Full Description
This title was first published in 2003. Recent food shortages in Southern Africa, induced by rainfall variability but compounded by problems of governance and rising food prices, have resulted in massive relief efforts. A recent scientific innovation - supplying farmers with seasonal climate forecasts - has been touted as a way to increase preparedness for such situations. This book examines how climate forecasts are used by the agricultural community in Southern Africa. Based on a workshop funded by the World Bank, it covers a broad set of issues related to the use of seasonal forecasts, including factors that constrain users' capacities to respond. Case studies presented in the book explore how forecasts can potentially increase production and food security among a population highly dependent on agriculture and vulnerable to climate variability. The book reflects on how the production, delivery and uptake of seasonal forecasts might be improved, as well as the limitations to their usefulness, and it should catalyse future thinking and research in this field.
Contents
I: Seasonal Climate Forecasts; 1: Climate Forecasts in Southern Africa; 2: Regional Responses to Climate Variability in Southern Africa; 3: National Responses to Seasonal Forecasts in 1997; 4: Forecasts and Farmers: Exploring the Limitations; II: Case Studies of User Responses; 5: The Use of Seasonal Forecasts by Livestock Farmers in South Africa; 6: Climate Forecasts in Swaziland: Perspectives from Agribusiness; 7: Determinants of Forecast Use among Communal Farmers in Zimbabwe; 8: Climate Forecasts in Mozambique: An Economic Perspective; III: Identifying User Needs; 9: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Forecasts in Tanzania; 10: Forecasts and Commercial Agriculture: A Survey of User Needs in South Africa; 11: Meeting User Needs for Climate Forecasts in Malawi; 12: A Future for Forecasts?
