity, along with extreme events such as cyclone and storm surges. The majority of the male farmers prefer one- to two-week lead-time forecasts for strategic and tactical decision-making; while female farmers prefer short-time forecasts with one-day to a week lead time that suggests the difference of purpose of the forecasts between male and female farmers. Contrarily, there is little preference for monthly, seasonal, and real-time forecasts. Information communication through a smartphone app is preferred mostly because of its easy accessibility and visualization. Farmers foresee that capacity building on acquiring hydroclimatic information is vital for agricultural decision-making. We conclude that a demand-driven coproduction of a hydroclimatic information service created through iterative interaction with and for farmers will enable the farmers to understand their information needs more explicitly.

Developing Climate Information Services for Aquaculture in Bangladesh: A Decision Framework for Managing Temperature and Rainfall Variability-Induced Risks

“…It could benefit from a horizontal expansion to a number of other finfish and shellfish species to cater to the needs of farmers cultivating these species and also vertical extension to other stages of growth like breeding and spawning to assist other value chain actors (i.e., hatchery managers). Secondly, the farmers demanded a lead time of 7-14 days; however, the advisories currently prescribed are limited to those that can be implemented within 5 days of lead time, which is highly reliable (appreciable skill in forecasting) in Bangladesh context (Kumar et al, 2020a). As the forecast skill in Bangladesh improves in the future (World Bank, 2018), additional actions with extended lead time can be included.…”

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

“…Uddin et al (2016) researched the farmers' WTP for agricultural extension services in the coastal region of Bangladesh and found out that quality is influencing payment decisions and the type of services that farmers are willing to pay. Besides services quality, a barrier that is an inhibitory factor and was identified by Kumar et al (2020a) for the similar study site case in Khulna, Bangladesh is the lack of ICT-knowledge of the local farmers, which however has been significantly increased since the beginning of the WATERAPPS engagement. Moreover, since the human capacity for development is there, as it is technology, the only thing that is lacking according to Islam and Grönlund ( 2011) is useful services adapted to the rural usage patterns and social context and the WATERAPPS project approach of co-developing tailor-made climate information services with and for the local farmers for sustainable agriculture offers a possible model for social entrepreneurship.…”

“…Another significant transdisciplinary challenge is balancing service providers and users, integrating social science and climate science perspectives (Klemm and McPherson, 2017). Understanding farmer needs and capacity, decision-making processes, local institutions, and policy are also fundamental challenges for the co-production of hydroclimatic information services for specific sets of decisions and improving the value of forecasts information services for smallholder farmers (Kumar et al, 2020a). Finally, developing an effective communication platform through bridging the gaps between local service providers and their organizational policy perspective is another complex transdisciplinary challenge for the co-production of information services involving climate scientists, stakeholders, and end-users.…”

“…Upazilas of Bagerhat district in the east, and Dumuria Upazila in the west. Farmers' opinions about lead-time information needs were assessed by baseline (Kumar et al, 2020b) and information needs assessment (Kumar et al, 2020a). We shared 7-day, 14-day, and seasonal (3month) visualized forecasts with farmers during face-to-face meetings using printed paper and smartphone applications.…”

“…To start such an initiative, capacity building of farmers and extension officers is a prerequisite to assess the information needs of farmers. Without capacity building, smallholders often cannot express their information needs (Kumar et al, 2020a). Capacity building is therefore vital for assessing information needs and improving information uptake for climate-sensitive decision-making by smallholders (Sultan et al, 2020, Finucane et al, 2013, Cliffe et al, 2016, Kusunose et al, 2019, Roy and Alam, 2020.…”