Applied Agrometeorology of Today: Some Case Studies and New Trends
Abstract
One of the most important trends in agrometeorology is the development of
agrometeorological services with and for farmers. The issue is that they must be expla
ined to
and discussed with these farmers and then must
be applied in cultivati
on planning/actions and
finally also evaluated with them. The second trend
therefore is a “farmers first” paradigm in a
participatory approach. An important class of services is the design of new cropping/farming
systems that can face new requirements of the “farmers first” paradigm. Three exampl
es of
intercropping farming systems have been selected
and climate change and cultivation aspects of
these designs will be dealt with. Dryland in
tercropping with heterogeneous mixtures in
semi-arid Nigeria is the first example. Demonstr
ation and extension of relay intercropping of
late rice into lotus in Guangchang County, Jia
ngxi Province, China is the second. Land scarcity
forcing farmers in semi-arid Kenya to cultivate mo
re sloping land is the third. The next trend to
be discussed is generating and supporting a rural re
sponse to climate change in agrometeorology.
We use case studies from Indonesia. Collection a
nd generation of on-farm
knowledge will very
much help. If we succeed in creating such weathe
r services, consequences of climate change can
be faced with much more confidence. In Indonesia experiments have taken place with local
Climate Field Schools (CFSs) as a new trend in ag
rometeorology. We finally have experimented
there with so called “Science Field Shops”, wh
ich should become a new trend. The applied
agrometeorology of today is what scientifically supports those trends
URI
http://210.69.150.18:8080/handle/345210000/4463http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/33336
Publisher
Agromet Vision,