In Africa, vulnerable sectors, like agriculture, and rural communities are bearing the brunt of climate change impacts. Having accurate weather forecasts and climate information can help. 

National meteorological and hydrological services, regional climate bodies, local organizations and private sector actors across Africa play a significant role in producing and disseminating quality climate information to be accessed and used by small-scale farmers and the network of actors who support them. And we're proud to be working with them to build the resilience of farmers and their communities.

Through strong multi-sector partnerships and collaboration in AICCRA's focus countries and regional clusters, we are helping to move accessible climate information from science to services to action. Here's a look at how:

Science

With the World Meteorological Organization Regional Office for Africa, UNECA’s Africa Climate Policy Centre, the African Union Commission, and the African Development Bank, AICCRA's East and Southern Africa team have contributed to key policy-influencing documents, including the State of Climate in Africa Report series and National Frameworks for Weather, Water and Climate Service (NFWWCS). 

• The State of the Climate in Africa is an annual African report, with a special focus on loss and damage. It is the result of collaboration between African National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), African Regional Climate Centres, the African Union Commission, international institutions, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and other specialized agencies of the United Nations. 
  
  One of AICCRA’s key contributions to the State of Climate in Africa reports is supporting and contributing to the technical content and partnership. Ernest Afiesimama, Director of the WMO Regional Office for Africa and a member of AICCRA’s Independent Steering Committee (ISC), along with AICCRA East and Southern Africa programme team members Dawit Solomon, Teferi Demissie and Yosef Amha, are among the list of scientific contributors to the reports since 2021. Their contributions focused on assessing climate-related risks and socio-economic impacts on key sectors, including agriculture and food security. 
   
• National Frameworks for Weather, Water and Climate Service (NFWWCS) are being explored and adopted to enhance collective resilience as the availability and utilization of climate information services (CIS) are still inadequate in many African countries. These frameworks offer a platform for collaboration between institutions and stakeholders, empowering the development and delivery of climate services for farmers. 
  
  AICCRA and partners have hosted consultative workshops to explore the challenges of developing and delivering climate services, while sharing experiences, challenges and technical guidance, fostering knowledge exchange and building capacity for NFWWCS development.
   

Services

We're building on strong partnerships with national meteorological agencies in each of AICCRA's focus countries:

• Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD)
• Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet)
• Senegal's Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie (ANACIM)
• Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD)
• Ethiopian Meteorological Institute (EMI), and
• Mali's Meterological Organization (Mali Meteo)

to strengthen their capacities to use science-based approaches to co-produce and disseminate climate-informed agro-advisories. This collaboration, in addition to partnerships with key regional bodies IGAD Climate Prediction & Applications Centre (ICPAC) and the Regional Centre for Training and Application in Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology (AGRHYMET), is closing the gap between generating quality climate information and getting it into the hands of farmers in a language they can understand. 

AICCRA teams have also supported stakeholder dialogues, knowledge exchange, curriculum development for universities and extension services, and capacity building and training activities across Africa to improve access and understanding of relevant climate information.

Action

In the agricultural sector, farmers are the frontline of Africa's climate action. Agricultural extension services, local radio stations and private sector partners like Jokalante in Senegal, Esoko in Ghana and Lersha in Ethiopia, are critical to ensuring that climate information generated by meteorological agencies and other can reach farmers so that they can make informed planting, fertilizing and harvesting decisions for the best production outcomes.