For a long time, farmers lived at the mercy of an unpredictable sky, and the weather was almost a mystery. Should they sow now… or wait for the rain?
In the villages, this uncertainty sometimes led to losses and forced farmers to take out loans to get through the season.
In Gadjagan, in the Agou prefecture, AGBAKLA Véronique was all too familiar with this reality. “Before, we used to farm without taking weather data into account. Often we would sow and it wouldn’t rain. We farmed in uncertainty (…)
Today, farmers are learning to plan ahead. Thanks to digital technology, agro-hydro-climatic information is no longer distant or uncertain: it is accessible, understandable and useful in everyday life. This innovation, introduced by the West African Food System Resilience Programme (FSRP TOGO) and its partners, enables farmers to make the right choices at the right time, thereby increasing the chances of success for their farming seasons.
“Since we’ve been receiving weather information, we now know when to sow. We also know weeks in advance whether it’s going to rain or not. This improves our yields.”
The relay committees set up within the Planned Agricultural Development Zones (ZAAPs) play a key role. These on-the-ground actors pass on the rainfall forecasts produced by the Togolese National Meteorological Agency (ANAMET) – disseminated via digital solutions – to their fellow farmers in local languages. In Gadjagan, the relay committee meets once a month and shares the weather information received with the 178 producer members of the ZAAP. Following the example of the Gadjagan ZAAP, 39 weather sub-committees have been set up to relay climate information across Togo’s six agricultural regions. Every message and every alert enables them to plan sowing more effectively, organise the growing season and protect their crops.
It all starts with weather forecasts produced by the Togolese National Meteorological Agency (ANAMET). But to be useful, this information must reach farmers at the right time. Thanks to the SIHAM platform, an innovative digital solution that improves the dissemination of rainfall forecasts, messages are sent via text and voice calls in French and local languages directly to farmers organised within the ZAAPs.
Behind this project initiative lies a dynamic public-private partnership, led by the FSRP, ANAMET, the IFDC, telecommunications providers (Moov, Yas Togo) and other partner organisations (ICAT, CTOP), which combine expertise and technology to make the weather a true ally for farmers.
Furthermore, the refurbishment and equipping of weather stations have modernised climate data collection. FSRP Togo has facilitated the acquisition of spare parts, enabling the upgrading of automatic weather stations and thereby strengthening its global network. With new interconnection and transmission equipment, information flows more efficiently and is analysed more seamlessly. To make the most of these innovations, the FSRP supported the training of ANAMET staff in agrometeorology, climate change and sustainable development at Agrhymet
Today, these enhanced skills enable them to transform this data into reliable forecasts, directly useful to farmers in the field.
“Before, the success rate of our forecasts was around 40%. Thanks to the training, we have helped improve our bulletins to an 85% success rate,” says a beneficiary of the climate change training
Through this initiative, 123,598 farmers, 41.28% of whom are women, now have access to agro-hydrometeorological information.
