Remote training on updating ENACTS datasets with MALI-METEO

In many parts of Africa, the primary source of climate data is observation by ground-based weather stations. The main strength of these station observations is that they provide the true measurements of the climate variable of interest. However, in many places, stations are sparse, declining in number, and unevenly distributed. By integrating observations with grided satellite data, ENACTS overcomes issues of data scarcity and poor quality, and introduces quality-assessed, spatially and temporally complete data services into national meteorological agencies. The goal of ENACTS is to provide reliable and readily accessible climate data at high resolution to decision makers. A remote training on updating ENACTS datasets was given to National Meteorological Agency of Mali (L’Agence Nationale de la Météorologie du Mali, MALI-METEO) staff

Installation and Training on the Automatic Weather Station Data Tool (ADT) for MALI-METEO

The recent expansion of weather observation networks has focused on the use of automatic weather stations (AWS). AWS offer a number of advantages, including automated reporting at very fine temporal resolution. The challenge that many national meteorological services have faced with the exploitation of AWS data is that initiatives and donors have provided different types of AWS from different suppliers, leading to a variety of systems and networks in multiple formats. Although applications are provided with each AWS network to access and visualize the data, data access is still done manually and station by station. The Automatic Weather Station Data Tool (ADT) is a web-based application developed by the International Research Institution for Climate and Society (IRI) to alleviate the difficulties associated with accessing and using AWS data collected on different systems, networks, servers, and in different formats. ADT features an easy-to-use graphical user interface and enables national meteorological services to access, process, quality control, analyse, visualize and disseminate data from different AWS systems in a single location. The intention of this workshop was to install ADT for the National Meteorological Agency of Mali (L’Agence Nationale de la Météorologie du Mali, MALI-METEO) and provide training on its use. Installation and training took place from February 27 to March 10, 2023 in Dakar, Senegal

Remote training on the use of maprooms with MALI-METEO

A remote four-day training on the use of maprooms was given to National Meteorological Agency of Mali (L’Agence Nationale de la Météorologie du Mali, MALI-METEO) staff. The training session was held from June 1-6, 2023, consisting of two-hour sessions each day. There were eight staff, three of whom were women, who attended the training (see Appendix). The main objectives of the training were to demonstrate the contents of the maprooms to MALI-METEO staff, show them how to navigate through the maprooms and retrieve information from all thematic components in the maprooms, and to receive their feedback and suggestions on how to improve the maprooms installed at MALI-METEO

REPIQUETES Y RIESGO EN EL CULTIVO DE ARROZ EN LA LLANURA INUNDABLE DEL RÍO AMAZONAS CERCA DE IQUITOS, PERÚ

The floodplain of the Amazon river offers considerable potential for agriculture but is a risk-filled environment for farmers working the fertile but flood-prone land. Flood reversals that occur as river levels fall and rise between May and November —known as repiquetes— pose a serious threat to crop cultivated on the floodplains, particularly commercial rice. In this paper we analyze the 45-year record of daily water levels at Iquitos to determine the frequency and magnitude of repiquetes and their impact on the crop growing season. Interviews and land surveys conducted in four riverside communities near the Isla Muyuy archipelago indicate the impact of repiquetes and other hazards on rice production, and assessed farmers’ willingness to pay for flood risk adaptation tools. Our findings point to index-based insurance as promising strategy to buffer risk and promote agricultural development of the Amazon floodplain.Las llanuras inundables del río Amazonas poseen un gran potencial para la agricultura, pero no están exentas de riesgos para los agricultores que cultivan en esas tierras fértiles muy propensas a inundaciones. Estas inundaciones repentinas, que ocurren a medida que el nivel del río disminuye entre mayo y noviembre, son conocidas como «repiquetes» y representan una amenaza seria para los cultivos en llanuras inundables, especialmente para el arroz comercial. En este artículo se analiza el registro diario de los niveles de agua del río Amazonas en Iquitos de los últimos 45 años (entre 1968 y 2012), para determinar la frecuencia y magnitud de los repiquetes y su impacto en la temporada de crecimiento del cultivo. Las entrevistas y los estudios de campo realizados en cuatro comunidades ribereñas, cerca del archipiélago Muyuy, revelan el impacto de los repiquetes y otros riesgos en la producción de arroz, así como la disposición de los agricultores al pago por los instrumentos apropiados para disminuir el riesgo de las inundaciones. Nuestros hallazgos apuntan a un seguro basado en índices climáticos, como una nueva estrategia para reducir el riesgo y promover el desarrollo agrícola en las llanuras inundables del Amazonas

Senegal Climate Risk Management for Agriculture Curriculum Design Workshop

The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project aims to benefit millions of smallholder farmers in Senegal and five other target countries through climate information services and climate smart agriculture. Strengthening the capacity of next users, particularly agricultural extension and advisory service (EAS) providers who work to support farmers in Senegal and five other target countries, is crucial to achieving this goal. Therefore, AICCRA gathered the key EAS partners and stakeholders in a 5-day workshop, held in Dakar, 5-9 December 2022, to: • design a curriculum to strengthen the capacity of EAS providers to incorporate climate services in their work with Senegal’s farmers and agropastoralists, and • formulate a roadmap for implementing the curriculum

Climate Risk Management Curriculum for Agriculture Gaps and Opportunities at USSEIN

Results of a survey of USSEIN students (28), instructors (14) and staff (2) provide insights into perceived needs, gaps and opportunities to expand curriculum on climate risk management in agriculture (CRMA) to prepare future agricultural professionals to strengthen the resilience of Senegal’s agricultural sector to its variable and changing climate. The web-based survey covered interest and demand in CRMA, the degree to which USSEIN’s current curriculum meets demand and prepares future professionals, and constraints to providing and receiving instruction on CRMA topics. Responses show that students anticipate that CRMA will be important for their future professional roles. Students and instructors recognize demand for instruction on a range of climate risk management issues. Perceptions of the degree to which USSEIN’s current curriculum prepares students for future CRMA professional roles were quite varied. Respondents perceived lower demand for instruction, and lower relevance for future professional roles, for agricultural insurance than for the other CRMA topics covered. While most instructors and staff perceive that CRMA topics are covered in their courses, most students reported that they were not currently enrolled in or aware of courses, that provide CRMA content. Students were somewhat more likely than instructors to be to be engaged in CRMA issues and activities, to perceive demand for instruction in CRMA topics, and to be very positive about the adequacy of USSEIN’s current curriculum to prepare for future roles related to CRMA. Students highlighted availability of relevant courses as constraints to receiving CRMA instruction, whereas instructors and staff highlighted resource constraints (funding, curriculum, expertise) as the main limitation to offering CRMA instruction

Costs of Climate Information Services Development and Implementation

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) works to facilitate and scale the development of tailored CIS and climate-smart agriculture making it accessible to smallholder farmers in six target countries. However, the costs and benefits of providing CIS to smallholder farmers have not yet been well-documented. AICCRA is developing a methodology and toolkit to help stakeholders assess the public and private costs and benefits of CIS to provide economic justification for these interventions. This in turn is expected to improve investments in adaptation and ensure that limited resources are being spent effectively

Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension

A two-week training of trainers (ToT) workshop was implemented from June 7-18, 2021, in Adama, Ethiopia by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) of the Columbia Climate School and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in East Africa. The workshop, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project and in close collaboration with the Adapting Agriculture to Climate Today, for Tomorrow (ACToday) Columbia World Project, brought together various professionals from the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) colleges, the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), and the National Meteorological Agency (NMA) to pilot a four-module curriculum aimed at improving climate risk management in agricultural extension

Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) Curriculum: Training of Trainers for Senegal’s Agricultural Extension System

A nine-day training of trainers (ToT) workshop on the Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) curriculum was convened from March 6-15, 2023, in Saly, Senegal with the country’s main extension and advisory service (EAS) providers from both the public and private sectors. The workshop, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought these EAS providers together to train them on a new co-produced and competency-based curriculum to build foundational knowledge and skills to manage climate risk in agriculture. In particular, the curriculum aims to help EAS providers to take advantage of best-available and location-specific climate information products and tools in Senegal, including those freely available and accessible online through the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM) to better plan for, manage, and respond to a changing and varying climate

Ag-Data Hub Webinar with Senegal’s Agricultural Extension and Advisory Service Providers

A webinar on the topic of Senegal’s newly launched Ag-Data Hub was convened with Senegal’s main public and private agricultural extension and advisory service (EAS) providers on April 27, 2023. The webinar, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought together EAS providers who were involved in the co-production, training of trainers (ToT), and upcoming pilot of the newly developed Climate Risk Management in Agricultural Extension (CRMAE) curriculum to learn more about the Ag-Data Bub incorporated within the curriculum’s Module 2 covering climate information and tools available for agriculture in Senegal. The Ag-Data Hub integrates data from multiple sources to help farmers and those who support them such as EAS to make informed decisions such as about which crops or varieties to plant in a given location, when to sow them, and more