Your search found 9 records
1 Venkatasubramanian, K.; Tall, A.; Hansen, J.; Aggarwal, Pramod. 2014. Assessment of India’s integrated agrometeorological advisory service from a farmer perspective. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). 65p. (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Working Paper 54)
Agrometeorology ; Agriculture ; Farmer participation ; Advisory services ; Assessment ; Gender ; Women's participation ; Climate change ; Stakeholders ; Non governmental organizations / India / Andhra Pradesh / Himachal Pradesh / Punjab / West Bengal / Tamil Nadu / Gujarat
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046810)
https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/43733/CCAFS%20WP%2054.pdf?sequence=2
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046810.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046810.pdf
(2.89 MB) (2.89 MB)
This report summarizes the results of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) commissioned evaluation of India’s Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (AAS). Conducted June-July of 2012, this assessment was a joint endeavour of CCAFS, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The assessment sought to offer transferable lessons that can guide investment in climate/agro-meteorological advisory services elsewhere in the world. Researchers conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 132 male and female farmers in eighteen villages across six states about how they receive and use AAS advisories, perceived gaps, and suggestions for improvement. The assessment uncovered the key role of diverse communications approaches. In villages where many communications channels were used to disseminate AAS information, such as SMS and voice messaging, meetings and trainings with agricultural extension officers, local knowledge centers, farmers clubs, and announcements over the microphone in villages, awareness and use of AAS advisories was higher. Farmers noted that trainings and discussions with agricultural extension officers at the village level were their preferred form of receiving information. However, ensuring wide representation in discussions is critical. In villages where women were fully ngaged in receiving and disseminating AAS information, use and potential benefit from the program were maximized. Women overall had lower awareness of AAS than men do, indicating the importance of targeting women and information that responds to the demands of women in communications efforts. The establishment of specific trainings and discussions on AAS for women farmers in the villages was recommended by farmers, as were trainings and interactions with scientists that all farmers can attend. Membership in women’s or farmers groups may be a positive factor in increasing awareness of AAS information, and extension services targeting existing local groups could be a strategy for increasing the impact of AAS information.
2 Fan, S.; Pandya-Lorch, R.; Yosef, S. (Eds.) 2014. Resilience for food and nutrition security. Washington, DC, USA: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). 211p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896296787]
Food security ; Nutrition ; Food policies ; Food prices ; Climate change ; Weather hazards ; Farmers ; Agricultural extension ; Advisory services ; Pastoralism ; Conflict ; Refugees ; Rural poverty ; Households ; Gender ; Living standards ; Public health ; Social aspects ; Non governmental organizations ; Case studies / Africa South of Sahara / Somalia / Kenya / Ethiopia / Djibouti / Yemen
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 363.1926 G000 FAN Record No: H046861)
http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/oc79.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046861.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046861.pdf
(3.87 MB) (3.87 MB)
3 Unver, O.; Kay, M.; Chavva, K.; Amali, A. A.; Pek, E.; Salman, M. 2021. Development for water, food and nutrition in a competitive environment — How NGOs and CSOs are reshaping traditional farmer irrigation advisory services. Irrigation and Drainage, 70(3):431-447. (Special issue: Development for Water, Food and Nutrition Security in a Competitive Environment. Selected Papers of the 3rd World Irrigation Forum, Bali, Indonesia) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2444]
Agricultural extension ; Advisory services ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Civil society organizations ; Smallholders ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Water governance ; Food security ; Nutrition ; Irrigation management ; Sustainable development ; Water management ; Community organizations ; Private sector ; Markets ; Business models ; Developing countries ; Livelihoods / Africa / Bangladesh / India / Jordan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050477)
(0.21 MB)
In spite of the 30% increase in the food supply since 1961, significant changes are anticipated over the coming decades that will increase the challenges facing smallholders. Climate change, rapidly growing population and increasing pollution all add to the risks of water and food security. This is happening at a time when water resources management is shifting away from government planning and control to a more adaptive and flexible model involving more stakeholders, whereby farmers and smallholders are increasingly involved in decision-making and governance of water resources. Many governments, however, continue to look to their smallholders to increase food production and to find ways to produce more with less. Farmers, thus, will need to find new ways of learning and rely more on their own resources, on the private sector and on support from civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations.
This paper examines the changing nature of farmer support services, focusing on the role played by emerging non-institutional actors. As water becomes the limiting resource for food production, it is crucial to understand how food markets are growing and can incentivize smallholders to produce more, and critically, how farmers are finding new ways of acquiring the knowledge and expertise they need.
This paper examines the changing nature of farmer support services, focusing on the role played by emerging non-institutional actors. As water becomes the limiting resource for food production, it is crucial to understand how food markets are growing and can incentivize smallholders to produce more, and critically, how farmers are finding new ways of acquiring the knowledge and expertise they need.
4 Balasubramanya, Soumya; Stifel, David; McDonnell, Rachael. 2022. Water shortages, irrigation frequency, and preference for technologies and agricultural services: the case of Jordan. Irrigation and Drainage, 71(2):437-451. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.2650]
Water shortage ; Irrigation efficiency ; Technology ; Advisory services ; Agricultural extension ; Water management ; Drip irrigation ; Groundwater ; Agricultural production ; Farmers ; Drought ; Highlands / Jordan / Zarqa / Mafraq
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050734)
(2.17 MB)
The use of improved technologies has been encouraged to improve irrigation on farms, especially in drought-prone areas. However, farmers' irrigation decisions may be rather motivated by a desire to reduce risk of crop loss than to reduce water use. Using the case of Jordan, we contribute to the water-saving debate by examining whether current irrigation frequency is influenced by past experiences of losses due to water shortage and whether preferences for technologies and irrigation advisory services are mediated by water shortage experiences. Our data are based on a survey of 304 fruit farms in the highlands that were all using drip irrigation, a popular way to “save” water globally. We find that farms that faced losses due to water shortages in the past are more likely to irrigate more frequently. More frequent irrigators who have such shortages are more likely to prefer receiving irrigation advisory information rather than upgrading technologies, while more frequent irrigators who have not faced such shortages are more likely to prefer upgrading irrigation technologies. Results suggest that irrigation management is motivated by risk reduction, not just by water conservation. Irrigation advisory services, hitherto neglected, may be an important component of agricultural water management in Jordan.
5 Aheeyar, Mohamed; Samarakoon, Kalani; de Silva, Sanjiv. 2021. Bundled weather index insurance pilot for drought-affected areas in Sri Lanka: reaching marginal farmers. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 35p. (IWMI Working Paper 201) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2021.233]
Weather index insurance ; Crop insurance ; Drought ; Pilot projects ; Farmers organizations ; Advisory services ; Awareness-raising ; Arid zones ; Climate change ; Crop losses ; Compensation ; Risk transfer ; Disaster risk reduction ; Resilience ; Decision making ; Insurance premiums ; Cost benefit analysis ; Equity ; Stakeholders ; Partnerships ; Gender ; Women ; Smallholders ; Landlessness ; Communities ; Households ; Socioeconomic environment ; Mobile phones ; Models / Sri Lanka / North Central Province / Galenbindunuwewa / Dunumadalawa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050840)
(3.07 MB)
Drought is an almost annual phenomenon in Sri Lanka, occurring at varying degrees of severity and affecting many parts of the country. These droughts cause significant damage to agriculture and other economic and social activities. This paper assesses the effectiveness of satellite-based weather Index insurance (WII) bundled with real-time climate and agronomic advisory services provided to farmers’ mobile phones. The aim is to enhance the drought resilience of diverse groups of farmers by providing solutions and strategies to extend bundled insurance products to more people and address equity issues.
In this pilot, an insurance product was introduced to farmers in a village in the North Central Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. WII products are seen as a part of the solution to reducing farmers’ risk to climate change. However, in many places, the structure of insurance schemes in the agriculture sector has failed to reach small-scale and marginal farmers who are most in need of risk transfer mechanisms. Based on a farmer survey, we extracted lessons from implementing a bundled insurance scheme as a pilot project to explore the utility of farmer organizations as an entry point for engaging different farmer groups and ensuring they can understand the WII insurance products and can make informed choices.
The survey results show that efforts made at the outset to understand contextual issues and challenges contributed to an effective product design and rollout approach. The rollout was more effective due in part to a partnership with an established local organization while adopting an aggregator model. Covid-19 mobility restrictions prevented full implementation of the rollout.
Index insurance bundled with mobile weather and agronomic advisories increased farmer resilience and reached diverse groups. Farmers emphasized that being able to assess the costs and benefits based on understanding how key elements of the product work is key to their future engagement with such products, which highlights the importance of investing in awareness raising through a blend of print, verbal and visual tools that make complex products understandable to stakeholders with low levels of literacy.
In this pilot, an insurance product was introduced to farmers in a village in the North Central Dry Zone of Sri Lanka. WII products are seen as a part of the solution to reducing farmers’ risk to climate change. However, in many places, the structure of insurance schemes in the agriculture sector has failed to reach small-scale and marginal farmers who are most in need of risk transfer mechanisms. Based on a farmer survey, we extracted lessons from implementing a bundled insurance scheme as a pilot project to explore the utility of farmer organizations as an entry point for engaging different farmer groups and ensuring they can understand the WII insurance products and can make informed choices.
The survey results show that efforts made at the outset to understand contextual issues and challenges contributed to an effective product design and rollout approach. The rollout was more effective due in part to a partnership with an established local organization while adopting an aggregator model. Covid-19 mobility restrictions prevented full implementation of the rollout.
Index insurance bundled with mobile weather and agronomic advisories increased farmer resilience and reached diverse groups. Farmers emphasized that being able to assess the costs and benefits based on understanding how key elements of the product work is key to their future engagement with such products, which highlights the importance of investing in awareness raising through a blend of print, verbal and visual tools that make complex products understandable to stakeholders with low levels of literacy.
6 Douthwaite, B.; Child, K. 2021. How agricultural research for development achieves developmental outcomes: learning lessons to inform One CGIAR science and technology policy research. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). 27p. (WLE Legacy Series 2) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2022.201]
Agricultural research for development ; CGIAR ; Research programmes ; Impact assessment ; Monitoring and evaluation ; Agricultural innovation ; Technology ; Policy innovation ; Agronomy ; Capacity development ; Advisory services ; Soil quality ; Cassava ; Seed certification ; Fertilizers ; Phytosanitary measures ; Solar energy ; Irrigation systems ; Electricity supplies ; Donors ; Funding ; State intervention ; Farmers ; Databases ; Models ; Case studies / Ethiopia / India / United Republic of Tanzania
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050909)
(1.14 MB)
At the end of 2021, CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) will be replaced by Initiatives housed within One CGIAR. This new modality is intended to achieve higher levels of impact at a faster rate and at reduced cost compared to the CRPs. As One CGIAR begins, there is a unique opportunity to reflect on what has worked in different contexts. In this paper, we provide findings that relate to One CGIAR’s overarching view of how it will achieve positive and measurable impacts, and for agricultural research for development (AR4D) more generally. Specifically, we draw from three related CRP evaluations to identify how different types of AR4D approaches have contributed to successful outcomes. In the final section of the paper, we present our conclusions and provide a list of recommendations for the science and technology policy of One CGIAR and possibly other integrated research for development programs.
7 Bhatti, Muhammad Tousif; Anwar, Arif A. 2022. Statistical verification of 16-day rainfall forecast for a farmers advisory service in Pakistan. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 317:108888. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2022.108888]
Farmers ; Advisory services ; Rain ; Weather forecasting ; Precipitation ; Information dissemination ; Decision making ; Weather data ; Models / Pakistan / Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051020)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168192322000818/pdfft?md5=cdd1f03708ec8f965a5701e5d9c51971&pid=1-s2.0-S0168192322000818-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051020.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051020.pdf
(6.48 MB) (6.48 MB)
Rainfall forecast is useful for farmers to avoid expensive irrigation decisions both in rain-fed and irrigated agricultural areas. In developing countries, farmers have limited knowledge of weather forecast information sources and access to technology such as the internet and smartphones to make use of these forecasts. This paper presents a case of developing Farmers Advisory Service (FAS) in Pakistan that is based on rainfall forecast data. The analysis emphasizes on statistical verification of 16-day rainfall forecast data from a global weather forecast model (Global Forecast System). In-situ data from 15 observatories maintained by Pakistan Meteorological Department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been considered for verification. Scores of various indicators are calculated for the rainfall forecast ranging from simple forecasts of dichotomous outcomes to forecasts of a continuous variable. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to understand how scores of dichotomous indicators vary by changing the threshold to define a rainfall event and forecast lead time interval. The quality of forecast varies across the stations based on the selected skill scores. The findings of verification, sensitivity analysis, and attributes of FAS provide insight into the process of developing a decision support service for the farmers based on the global weather forecast data.
8 Varshney, Deepak; Joshi, P. K.; Kumar, A.; Mishra, A. K.; Dubey, S. K. 2022. Examining the transfer of knowledge and training to smallholders in India: direct and spillover effects of agricultural advisory services in an emerging economy. World Development, 160:106067. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106067]
Agricultural technology ; Information transfer ; Advisory services ; Training ; Capacity development ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Social networks ; Wheat / India / Uttar Pradesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051434)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X22002571/pdfft?md5=451f642c87a9f0528193ce4fe0253a7f&pid=1-s2.0-S0305750X22002571-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051434.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051434.pdf
(0.91 MB) (930 KB)
We evaluate a large-scale model of agricultural advisory services, known as Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) or Farm Science Centers, introduced by the Government of India to facilitate smallholder adoption of new agricultural technologies. The study first evaluates the impact of frontline demonstrations and capacity-building programs conducted by KVKs and aimed at promoting a new wheat variety (HD2967); it then examines gains in the speed of diffusion at the district level. The study’s second objective is to estimate the spillover effects of KVKs through social networks. The study identifies network beneficiaries based on a ‘‘networks within sample” approach. The study uses a matched difference-indifferences approach and sample of 1496 wheat farmers in Uttar Pradesh, India. The finding shows that frontline demonstrations and capacity-building programs positively impact the adoption of HD-2967. The magnitude of the impacts is larger for KVK beneficiaries, but substantial gains also arise for network beneficiaries. The study underscores the importance of frequently conducting interventions to influence adoption on aggregate at the district level. From a policy perspective, the study offers new insights for strengthening outreach and extension services designed to facilitate the transfer of agricultural knowledge and information, emphasizing frontline demonstrations, capacity-building programs, and spillovers in extending the scope of KVKs.
9 Amarnath, Giriraj; Taron, Avinandan; Alahacoon, Niranga; Ghosh, Surajit. 2023. Bundled climate-smart agricultural solutions for smallholder farmers in Sri Lanka. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7:1145147. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1145147]
Climate-smart agriculture ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Weather index insurance ; Crop insurance ; Climate change ; Drought ; Agricultural extension ; Public-private partnerships ; Earth observation satellites ; Climate services ; Seed systems ; Climate resilience ; Advisory services ; Business models / Sri Lanka / Ampara / Anuradhapura / Monaragala / Kurunegala / Vavuniya
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052475)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1145147/pdf?isPublishedV2=False
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052475.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052475.pdf
(1.34 MB) (1.34 MB)
Smallholder farmers are among the most vulnerable to climate shocks in Sri Lanka. Lack of education and technical skills, poverty, risks inherent to agricultural investments, limited assets, and financial capital are major reasons for low investments in enhancing adaptive capacity. The study explores the use of agricultural technologies in improving smallholder resilience to water-related disasters and their opportunities for recovery. We tested four bundled services to promote climate-smart agriculture practices namely weather index insurance (WII), agronomic advisories dissemination via SMS, weather services, and climate-resilient seeds of maize and rice. The integrated solutions are referred to as Bundled Solutions of Index Insurance with Climate Information and Seed Systems (BICSA) to manage agricultural risks in Sri Lanka. The study conducted the bundled solutions in three agroecological regions spread over five districts and covering more than 2,500 farmers in three cropping periods of Maha and Yala seasons. The results demonstrate that providing bundled solutions significantly protects smallholders against moderate drought events. The satellite-based weather index insurance can offset the long-term consequences of severe yield losses and mitigate the long-term drop in farm productivity. Our findings demonstrate the importance of bundled insurance to mitigate financial risks associated with extreme weather events and enhance resilience to climate change among vulnerable smallholders. It is evident from the study promoting a viable business model among seed companies, insurance companies, and technological partners, along with public institutions such as agricultural extension services can help production-level improvements and develop strategies at both the farm and policy levels that will support a transition to a more resilient farming system.
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