Review of climate service needs and opportunities in Rwanda

Rwanda’s variable and changing climate is an increasingly serious challenge to the country’s agricultural sector and farming population. Climate information services are emerging as a means to support farmers to manage risk and provide an opportunity to build the resilience of agriculture to climate at all time scales. Climate services include historical, monitored and forecast information, and value-added information products such pest and disease risk warnings, crop yield forecasts, or management advisories. The new Rwanda Climate Services for Agriculture project, funded by USAID, aims to benefit nearly one million farmers by 2019, and transform Rwanda’s rural farming communities and national economy through climate services and improved climate risk management. This desk review was conducted to ensure that the project design is informed by and builds on existing needs, knowledge, services, capacities and initiatives. It synthesizes what is known about climate-related risks and their impacts on Rwanda’s agriculture sector; the current status of climate information products and services; key institutions currently involved in the production, communication and use of climate-related information; and communication channels that can be used to deliver climate information services to relevant users including Rwanda’s farming population

Climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives for agriculture in East Africa

National governments across East Africa are in the process of formulating and implementing adaptation and mitigation strategies to assist farmers cope with climate change. These include formulating actions, frameworks and programs to address climate change and embedding these within the long-term national development plans. This working paper provides understanding of the current state of national climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda for agriculture and provides baseline information for subsequent assessments of climate change adaptation and mitigation. In each country, specific government departments such as Environmental Protection Authority (Ethiopia), Ministry of Environment, Water and Mineral Resources (Kenya), Vice President‘s Office (Tanzania) and Ministry of Water and Environment (Uganda) are mandated to coordinate climate change initiatives. In all countries, the Ministry of Agriculture is the focal point for all climate change initiatives related to agriculture. Agricultural Sector Development Plans that provide strategies to boost agricultural productivity and spur economic growth have been prepared either as standalone plans or as part of National Development Plans (NDP). Irrigation, capacity building, enhancing private-public partnership for market development, and creating legal and regulatory environment that can attract investments are some of the priority areas identified for attention in agriculture to enhance climate resilience

A review of agricultural, food security, food systems and climate change adaptation policies, institutions and actors in East Africa

Agricultural production systems in East Africa are mainly rain-fed and highly vulnerable to climate change and variability. Moreover, the smallholder subsistence production base increases the vulnerability of the agricultural sector in East Africa to climate risks. The frequency and severity of climate shocks such as drought, heat and cold stress as well as floods are increasing and likely to lead to major food crises. Governmental and nongovernmental actors in East African countries have instituted policies and programs aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, improving food security and enhancing adaptation to climate change. This paper examines the various policies, institutions and actors related to climate change adaptation, food security, food system and agricultural development in East Africa—focusing on Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The paper combines a review of literature with key informant interviews from various actors in the four countries

Empowering a local community to address climate risks and food insecurity in Lower Nyando, Kenya

In erosion- and drought-prone Nyando, self-help groups affiliated to large umbrella bodies are working with extension agents, researchers and development partners to improve local livestock and diversify crops, to improve soil and water management, and to pool financial and labour resources

Uptake and dissemination pathways for climate-smart agriculture technologies and practices in Lushoto, Tanzania

Smallholder farmers in East Africa need information and knowledge on appropriate climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices, and institutional innovations in order to effectively adapt to climate change and cope with climate variability. This paper assesses farmer uptake of climate-smart agricultural practices and innovations following a farmer learning journey through the Farms of the Future (FotF) approach. First, we explore and assess the various CSA technologies and practices, including institutional innovations farmers are using. Second, we identify and document farmer learning and dissemination pathways that can enhance uptake of CSA technologies and practices. Third, we identify existing institutions that can enhance uptake of CSA practices. We use household survey data, complimented with qualitative information from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The results show farmers are using a variety of CSA technologies and practices, and institutional innovations. Improved crop varieties, agroforestry, and scientific weather forecast information were cited as the main CSA practices used. To minimize their risks and reduce vulnerabilities, farmers are diversifying and integrating five to ten practices in one season. Matengo pits, Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCOs) and energy efficient cook stoves were used by very few farmers due to high initial investment costs and unsuitability to the area. Over 95% of the farmers reported receiving agricultural information orally from a variety of sources including government extension workers, seed companies, researchers, traditional experts, neighbors, radio agricultural shows, religious groups, farmer groups, and family members. Farmers acknowledged the FotF approach as a useful tool that enabled them to interact with other farmers and learn new CSA practices and innovations

Integrating Indigenous Knowledge with Scientific Seasonal Forecasts for Climate Risk Management in Lushoto District in Tanzania

Improving food security needs appropriate climate related risk management strategies. These include using climate information to guide farm level decision-making. Progress has been made in providing climate services in Tanzania but there are significant gaps with regard to downscaled location specific forecasts, as well as generating timely, reliable and user friendly information. Majority of the farmers have been using indigenous knowledge (IK) forecasts to predict weather through observing the behavior of large animals, birds, plants, insects, and the solar system. IK is not often documented and is mainly sustained from one generation to another through oral history and local expertise, creating a wide inter-generational gap between its custodians and the young people. This study identifies and documents existing IK in weather forecasting in Lushoto district, northern Tanzania, and aims at promoting the integration of IK and scientific weather forecasting for climate risk management. Historical rainfall data was used in combination with data collected through household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Majority of the farmers (56%) indicated that weather forecasts using IK were more reliable and specific to their location compared to scientific forecasts. Comparison was made of the seasonal March-April-May (MAM) forecasts in 2012 from IK and Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA), with both approaches predicting a normal rainy season. The IK forecasts were, however, more reliable in the long rainy MAM season compared to the short rainy October-November- December season. To improve accuracy, systematic documentation of IK and establishment of a framework for integrating IK and TMA weather forecasting is needed. There is also a need to establish an information dissemination network and entrench weather forecasting within the District Agricultural Development Programmes

Commission 10: Solar Activity

Commission 10 aims at the study of various forms of solar activity, including networks, plages, pores, spots, fibrils, surges, jets, filaments/prominences, coronal loops, flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar cycle, microflares, nanoflares, coronal heating etc., which are all manifestation of the interplay of magnetic fields and solar plasma. Increasingly important is the study of solar activities as sources of various disturbances in the interplanetary space and near-Earth “space weather”. Over the past three years a major component of research on the active Sun has involved data from the RHESSI spacecraft. This review starts with an update on current and planned solar observations from spacecraft. The discussion of solar flares gives emphasis to new results from RHESSI, along with updates on other aspects of flares. Recent progress on two theoretical concepts, magnetic reconnection and magnetic helicity is then summarized, followed by discussions of coronal loops and heating, the magnetic carpet and filaments. The final topic discussed is coronal mass ejections and space weather. The discussions on each topic is relatively brief, and intended as an outline to put the extensive list of references in context. The review was prepared jointly by the members of the Organizing Committee, and the names of the primary contributors to the various sections are indicated in parentheses

CCAFS site atlas – Borana / Yabero

CCAFS site atlas for Borana / Yabero, Ethiopia

CCAFS site atlas – Albertine Rift / Hoima

CCAFS site atlas for Albertine Rift / Hoima, Uganda