Climate variability, irregular rainfall behavior, and unexpected meteorological events directly impact ecosystems, water availability threatening agricultural production systems and livelihoods. The unpredictability of weather changes are increasingly undermining farmer’s confidence in their traditional knowledge and their capacity to cope with and adapt to these changes.

Agrometerology refers to utilization of climate-weather forecasting or studies for the exclusive use in agricultural field. The growing threat of climate change has resulted into increasingly unpredictable seasons and rise in natural calamities both in scale and intensity in recent years.

Agrometeorological services can be organized to make smallholder farming climate-resilient in following ways-

• Local weather data and short-range forecasts:Need to sensitize farmers to local weather variability and how it affects crop and livestock. Key weather information enables farmers to anticipate and prepare for likely problems that can arise due to changing weather conditions.
• Information dissemination and feedback:information is to be disseminated through mobile telecommunication networks (via SMSs) directly to individual farmers, announcements and posters.
• Automated content management system: Dynamic system aligns forecast weather conditions and disseminates to the recipient farmer the advisory particular to his/her crop to minimize the damage.
• On-site capacity building:Establishing relationships, providing farmers regular on-farm extension support, knowledge, technology transfer, and linkage building can help to increase productivity, reduce costs, and build capacities of farmers to cope with climate and market risks.
• Impact, Uptake and Feedback of Agro-advisories:Yield increases and cost reductions were realized most when agrometeorological advisories were supported by on-site extension support.
• To help in damage detection in insurance– the recently launched Fasal Bima Yojana takes help of technology like drones and satellites to determine the damage of crops thereby determining amount of insurance to be paid.
• Increasing awareness- the latest technological advancements could be used for increasing overall awareness of farmers and other stakeholders.

Conclusion-

The message must be holistic in nature, build on customary practices and focus not only on current needs—reducing risks, increasing productivity and higher incomes—but also with an eye on the future—addressing issues of sustainability, improving resilience and building adaptive capacities.