Leveraging open weather data for Agriculture and nutrition

By 2050 global food production will need to double to combat hunger, malnutrition, and to meet the needs of a growing population.
Data has the potential to contribute to solving agriculture and nutrition challenges. It is within this context that the RCMRD, CTA, GODAN Action project and partners that the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) and her partners hosted a side event titled “Leveraging Weather Data for Agriculture and Nutrition Challenges in Africa” on 12 September 2017 during the 2017 AMCOMET-Africa Hydromet Forum. (Blurb)

The inaugural AMCOMET Africa Hydromet Forum brought together representatives from governments, public and private sectors, regional entities, development agencies and civil society to provide strategic insight to improve hydrological, meteorological and early-warning services to achieve climate and disaster resilience as part of a larger sustainable development strategy. Co-hosted by the African Union Commission and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Forum will build consensus and momentum to modernize weather, water, and climate information services.

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RCMRD-GODAN partners comparing notes ahead of their session at the AMCOMET Africa Hydromet Forum 2017

The session’s objective was to engage key hydromet collaborators in seeking synergies to address gaps towards developing better agricultural value chain returns.

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Session presenter and panelists

The panelists included: Prof. John Bosco Kiema, Director Technical Services –RCMRD, Chipo MSENGEZI, Project Coordinator-(GODAN Action) CTA Netherlands, Kamau Kiringai, Director CANIS-University of Nairobi, Kenya, Tomaso Ceccarelli, Senior Researcher - Global Food Security Environmental Informatics Team, Wageningen Environmental Research (Alterra) and Dominique MVUNABANDI, Chief Severe Weather Consult Ltd-Rwanda. The session was moderated by Byron Anangwe, Business Development Officer RCMRD-Kenya and presented by Dr. Kenneth MUBEA, Capacity Development Lead SERVIR Eastern & Southern Africa/RCMRD –Kenya.

Hydromet in Africa Hydromet Services help countries in Africa increase resilience to natural disasters, save lives, and strengthen public and private investments. African governments, academia, private sector leaders, and international organizations are committing themselves to provide improved weather, climate, and hydrological information, known collectively as hydromet. Put in real world terms, communities can access real-time weather forecasting, long-term drought prediction tools, and advanced water monitoring systems among other useful hydromet services.

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(From R-L: Ms. Msengezi, Project Coordinator-(GODAN Action) CTA Netherlands, Dr. Kiringai, Director CANIS-University of Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Tomaso Ceccarelli, Senior Researcher - Global Food Security Environmental Informatics Team, Wageningen Environmental Research.

The panelists said, “Using these services, communities can have the early warning needed to evacuate areas when disasters hit, businesses can make effective water-related decisions that affect their industry, and government agencies can effectively tackle climate change based on the latest information.”
Content for this article provided by Dorah Nesoba, Communications and Outreach Expert (RCMRD/SERVIR-Eastern & Southern Africa).

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