Participatory Agro-Climate Information Services Policy Brief
Agro-climate information services are essential to farmers’ decision-making. The value chain of such services typically entails: the production of seasonal and short-term weather forecasts by meteorological institutes, the integration of the forecasts into agro-advisories, and the dissemination of the agro-advisories through extension services.
The Agro-Climate Information Services (ACIS) for Women and Ethnic Minority Farmers in Southeast Asia Project aims to strengthen the value chain through a two-pronged approach: supply forecast information that better meets users’ demand (top-down), translate the information into agro-advisories by integrating local knowledge and ensure feedback mechanisms that lead to adaptive learning (bottom-up). The project was implemented by World Agroforestry and CARE between 2015 and 2018 in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in five project sites and among nine different ethnic minority groups.
This policy brief promotes participatory agro-climate information services as a key component in achieving climate-smart agriculture. The brief emphasizes that actionable agro-climate information starts with—and responds to—gender-based needs of farmers, integrated at all stages of the value chain. Timely forecasts and accurate agroclimate advisories have been proven to provide farmers with production, adaptation, and mitigation benefits.