Weather data Community of Practice
This Community of Practice aims for its member to share experiences, ideas and learn from existing initiatives that focus on providing added value services for smallholders using (open) weather data. As actors along the weather data value chain, working together, sharing knowledge and best practices we can better be able to co-create and deliver farm weather data driven services for farmers. Interested, register via the link.
http://tinyurl.com/COPWeatherData
GODAN Action on open weather data
GODAN Action is a three-year project to enable data users, producers and intermediaries to engage effectively with open data and maximise its potential for impact in the agriculture and nutrition sectors. It works to strengthen capacity, to promote common standards and best practice and to improve how we measure impact. In its first year GODAN Action focusses on open weather data and does this with meetings, workshops and publications.
http://www.godan.info/godan-action
World Weather Watch
To predict the weather, modern meteorology depends upon near instantaneous exchange of weather information across the entire globe. The World Weather Watch – the core of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) programmes – combines observing systems, telecommunication facilities, and data-processing and forecasting centres (operated by Members) to make available meteorological and related environmental information needed to provide efficient services in all countries. With one core component dedicated to provide quality-assured, processed data, analyses, and forecast products on a wide range of temporal and spatial scales in the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System.
https://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/index_en.html
https://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/DPS/gdps.html
White paper: The State of Weather Data Infrastructure
This report of the Open Data Institute in cooperation with the MET Office in the UK, explores the current state of weather data infrastructure. By looking at the different aspects of the data infrastructure used to collect, access and share weather and climate information, the publication gives better understanding about challenges.
http://tinyurl.com/COPWeatherDataOpen
Weather Map
The mission of the OpenWeatherMap company that works on big data and geospatial technologies, is to provide a global geospatial platform which is affordable to users and enables them to operate with earth observation data like satellite imagery, weather data, and similar data sources. Users can build new data-driven products for example for agriculture.
https://openweathermap.org/
Video: Open Weather Data Concepts
Presentation of Charlie Ewen, Chief Information Officer at the MET Office (UK), on how the meteorological society relies on open data concepts. His presentation was part of the Open Data Institute’s Summit 2014.
Video: Creating Impact for smallholder farmers with open weather data
During the workshop “Creating impact for smallholders with weather data” in The Hague in November 2017 experiences in existing initiatives were shared to further the services for smallholders using (open) weather data. This video gives an impression and insights from participants.
http://tinyurl.com/COPWeatherData
Book: Open Data in Developing Countries
This book (published by African Minds, November 2017) gives insights in what is needed to build an evidence base of what works and how with open data in developing countries. Authors Stefaan Verhulst and Andrew Young show with several case studies that a lot is already happening with open data around the world. One chapter is dedicated to Aclímate in Colombia, a project to opening up weather data and creating accessible weather information for farmers.
https://bit.ly/2HeUw1Z
Working Paper: Making data work for smallholder farmers
In this CTA publication (November 2017) the authors look at each stage of the crop cycle where open data can make the difference for smallholder farmers.
https://bit.ly/2HeUw1ZKUKUA
Weather Stations
KUKUA works on closing Africa’s weather information gap by leveraging new weather station technology and improved weather forecast accuracy. It provides accurate weather data and forecasts to smallholder farmers, commercial farmers and other stakeholders throughout Africa. The London Business School Review published an article about KUKUA in its 2016 issue.
https://www.kukua.cc/
Climate Services for farmers
CCAFS research on climate services and safety nets works with a range of organizations to support the development of effective climate information and advisory services for farmers and climate-informed safety net interventions. These resilience-building services provide an enabling environment for smallholder farmers to transition towards more climate-smart production systems and climate-resilient livelihood strategies, while protecting them from climatic extremes. Read stories and research results for example about weather insurances and early warning systems on the website of CCAFS.
https://bit.ly/2HeUw1Z
Read More
The suitability of existing open data weather data for agro-meteo advisory
by Tomaso Ceccarelli , Allard de Wit and Rob Lokers
Open data in the weather domain could address the information needs of agro-meteo farm advisory systems. However, is open data ‘fit-for-purpose’; does it match the needs of being reliable, relevant, timely and accessible? Some answers come from the CommonSense project targeting smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.
Read MoreCost efficient integration of weather data into agronomic advice
Two innovative enterprises have integrated a weather service system within an agro advisory service for farmers in East Africa. The eProd handheld device collects the GPS locations and agronomic information such as soil type, seed variety and planting date. aWhere combines this information with their weather data so farmers can now be sent SMS weather forecasts, spray alerts, fertiliser advice and yield projections.
Read MoreUsing weather data to support smallholder agriculture in Africa
Providing added value services for smallholders using open weather data in developing countries is challenging. Therefore, on 21 and 22 November 2017 practitioners, policy-makers and academics gathered in The Hague, the Netherlands, to explore in two workshops the practical and strategic challenges they face to work with open weather data and how to address them.
Read MoreBuilding a business case for agro-weather services
Most of the business models for weather services to smallholder farmers in Kenya are financially too unsustainable to scale-up. To do so it requires capacity building and establishing quality management system geared toward validating the impact.
Read MoreFacilitating the sharing of open weather data
by Leigh Dodds
Ensuring that data can be easily accessed, used and shared requires the use of data standards. If you are currently working on a data project you should take time to consider what standards might be available to you to help to achieve the goals of your project.
Read MorePartnerships to increase open weather data’s impact
Climate warming affects the water cycle, which impacts negatively on agricultural production and derails the cyclical effects associated with weather predictions and agricultural seasonality. Making use of weather data could help farmers to mitigate to the circumstances and increase farm productivity. To succeed, pragmatic public-private multi-stakeholder partnerships are required.
Read MoreOvercoming challenges in the availability and use of climate data in Africa
by Tufa Dinku
Availability of and access to climate data and information products is critical to achieving climate resilient development. However, climate information is not widely used in Africa. Useful information is often not available or, if it does exist, is inaccessible to those that need it most. Efforts are being made to alleviate the problem of data availability and use.
Read MoreThe smart climate observation network that covers all Africa
by John Selker , Nick van de Giesen and Frank Ohene Annor
There is a lack of weather and climate observation stations in Africa, while food production, harvest predictions, and disaster mitigation would benefit from improved data-accessible observation. A new smart and sustainable weather and climate observation network now addresses the important challenge of monitoring the weather in the continent.
Read MoreWeather Data: a vital component to the agriculture value chain
by Chipo Msengezi and Dorah Nesoba
All agricultural stakeholders have an interest in accurate, localised and reliable meteorological data. Having access to such data means that organisations and entrepreneurs can translate raw weather data into accessible weather information, which is crucial for farmers to make well-informed farm management decisions and for effective risk mitigation.
Read MoreWeather data to weather forecasts for Zambian farmers
In Zambia, the Meteorological Department opens its weather and climate data by providing informative weather products to end users. For example, it publishes the 10-day crop weather bulletin.
Read MorePublic Private Partnership success for a start-up
The start-up enterprise Severe Weather Consult in Rwanda succeeded in receiving support to develop a business model and is now involved in a public private partnership that allows them to make use of weather data for an alert advisory service to farmers.
Read MoreWeather Index-Based Insurance for the Pacific
Smallholder farmers in the Pacific have no access to weather index-based insurances, while flooding is a real threat for them. Preliminary research in the region suggests that weather and agricultural data, and the exact locations of farmers is weak in the region.
Read More
