Climate information services (CIS) form the backbone of climate-smart agriculture. Whether it is a farmer needing to make key agricultural decisions for a season, a humanitarian worker who needs to anticipate and respond to climate extremes like droughts and floods, or a policymaker who must plan and arrange for agricultural inputs and investments, climate information services are a crucial part of building resilience.  

AICCRA’s thematic team for CIS, referred to internally as ‘Theme 4’, works across our focus countries and regions connecting those who generate climate data and information products including Africa’s national and regional meteorological centers, those who tailor it such as national and local research institutes, and those who are on the frontlines interfacing with agricultural communities to advance the tools, capacity building approaches, and policies that meet the needs of those whom they are intended to serve.

Some of our key outcomes have been capacitating meteorological services to harness real-time weather data for decision-making in agriculture, spearheading new foundational curricula for higher education and agricultural extension to manage climate risk, and bringing to partners and data together advance innovative AgData Hubs, CIS frameworks, and grassroots approaches underpinning climate services. 

Explore more below on how early warning systems, climate education, digital innovations, informed policy development and inclusion are contributing to building a climate-smart future.  

Highlights

From Reactive to Proactive: Linking Climate Information with Early Warning Systems

East Africa is experiencing some of the worst drought conditions in decades. On the other side of the continent, Nigeria, Cameroon and other West African countries have been dealing with devastating floods that have displaced more than a million people. The demand for accurate and actionable forecasting to protect life and property has never been more urgent.  

Recognizing this, the AICCRA project has catalyzed trainings with and through regional climate service centers and national meteorological agencies alike to generate local capacity around use of a state-of-the art seasonal and sub seasonal forecasting system known as “NextGen” or “PyCPT.”  

As a result of these trainings, East Africa’s IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), and West Africa’s Regional Center for Training and Application in Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology (Agrhymet) have not only begun using NextGen-based forecasting in their operations but have also taken the lead on expanding the system and its associated capacity building to new contexts on the continent.  

By prioritizing local capacity development and partnerships for impact, more than 30 countries in Africa have now been reached directly or indirectly with capacity building on improved forecasting.  

To truly achieve impact, however, these forecasts and other climate information and decision support products need to be harmonized with and integrated with global, regional, and local early warning systems and anticipatory action protocols and initiatives. As such, Theme 4 coordinates closely with public, private, and development partners to ensure its activities align with and support important movements and initiatives such as Early Warnings for All (EW4All), Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS), and others. 

Catalyzing Climate Education through University and Extension Systems    

We’ve supported more than 70 institutions across all six AICCRA countries to co-produce competency-based curricula. The curricula are designed to equip agricultural extension and advisory service providers with the knowledge and skills to understand, use, and communicate climate information to help farmers make climate-informed decisions.  

These curricula bundle training on climate basics, alongside tailored climate information products like Maprooms and ag-data hubs, and evidence-backed participatory climate information communication approaches, to enable those who work most closely with farmers to give context-specific advice in a changing climate. 

Theme focal points

Dr. Aniruddha Ghosh, Thematic Lead, A.Ghosh@cgiar.org   

Amanda Grossi, Partnerships Engagement Manager & Capacity Development Lead, A.Grossi@cgiar.org   

Felix Otieno, Climate and Agricultural Economist, F.Otieno@cgiar.org   

Jemal Seid Ahmed, Climate and Geospatial Modeler, J.Ahmed@cgiar.org