Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM)

The Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM), the driving force behind the Agricultural Meteorology Programme, provides guidance in the field of agricultural meteorology by studying and reviewing the available science and technology

The 17th Congress (2015) approved revised terms of reference, as follows:

Improving service quality and service delivery by:

1. Developing enhanced services for the agricultural, livestock, forestry, rangelands and fisheries communities including agricultural meteorological consultancy;
2. Engaging with the Agriculture and Food Security exemplar of the Global Framework for Climate Services;
3. Encouraging development of a knowledge-sharing interface between forecasters/scientists, extension services and the agricultural decision-makers;
4. Identifying agrometeorological information needs of the vulnerable communities to facilitate development of more useful and appropriate agrometeorological information products related to services for the group;

Advancing scientific research and its application, as well as the development and implementation of technology to support sustained services outcomes on all scales and especially to address the challenges of managing climate risks and adapting to climate variability and change through:

1. Developing technological applications to communicate information to agricultural decision-makers;
2. Identifying innovative risk management systems in global food production;
3. Reviewing standards for measuring agricultural meteorological parameters;

(3) Strengthening capacity development through agricultural meteorological training at the regional, national and local levels;

(4) Building and enhancing partnerships and cooperation through working in collaboration with other WMO technical commissions and Members, United Nations agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and other relevant organizations, to create synergies and to support improved agricultural production and economic development.

European meteorological services first discussed meteorology and agriculture on an international scale in 1735. The first reference to co-operation between meteorology and agriculture was in correspondence between the International Meteorological Organization (IMO) and certain national institutes of agriculture and forestry, seeking an exchange of meteorological information and data.

The IMO Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM) was appointed in 1913, but the First World War delayed its first meeting. Re-constituted in 1919, that first meeting finally took place in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in 1923. Its seventh, and last meeting, was held in Toronto, Canada, in 1947. The policies and programmes of this last meeting became the foundation of the new WMO Commission for Agricultural Meteorology.

For a history of the Commission, read Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM): The First Fifty Years

President: LEE Byong-lyol - Republic of Korea
Vice-President: Federica ROSSI (Mrs) - Italy