Bridging the gap between climate forecasts and farm-level decision-making
Improved access to agricultural information and better targeting of agricultural inputs can help farmers increase productivity while reducing negative environmental impacts.
- Climate Action
- climate adaptation
- Climate-Smart Agriculture
- Kenya
- smallholder farmers
Bridging the gap between climate forecasts and farm-level decision-making
Improved access to agricultural information and better targeting of agricultural inputs can help farmers increase productivity while reducing negative environmental impacts.
As mobile phone ownership expands across rural communities, smallholder farmers have greater access to basic mobile services, smartphones, internet connectivity, and SMS platforms. This creates new opportunities to deliver climate information and agricultural advisories beyond traditional extension channels. Through SMS alerts, WhatsApp groups, and other digital platforms, farmers can access timely weather forecasts, pest alerts, and farming recommendations directly on their phones.
Following the farmer-to-forecast workshop held in Nairobi that brought together government agencies, researchers, meteorological experts, and development partners to discuss how weather forecasts can be transformed into actionable advisories, we traveled to Kisumu to explore a fundamental question: What difference do these advisories make when they reach farming communities?
Our journey led us to two farmer groups: the Glory Disability Group, a disability-inclusive farming group cultivating indigenous green leafy vegetables, and the Odhis Ajwang Women Group under the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Green Climate Fund(FAO) Tunza Project, where women farmers are strengthening their livelihoods through agriculture. These visits provided an opportunity to move beyond conference-room discussions and engage directly with the people climate information services (CIS) are designed to support.