Climate change has disrupted centuries-old agricultural practices. Increasingly intense storms put lives at risk in Malawi.
Floods take lives, devastate infrustructure, destroy homes and perpertuate poverty traps. And already vulnerable farmers are pushed deeper into hunger and poverty.
To address these ever-expanding challenes, the government is using the power of information to build resilient livelihoods for vulnerable populations.
The government is advancing the innovative use of Participatory Intergrated Climate Services for Agricuture (Picsa), advanced lightning detection, solar powered weather stations and other solutions with funding fron Global Climate Facility (GCF).
The UNDP supported project, Saving Lives, Protecting Agriculture Based Livelihoods in Malawi (M-Climes) was launched in 2017 to provide three million Malawians with life-saving climate information and early warnings , improve food security and advance climate resilient livelihoods.
Atanazio Chasukwa, 71, and other farmers like him are frequently hit hard by floods, droughts, and fast-acting severe weather, which reduce productivity and strain their coping mechanisms.
“We used to farm without following proper methods due to lack of informtion. I started farming in 1958, but I never realised high yields due to poor farming methods,” he says.
In 2018, The M-Climes Project introduced Chasukwa to the Picsa approach which helps farmers to make informed decisions based on accurate, location-specific climate and weather information, including adopting locally-relevant crop, livestock and livelihood options.
“I started yielding bumper harvests in 2018 after being introduced to Picsa, ” says Chasukwa. The project formed a public-private partnership with Esoko mibili services company to deliver usable localised climate information and early warnings to farners via mobile phone.
The projetct has trained over 20 000 lead farmers on how to share improved information on weather and climate patterns to improve crop yields and foster food security.
Going beyond standard weather reports helps 200 000 farmers in 10 districts know when to palnt and when to harvest.
Margaret Andiseni says Picsa platform nforms her of the upcoming weather conditions, empowering her family to cultivate crops which yield more in the prevailing weather, especially drought-tolerant one of dry spells are anticipated.
Amid frequent blackouts in Malawi, solar energy provides reliable energy for weather stations. With the inroduction of solar-back-up panels, the project powers weather station to operate 24 hours-saving money, lowering carbon emmissions and enhancing the accuracy of localised weather forecasts farmers can use.
A 25-kilowat solar stand by power system supports the seamless operations of the Department of Climate and Meteorological Services (DCCMS) services and critical equipment.
Says DCCMS directo Jolamu Nkhokwe: “It is important for our department to operate 24 hours non stop so that they generate accurate information and alert people across the country of probable disasters.
The MET department uses the generated solar energy for about 23 hours non stop. The project also installed lightning sensors at DCCMS headquarters in Blantyre.
It plans to expand the flood forecasting functionality system-installed by the Shire River Basin Management Programme financed by World Bank-to simmilarly flood-prone zones in the Centre and North.
Source: The Nation_October 20, 2020_by Greg Benchwick for UNDP Malawi