Africa is highly vulnerable to climate variability and climate change. When drought strikes and farmers are unprepared, food security and livelihoods suffer. In Sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture contributes 14 percent of gross domestic product.
Rain-fed agriculture accounts for approximately 96 percent of the cropland, making agriculture particularly sensitive to weather and a changing climate. Between 2014 and 2016, roughly 220 million people — or 23 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population — were undernourished.
Providing timely and accurate climate and weather information has potential to improve agricultural production, food security and farmer livelihoods. While national meteorological and hydrological services in Sub-Saharan Africa may have qualified and dedicated staff, resources are generally insufficient to meet needs. But national climate services do not operate in isolation.
A network of public and private actors engages end users in the design of climate services to meet their decision-making needs. Improving collaboration among public and private actors offers potential to increase cost-effectiveness and utility of climate information services for rural end users.
To read the full blog please go to: https://www.climatelinks.org/blog/new-usaid-initiative-evaluate-sustainability-and-effectiveness-climate-services-africa