Operational Agrometeorological Strategies in Different Regions of the World

Abstract

The current financial crisis around the world is putting considerable stress on developing countries and countries in transition which are faced with the twin challenges of coping with the soaring food prices and the impacts of climate change on agriculture in the fragile economies of their countries. Agricultural sector is weather dependent and variations in weather and climate affect agricultural productivity. Concerns with the need for achieving greater efficiency in natural resource use while protecting the environment require that greater emphasis be placed on understanding and exploiting climatic resources for the benefit of agriculture and forestry. Hence there is now a growing recognition of the importance of operational agrometeorological services for the agricultural, livestock, forestry and fisheries sectors. These include services to help reduce the impact of natural disasters, including pests and diseases; early warning and monitoring systems; short- and medium-range weather forecasts; climate prediction/forecasting; and services to help reduce the contributions of agricultural production to global warming. Agrometeorological information plays a valuable part not only in making daily and seasonal farm management decisions but also in risk management and early warning systems. The ability to integrate information from interdisciplinary sources utilizing new computer-based technologies and telecommunications creates a great opportunity to enhance the role of agrometeorologists in many decision-making processes. This paper reviews the operational agrometeorological strategies in different regions of the world drawing on the different papers presented at the Inter-Regional Workshop on Strengthening Operational Agrometeorological Services at the National Level which was organized jointly by WMO, FAO, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Philippines Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomic Services Administration (PAGASA) in Manila, Philippines in March 2004. Perspectives on operational agrometeorological services currently being provided at the national, regional and international level are reviewed and a critical review of strengthening operational agrometeorological services and needs from the agricultural sector are presented. Recommendations on addressing the priority issues are presented.