Agricultural Meteorology Programme

The Programme supports food and agricultural production and activities by assisting National Meteorological and Hydrologicial Services in meeting the needs of farmers, herders and fishermen in order to:

• develop sustainable agricultural systems
• improve production and quality
• reduce losses and risks
• decrease costs
• increase efficiency in the use of water
• conserve natural resources
• decrease pollution from chemicals that contribute to the degradation of the environment

Climate information is used mainly for agricultural planning purposes, while recent weather data and weather forecasts are used mostly in current agricultural operations.

The main Programme objectives:

• to promote economically viable and high-quality food production that is sustainable and environmentally-friendly by strengthening the capability of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to provide relevant meteorological services for agriculture and other related sectors
• to foster a better understanding by farmers and other end-users in the agricultural, forestry and related sectors of the value and use of meteorological and climatological information in planning and operational activities

The Programme is governed by the Commission for Agricultural Meteorology (CAgM), which studies and reviews developments in related science and technology in order to guide the work of the Programme. The Programme coordinates and implements activities under the guidance of the Commission, which meets every four years. In its last Session (16^th) in 2014, the Commission approved four focus areas: 

• Operational agricultural meteorology
• Science and technology for agricultural meteorology
• Natural hazards and climate variability/change in agriculture
• Capacity development in agricultural meteorology

There are many aspects of the Agricultural Meteorology Programme and Commission for Agricultural Meteorology that require further elaboration with partner institutions in the areas of drought management and the publication of agrometeorological bulletins. The Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) has over 30 partners and the World Agrometeorological Information Service (WAMIS) issues bulletins and inks from over 70 countries.