Presented at the:

Climate and Agriculture Network for Africa Partners (CANA) Training Workshop

11 May 2015; ILRI, Nairobi

Jasper Batureine Mwesigwa AGROMETEOROLOGIST; ICPAC

Increasing Farmer’s Access to Tailored

Climate Services for Improved Food Security

and Better Livelihoods

Lessons from ICPAC’s Pilot Project

Agriculture Sector in our Region • Mainly rain-fed, with minimal irrigation;

• Dominantly managed by women (over 2/3 of entire female labour in Africa force are in Agriculture sector);

• Chronic Food Insecurity, Rampant Famine, Hunger and Starvation; Poverty, Conflicts, in many parts;

• Drought and other Climate-related Disasters are commonest; bound to be severer & more frequent due to Climate Change (CC), according to IPCC;

• CC already causing huge economic losses; (Ref. the 2008-2011 drought in Kenya);

• The GHA region largely relies on relief food; this is not sustainable!

Opportunities also Exist

• Huge unutilized productive/arable land (60%);

• Highly productive, abundant labour, technical experts;

• Favourable Weather (& Increasing Reliability of forecasts from Met Agencies: ICPAC , NMHSs);

• More Modern Agricultural Technologies available;

• IT and other Communication Technology (mobile phone, Radio, Internet, Social Media, etc);

• Commitment by Governments (e.g. PEAP in Ug);

• Support from Development Partners (e.g. IDDRSI);

• Strong desire for tailored climate services by farming households;

But at Community Level

• No deliberate (formal) weather/climate services to influence Agric planning and decision making

• Employ Traditional (IK) seasonal climate prediction;

• IK no longer reliable because seasons are no longer predictable (due to Climate Change: seasonal shifts);

• As a result, crop production is no longer predictable;

• Pastures and water are no longer predictable;

• Food security is no longer predictable ;

• Communities’ livelihoods is not predictable;

• No adequate Climate Change Adaptation knowledge;

R² = 0.0386

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MAKINDU STATION: 1960 - 2012 RAINFALL (ANNUAL TOTAL, MAM, JJAS & OND) TREND SHOWS REDUCTION IN AMOUNTS ACROSS ALL SEASONS

Rainfall Amounts Reducing by Approx 150mm every 50 years

The Information that Farmers Need for better Decision Making is Not Rocket Science!:

• Info needs to make seasonal strategic decisions

– Appropriately exploit all opportunities of the season

– Avoid bad weather or weather-induced conditions

– Mitigate any predictable negative weather impacts

• Info needs to make quick intra-seasonal decisions

– Protect the growing crop from un-expected hazards

– Improve on management aspects to maximise use of good weather (fertilizer application, crop protection, )

– Avoid extra costs if losses are bound to happen

• Plan for (possible) alternatives

– Humanitarian assistance/trade/Indigenous Knowledge

What Information is Needed?:

• For Seasonal Strategic Planning – Onsets & Cessation Dates

– Rain fall amounts and distribution (in time & space)

– Duration/length of growing period (days)

– Anticipated hazards (floods, outbreaks of pests and diseases)

• As the Season Progresses – Expected number of rainy days/duration of wetness

– Intensities and distribution

– Prevailing Temperatures

• Between Cropping Seasons – Length of dry spells

– Is the moisture adequate for any alternative farming activity

Through Support from the Rockefeller Foundation

ICPAC in close collaboration with KMS and other partners:

– Provided community-specific weather forecasts & related agro-advisories to 4 communities in Kenya

– Using various means of communication including SMSs

– The Advisory comprised of a comprehensive information package (3Ws+H: Choice of crops/varieties, timing of farm operations like planting, fertilizer application, erosion control & crop protection, etc) based on the anticipated seasonal characteristics

– Advisories generated at community level with farmers, weather & Agric experts & other relevant stakeholders.

– Also guided farmers on alternative Livelihoods options

Scheme: Development of Community-Specific Climate Information and Related Advisories

Onset: Rains will be enhanced from 3rd to 4th week of Mar 2014 Cessation: Rainfall will continue into 1st to 2nd week of May 2014 Length of season: At least 7 weeks Expected Performance: The distribution, both in time and space, is expected to be poor characterized by episodic events with long dry spells.

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MakinduMAM 2014 "Long Rains" Analogue (2002 & 1997) Yr1997

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How farmers used the Information Package

• Farmers used information to decide on:

– What, When, Where and How to Plant:

– Cereals, Pulses, Root tubers, Vegetables, Fruits, Agro-forestry trees, Plantation crops, Cash crops, Food crops, etc

– How to manage the crops/soils/pastures/water/as well as livestock as seasons progressed

– What alternative livelihoods investments to consider:

• Irrigation farming

• Greenhouse farming

• Poultry (local chicken hatchery)

• Aquaculture, Apiculture

• Pasture seed and hay production

– Value addition

– Water harvesting and proper storage for future use

SAFARICOM

ICPAC SMS

SERVER

RERU

OLOITOKITOK

NGANYI

NYAHERA

The Server is used to simultaneously and rapidly broadcast information through an SMS to selected registered users. It will be customized to allow receiving feedback from the users.

Project area Men Women Total

Reru 9 31 40

Nganyi 24 21 45

Nyahera 30 18 48

Oloitokitok 33 57 90

Total 96 (43%) 127 (57%) 223

Participation of Women Farmers

Nyahera is a Peri-urban community near

Kisumu City; Men dominate Commercial

Agriculture

Key Project Outcomes

• Yield increment of 3-4 times (Sorghum & Maize)

• Higher multiplier effect (over 1:120 – for Sorghum)

• More awareness - farmers now plan & make better decisions based on the seasonal climate outlook

• Increased food production & storage – food remains available till the next harvest

• Pasture & water resources better managed – livestock condition score remains high longer than ever

• Osiram Maasai Women have re-stocked their herds

• Social benefits – less & less household/food related husband-wife conflicts

Revelations from Women Participants of the FGDs during MTE:

1. “Ever since I got married in this area (Reru Community) 35 years ago, this is the first

time in one season that we are harvesting this huge amount of food (maize and

sorghum). I am sure other women will be very interested to learn how I did this”.

2. “Where we previously got one bag of sorghum, now we get up to five from the same

acreage. Many of us have sorghum from the last harvest up to this time (May), a time that

we would already be buying it to survive. So we are not hungry and this has given us

courage to work harder”.

2. “There is love at home because we have sufficient food. Our men used to migrate to

Kisumu and other towns whenever there was famine, leaving us to suffer with the children.

They are now settled at home, thanks to the project; because we have food and now they

even support us in the farms”.

Community Baselines

Omena in his Uncle’s Farm

Omena in his own Farm

Farms belonging to Climate Information user (Right)

and Traditional Farmer (Left) in Nyahera, OND 2012

Another Traditional Farmer (Right) in Nyahera,

OND 2012

GOOD SORGUM HARVESTS:

YIELDED OVER 3-4 TIMES THEIR BASELINES;

MULTIPLIER FACTOR 1:120

The Project also Supported Pasture Reseeding Programs in

Oloitokitok, Maasai Land, where Pasture Lands had been Severely

Degraded due to Prolonged Droughts and Overgrazing

Osiram Maasai Women With Grass Seeds

Key Messages from ICPAC’s Pilot Project • Agriculture in GHA must undergo significant

transformation:

– in order to meet the challenges of food insecurity and impacts of climate change

• Necessitates a comprehensive shift from traditional Agriculture to Climate Smart Agriculture

– (Sustainably Increasing Productivity, Enhancing Adaptation & Resilience, Contributing to Mitigation);

• Urgent need for extensive promotion of community-based climate services

– For appropriate Agric planning, decision making & Mgt

• Need for extensive capacity building at all levels

– (right from Weather prediction, through interpreters and communicators to final users).

Conclusion • Effective climate-smart practices already exist here in

GHA and could significantly improve the productivity of our current agricultural systems;

• Considerable investment in capacity building is required to enable farmers (esp. Women farmers) successfully go through the needed transformation;

• As we continue to face CC, we need to explore practical & equitable climate-proof alternative livelihoods enterprises that guarantee resilience;

Thank You

www.icpac.net www.igad.int

director@icpac.net