Events

This side event; ‘Strengthening Climate Services for Agricultural Transformation in Africa ’, will create an opportunity for policy makers,  scientists and technical experts from the CGIAR,  regional economic commissions for Africa (African Climate Policy Center (ACPC), UNECA, AUC, NEPAD) as well as National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and other stakeholders to learn from and build on examples of good practice in farmer-focused climate information and advisory services, and to share elements of good practice in agricultural planning and  food management in the face of a changing climate.

Objectives

• To capture and share lessons and evidence, through country case studies, on how climate information and advisory services can be used to improve the lives of smallholder farmers.
• To discuss methods, tools and high-resolution information products (historical, monitored, seasonal forecasts) that can be used to enhance institutional capacities to produce agriculturally relevant climate information (ENACTS)
• To discuss best tools and methods that can be used to enhance the understanding of climate information services and  build  resilience for  taking  decisions  in situations of uncertainty  among farmers  (PICSA and Twigire Muhinzi farmer extension model)

Target audience

Policy makers, researchers, technical officers from national meteorological and hydrological agencies, media

Speakers 

 Welcome remarks: John Ntaganda Semafara, Director General of  Meteo Rwanda

Keynote 1: Désiré Kagabo, CIAT/CCAFS, Kigali, Rwanda

Keynote 2: Ousmane Ndiaye, Senegal National Meteorological Agency   (ANACIM, French acronym), Dakar, Senegal

Tufa Dinku: International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) - Columbia University. Presentation on technical innovations enabling African NMS to provide information at the local scale of farmer decision-making

Proposed Panel Discussants:

James Hansen, Columbia University, New York, USA

Daphrose Gahakwa, Deputy Director General of RAB, Kigali, Rwanda

Malick Haidara, representative of USAID Rwanda mission, Kigali, Rwanda

Guleid Artam, Director of ICPAC, Nairobi, Kenya

John Ntaganda Semafara, Meteo Rwanda

AGENDA

Organizers

The CGIAR Research Program on climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Center for International Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

Rwanda Agriculture Board

Rwanda Meteorological Agency (Meteo-Rwanda)