Zimbabwe – Digital Climate Advisory Services

Published on 10 February 2022 by Tamara Lancel

Weather Impact got the opportunity to provide Digital Climate Advisory Services to almost 30000 farmers in Zimbabwe. We will provide operational weather variables to the Zimbabwean Agricultural Observatory, capacity building training to hydro-meteorological stakeholders, and weather forecasts to smallholder farmers. The goal of this project – funded by the World Bank ProGreen Initiative – is to help farmers better adapt to changing weather patterns, and strengthen both the Meteorology Services Department, which is part of the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, and the Agricultural Technical Extension and Advisory Services (AGRITEX) Department from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development.

The data provided to the Zimbabwean Agricultural Observatory are historical and forecasted meteorological variables. The weather forecasts to smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe will be delivered by SMS and tailored to the following crops: maize, soybean, sorghum, potato, and sunflower. Finally, to further support sustainable improvement of national hydro-met services, Weather Impact will deliver training on two open source analytical software packages or programs to hydro-meteorological stakeholders. One of our core beliefs is that capacity building can create a lasting impact in the local hydro-meteorological sector, the agricultural sector, and for the smallholder farmers.