Weather Information Services
Definition
Weather information services provide timely updates around weather and climate events, trends, and forecasts. This helps farmers to time farm activities such as sowing, weeding, watering and harvesting. Additionally, it allows them to assess risks and act accordingly.
Lead Actors
Off-taker; Other Service Provider
Target Demographics
Farmer Organisations; Smallholder Farmers
Objectives addressed
Farmer related
Improve yields:
Based on easy access to up-to-date weather information, farmers can more effectively plant with the rains and take loss-prevention measures in case of climate shocks.
Increase climate resilience:
Use of up-to-date weather information services increases adaptive capacity, in the form of the ability to prevent or adjust to potential damage, take advantage of opportunities (for example, for rain-fed irrigation), and respond to consequences. However, it is important to note that weather services provide the information for farmers to adapt, but not the means. As such, this service is more effective when bundled with material services.
Business related
Although, in our experience, this innovation does not contribute directly any business-related objective, we do not discount the possibility that some companies may experience some (limited) benefits from it.
Contexts Best Suited to
Access to smartphones and reliable mobile infrastructure: to receive messages.
Rain-fed irrigated farmers: where production is most heavily dependent on weather.
Rain-fed irrigated farmers: where production is most heavily dependent on weather.
Key Risks
Infrastructure dependency: Adoption and use are heavily dependent on internet availability, which in many rural regions is unreliable.
Environmental Impact
Limited:
Effective use of accurate weather and climate information services raises adaptive capacity in the event of climate shocks, in the form of the ability to adjust to potential damage, take advantage of opportunity, and respond to consequences. Farmers may also be able to use weather information toreduce the need for irrigation by timing their planting cycles more effectively with the rains. However, in general, the ability to act on weather information is dependent on resource availability and knowledge making the environmental impact of weather information services negligible on its own.
Ambition level
Low
Time
Developing and implementing a digital system of weather information services can time-intensive during the development period, and will likely require some maintenance over time. However, there are several off-the-shelf solutions.
Investment Need
Development of a digital weather information system requires some investment to support the development process or to acquire an off-the-shelf solution. Once the product is developed the main costs become periodic maintenance/updates and technical support.
