The national level consultation workshop on “Customization of weather information and climate services to smallholder farmers” was organized on March 23, 2018 at Hotel Himalaya, Pulchowk, Lalitpur. This program is a part of the project “Customization of weather information and climate services to smallholder farmers – a pilot project at Seti watershed in Kaski” supported by USAID Hariyo Ban Program. The objective of the workshop was to get feedbacks from the key stakeholders to achieve a rewarding outcome of this pilot study of development of local level weather forecasts mechanisms to facilitate small farm holders in Puranchaur of Seti-watershed in Kaski district. The goal of the project is to develop the capacity of institutions to customize and dessimination of weather forecast in user friendly language focusing mainly on agriculture. The dignitaries from Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) and other government line agencies, academia from Tribhuvan University (TU) and Kathmandu University (KU) and the affiliates, professional societies like The Society of hydrologists and meteorologists – Nepal (SOHAM-Nepal), NGOs like Smart phones for Water (S4W), and other line agencies attended the workshop.
The technical session was facilitated by Dr. Madan Lall Shrestha, Advisor of The Small Earth Nepal (SEN) and three presentations were made in line with the project. The project background was put forward by Mr. Dhiraj Pradhananga, President of SEN. With a quest of how to make useful information -Usable that can act as a bridge between scientists, policy makers and the community; the team were able to understand the need of farmers’ friendly weather forecast through a decade long field experience, he added.
Similarly, Dr. Archana Shrestha, Senior Divisional Meteorologists, DHM shared experiences of agro-meteorological advisory initiatives of weekly weather forecast to facilitate farmers taken by DHM in 25 districts of Nepal. Furthermore, this is being upscaled at a micro-scale in the Kaski district with the SEN. According to Dr. Shrestha shortcomings like unwilling to accept the forecast, lack of awareness among agro experts and farmers about weather product, unclear about the definition of terms, and among others to be curtailed for an effective outcome. She pinpointed women-friendly weather forecast would be more relevant in our context as more women are into agriculture.
Likewise, Mr. Piyush Dahal, Research Coordinator of SEN presented the need for customization, the end users, ways for dissemination, and the suitable parameters and timing with the floor. As the major economic activity is agriculture in Nepal, style and format, visual interpretation, choice of language, and use of appropriate terminology plays a significant role in productive result.
Concerned stakeholders raised their concern on consideration of gender issues, plant-wise micro climatic assessment, in particular “science for farmers” sustainable use of monsoon rainfall, significance of early warning system in water induced geo-disasters, existent hydro-meteorological stations, understating of definition of terms.
Dr. Shrestha concluded that this work is an interest of government as DHM is actively participating on agro-meteorology advisory. “We are working for the community to support small farm holders which is a big achievement” he told as his closing remark.
Photographs from the program
