The State of Climate Information Services for Agriculture and Food Security in East African Countries

Abstract

The increase in extreme climate events that is expected to accompany climate change will have far-reaching impacts on agricultural production and food security, water availability, energy resources, health, biodiversity, and human settlement, especially in Africa. The timely provision of climate information may help vulnerable societies and individuals to prepare for these extreme events, thus mitigating the costs associated with bad years and allowing them to better capture the benefits associated with favourable climatic conditions. Through research conducted by way of questionnaires, consultations, visits, interviews, and websites, the current study sets out to inventory different types and formats of climate information used in East Africa. It also assesses current climate services, including how such services are disseminated and applied by various regional and national actors, and makes recommendations on the sorts of measures that might be taken in order to better satisfy climate information needs of the agriculture and food security sector in East Africa.