The Magic of Citizen Science

August 2024
Author: Janina Fraas

Have you ever struggled with lacking observational data for your research or products? Have you considered filling this gap through citizen science?

At Weather Impact, where we specialize in tailored weather solutions for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, we have embraced this innovative approach. Let me guide you through the concept of citizen science and how we have utilized it to drive meaningful change in our work.

What is Citizen Science?

Citizen Science is a collaborative process where the public, hence individual citizens, participate in research and data collection. This method leverages the collective efforts of citizens to gather and share data, making research more inclusive and widespread. By involving the public, citizen science also fosters a greater understanding and appreciation of the performed research (Fig 1).

Fig 1: Farmers from the Mara region getting trained to become citizen scientists for the Kilimo Thabiti project.

Why Citizen Science?

As a meteorologist working on weather and climate services projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, I find the application of citizen science particularly exciting. One of the main reasons is the limited meteorological observational network across the continent, which hampers the ability to validate weather models and enhance their forecasting accuracy. By involving citizens in data collection, we acquire valuable on-the-ground observational data that can be used to validate, calibrate, and refine weather forecasts and related services.

“Citizen Science does not only create observational data, but impact.” – Kilimo Thabiti project lead

However, in reality, the benefits of citizen science go way beyond the acquisition of observation data. It builds a bridge between scientists, project implementers, and communities. When citizens are actively involved in scientific processes, they become more informed and engaged, leading to greater community resilience and empowerment. Citizen science transforms passive data collection into an active engagement process that  boosts a sense of ownership and responsibility among participants.

While the concept of citizen science sounds promising in theory, how does it function in reality? Let’s look at a practical example from our work in Tanzania.

Citizen Science in the Kilimo Thabiti Project

Since December 2023, Weather Impact has joint efforts with three local partner institutions – Tanzania Youth Espouse for Gender and Development (TYEGD), Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI taggen), and Esoko – to provide farmers in the Mara region with actionable and timely weather forecasts and related agronomic advice in form of SMS. “Those SMSs do not mislead, they help us a lot and prepare us psychologically for the coming weather conditions. If I had a plan to dry my crops on sun, and then I got a message that it will rain, I have to postpone drying the crops until it is sunny again. This helps us to avoid loss” said Vernoica Muhende, a farmer from Sarawe village in Bunda District.

Within this ‘Kilimo Thabiti‘ project, 30 farmers have been trained to become citizen scientists, reporting daily rainfall data and weekly rainfall data via the mAgric Colekt app (see Fig 2). In their daily activities as citizen scientists, they are supervised by TYEGD’s field team. We have learned that the CS are eagerly sharing their knowledge that they gained from their activities with their communities.

How to Make Citizen Science Work?

The idea of having farmers collect daily rainfall data is straightforward, but in practice, it is not as easy as it seems. The success of citizen science initiatives heavily relies on technical support and continuous engagement. It is not just about having observational data available, but it is also about ensuring a high quality of data. This means that citizen scientists need thorough training and supervision. Monitoring the submitted data over time helps identify any issues, ensuring a reliable, continuous dataset is established.

Beyond data collection, it is essential to keep citizen scientists engaged in the project beyond their measurement activities to foster a sense of ownership. To achieve this, we incentivized their participation by providing drip irrigation toolkits and related training which would enable them to earn supplementary income through growing vegetables during the dry season. Additionally, we learned that the citizen scientists have embraced their roles and become ambassadors for weather information in their communities (see Fig 3).

“They are often regarded as if they had graduated from college.” – Dr. Mlay, Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute

Our lessons learned from Kilimo Thabiti

• Capacity Building Takes Time : Training farmers to become effective citizen scientists and ensuring they collect flawless data is a process that requires patience and dedication. It is often more effective to start with a small, manageable group of participants who can be closely supervised, rather than trying to scale up too quickly.
• Promoting and Maintaining Engagement: Keeping citizen scientists engaged over the long term is crucial. Regular communication, feedback, and recognizing their contributions help maintain motivation and commitment.
• Creating a Sense of Ownership: When community members are actively involved in the project and the improvement of its services, they develop a sense of ownership for the project. This is vital for the project’s sustainability and success.
• Voices for weather in their communities: Citizen scientists become key communicators in their communities for weather information and the project itself. This not only enhances the dissemination of accurate information but also builds trust and credibility within the community.

Citizen science is far more than a tool for data collection; it creates impact. Through Kilimo Thabiti, we have witnessed the positive impacts of citizen science not only for collecting data but for strengthening rural communities in coping with climate change. With these lessons, we are committed to harnessing the full potential of citizen science to drive positive change in the agri-food and weather sectors and inspire others to do the same.