Challenges and Opportunities in Communicating Weather and Climate Information to Rural Farming Communities in Central Zimbabwe

IF 1.9 4区 地球科学 Q3 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Weather Climate and Society Pub Date : 2023-01-01 DOI:10.1175/wcas-d-22-0016.1
V. Makuvaro, T. Chitata, Emmanuel Tanyanyiwa, Solomon Zirebwa
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Abstract

Sustainability of rain-fed agriculture in semiarid regions is being threatened by climate variability and change. Weather and climate information (WCI) can be used to reduce the effects of this threat on agricultural production. WCI may be available, but is it readily accessible and communicated/disseminated efficiently to intended end users? Are stakeholders able to interpret the information to correctly inform decision-making? To answer these questions, in view of intermediate stakeholders (service providers to farmers), a study was carried out in two districts of the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe to identify the type and sources of WCI received by these stakeholders as well as constraints and opportunities to access, interpretation, and use of WCI. The study sample was drawn from the Midlands Provincial Drought Relief Committee, a link between the sources of WCI and the smallholder farmers. A questionnaire pretested for clarity and checked for internal consistency of themes using the standardized Cronbach’s alpha was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were generated using SPSS (version 20.0). Findings were that WCI was sometimes not readily available or was received late. Approximately 36% of the intermediate stakeholders (service providers) passed on WCI to farmers in its original form, from the main source the Meteorological Services Department. It was also unfortunate to discover that 36% of the respondents had challenges interpreting WCI. Impediments to the use of WCI by farmers included scientific information not aligning with indigenous information, which is better understood by farmers, and lack of trust in WCI. It is imperative to improve access to WCI and to train stakeholders on interpretation and dissemination of WCI. Weather and climate information—if accurate, accessible, provided in a timely manner, and well understood—can be helpful in the farm decision-making process. Its usefulness is becoming more important with increased climatic variability and change. This paper highlights the challenges and opportunities for service providers in communicating and disseminating WCI. We believe that findings from the study will give direction to efficient utilization of the information by the various end users, for which smallholder farmers are the majority in most developing countries.
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向津巴布韦中部农村农业社区传播天气和气候信息的挑战和机遇
半干旱地区雨水灌溉农业的可持续性正受到气候变异和变化的威胁。天气和气候信息可用于减少这种威胁对农业生产的影响。WCI可能是可用的,但它是否易于访问并有效地传达/传播给预期的最终用户?利益相关者是否能够解释信息以正确地为决策提供信息?为了回答这些问题,鉴于中间利益相关者(农民服务提供商),在津巴布韦米德兰省的两个地区进行了一项研究,以确定这些利益相关者收到的WCI的类型和来源,以及获取、解释和使用WCI的限制和机会。研究样本来自米德兰省抗旱委员会,该委员会是WCI来源和小农户之间的联系。使用标准化的Cronbachα对问卷进行了清晰度预测试,并检查了主题的内部一致性,以收集数据。使用SPSS(20.0版)生成描述性统计数据。发现WCI有时不容易获得或收到较晚。大约36%的中间利益相关者(服务提供商)将WCI以原始形式传递给农民,主要来源是气象服务部。不幸的是,36%的受访者在解释WCI时遇到了挑战。农民使用WCI的障碍包括科学信息与农民更了解的土著信息不一致,以及对WCI缺乏信任。当务之急是改善获得WCI的机会,并对利益攸关方进行解释和传播WCI的培训。天气和气候信息——如果准确、可访问、及时提供并得到充分理解——将有助于农场决策过程。随着气候变异性和变化的增加,它的作用变得越来越重要。本文强调了服务提供商在沟通和传播WCI方面面临的挑战和机遇。我们相信,这项研究的结果将为各种最终用户有效利用信息提供指导,在大多数发展中国家,小农户占大多数。
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来源期刊
Weather Climate and Society
Weather Climate and Society METEOROLOGY & ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES-
CiteScore
3.40
自引率
13.60%
发文量
95
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Weather, Climate, and Society (WCAS) publishes research that encompasses economics, policy analysis, political science, history, and institutional, social, and behavioral scholarship relating to weather and climate, including climate change. Contributions must include original social science research, evidence-based analysis, and relevance to the interactions of weather and climate with society.
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