Farmers face more risk and uncertainty than nearly any other job on the planet. Weather is one of many unknowns, and the unpredictability of climate change is making it increasingly difficult for farmers to anticipate what will happen and make decisions accordingly.
In areas where the rainy season used to be stable from year to year, rain start and end dates are far less predictable. “False onset” rains in the spring months coupled with the fear of rains then stopping early during fall months can cause farmers to choose to plant earlier than planned. For the last three years in Nigeria, false onset rain has been followed by a dry period of 10-15 days, after which the rains become truly established and steady (meaning they come nearly every day through the peak of the rainy season through October). If crops are planted during false onset rains, there can be huge yield loss or even crop failure, severely impacting farmers’ incomes and food security.
The Impact of Crucial Weather Information
Better weather information reduces risks and uncertainty related to rainfall for farmers and can limit the damage from pests and diseases. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Annual Report identified improved weather information as a key tool for climate adaptation.
“Early warning systems based on targeted climate services can be effective for disaster risk reduction, social protection programs, and managing risks to health and food systems,” the report stated.
In an effort to facilitate better access to such information tools, Nuru International launched a partnership with Ignitia in 2022 to bring pilot projects to both Nuru Nigeria, a USAID implementing partner, and the newly launched Nuru Burkina Faso.
Ignitia, a USAID partner funded through Development Innovation Ventures, offers hyper-local, highly accurate weather forecasts and agricultural advisories to farmers in the tropics via text messages. This turns the weather from an unpredictable threat into an asset by supporting climate-smart decision-making. As farmers in northeast Nigeria and Burkina Faso began their preparations for the 2022 agricultural season, Nuru collaborated with Ignitia to deliver the SMS-based weather forecasting service, Iska, in both countries. Farmers received daily, weekly, and monthly weather forecasts specifically for their farms. In Nigeria, Nuru and Ignitia also expanded Nuru’s established in-person agricultural extension services by delivering advisory information via SMS text messages to enrolled farmers. The extension messages reached simple feature phones and provided information on good agricultural practices, as well as time-specific advice for farmers on activities such as planting and fertilizer application. In Nigeria, approximately 2,000 farmers in northern Adamawa received the weather forecasts and extension messaging. The service reached active members of Nuru Nigeria-supported farmer organizations for the entire 2022 cropping season, starting from land preparation through to the harvest period.
Impact of Weather Information for Nigerian Farmers
Farmers quickly saw the benefits from this pilot activity. One Nuru-supported farmer shared how much he appreciated the SMS weather alerts he is getting and says he has been impressed by the accuracy. Other farmers noted how the service not only helped them know when to plant and dedicate time to farming activities, but it also helped them plan for outdoor home projects like painting, hanging laundry out to dry, and other daily activities. Nuru-supported farmers receiving the Iska forecasts through Ignitia have also been sharing the weather reports with community leaders and neighbors. This spill-over effect is a strong indicator of the value this weather information has for the rural communities where Nuru works.
The Ignitia partnership activity in Nigeria was a component of a Nuru Nigeria-led project in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Commission. The GIZ project established the agribusiness foundations necessary to launch three professional and profitable farmer organizations supported by Nuru Nigeria during 2022.
Launching Activities with Farmer Organizations in Burkina Faso
Nuru’s planned expansion into Burkina Faso made significant progress in 2022 with the establishment of Nuru Burkina Faso. In year one, Nuru Burkina Faso launched targeted activities within two communes in the Central Plateau. The new locally-led non-governmental organization built relationships with a network of farmer organizations to develop their capacity, and it registered 1,000 farmers for services in Burkina Faso. These farmers were enrolled into Ignitia’s hyper-localized Iska weather service translated into the local language. Extension agents and other Nuru staff have access to detailed interactive weather information and high-level monitoring of a forecasting platform called Ojo. On this platform, customized, targeted messages can be sent to farmers and other groups, which facilitates communication with farmers and strengthens relationships with cooperatives and extension officers.
Nuru Burkina Faso and Nuru Nigeria are part of the larger Nuru Collective. To learn more about how the Nuru Collective is building the resilience of smallholder farmers, please visit www.nuruinternational.org.
Steve Amodio
Nuru International West Africa Advisor
Simon
Deputy Program Director at Nuru Nigeria
