Status and Opportunities for Tanzania Agrometeorological Services

What We Do

This project supports the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) in improving their capability to deliver actionable agrometeorological data products to farmers and other end users.

Location

Tanzania

How Satellites Make This Work

Provision and utilization of climate information is critical for the sustainable socio-economic development of Tanzania, particularly in the context of a changing climate. Like many other countries, Tanzania experiences the impacts of climate variability and change, which include severe floods, frequent and prolonged droughts, declining crop yields and increased incidences of crop pests and diseases. Responding to these challenges, the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) developed a National Framework for Climate Services, which provides an opportunity to enhance resilience to climate variability and change by promoting the use of climate services and bridge gaps with users. The University of Maryland is supporting the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) in improving their capability to deliver timely and actionable agrometeorological data products to farmers and other end users. The project entails a comprehensive assessment of TMA’s procedures for collecting and analyzing agrometeorological data. Interactions are held with partners to deliver information relevant to climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to farmers and stakeholders.

Lead

Catherine Nakalembe, University of Maryland

Team Members

Inbal Becker-Reshef, University of Maryland

Co-Funding

USDA-FASS

Learn More

Partners including United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) are implementing a project titled: Building Capacity for Resilient Food Security Project in Tanzania with support from USDA/USAID. This is being implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF), and Zanzibar’s Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Livestock and Fisheries (MANRLF). The project aims to to strengthen the government’s capacity to implement its Agriculture Climate Resilience Plan (ACRP 2014) and the Agricultural Sector Development Programme Phase Two (ASDP II). Under this Project, USDA has identified five capacities the government will need to implement the ACRP.

Capacity 1: To determine the potential benefits and trade-offs of CSA practices, with an emphasis on resilience, under different local climate scenarios by region and cropping system.
Capacity 2: To select CSA practices for specific cropping systems and regions and to develop technical specifications for those practices.
Capacity 3: To develop CSA demonstration and dissemination activities and products (print and electronic) to inform and engage local government authorities, extension staff, academics, students, service providers, agribusiness leaders, and policymakers on how to apply CSA practices and achieve agricultural resilience.
Capacity 4: To ensure that all agriculture extension graduates are knowledgeable of the CSA approach, applicable practices, and how to modify application for different regions and cropping systems.
Capacity 5: To convert agrometeorological data and analyses into timely and actionable information available to farmers.