Field Monitoring visit and Engagement with producers and end users of Climate information in Taita Taveta County
The Eastern Africa region has a highly variable climate and is prone to climate extremes such as droughts and floods that exacerbate food and water insecurity. Reliable and timely regional, national and sub-national climate information, including current and future climate variability and change, is essential in designing effective strategies for managing risks and adapting to climate variability and change.
ICPAC, through various initiatives, including the Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications Programme is addressing the existing gaps in mainstreaming climate services into policy processes at regional, national, and sub-national levels.
With support from European Union through the ClimSA Project, ICPAC produces weekly, monthly and Seasonal forecasts which various projects like ACREI downscale to the end user for effective dissemination and utilization.
It is against that background that the ClimSA project is organizing a field monitoring visit to assess the interaction between farmers (End users of climate information) and other stakeholders involved in the climate services value chain in Taita Taveta County in Kenya. The visit will include the ClimSA Programme team from OACPS, the ICPAC ClimSA Project staff, ICPAC communication staff and Kenya Metrological Department staff. The field visit will facilitate discussions on the effectiveness of the forecast in the previous seasons, including discussions on techniques farmers are using to adapt to the changing climate.