India’s Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (AAS) program is one of the largest agrometeorological information programs in the world. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) started broadcasting weather services for farmers by radio in 1945. In 1976, IMD started working with state governments to issue forecast-based advisories. In 1988, the National Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) began piloting agro-meteorological advisories based on 5-day forecasts. IMD took over leadership of the AAS in 2007 and launched a District-level Agrometeorological Advisory Service (DAAS) in 2008, with the aim of providing relevant weather information and management advisories at a district scale across the country.
The program provides meteorological (weather forecasting), agricultural (identifying how weather forecasts affect farming), extension (two-way communication with users) and information dissemination (media, IT and others) services. Tailoring information to farmer needs at a district scale is accomplished through multi-institutional teams, or “Agro-Meteorological Field Units” in each of the 127 agro-climatic zones.
Relationship to CSA
Maini and Rathore (2011) 2 noted that AAS had contributed to both greater productivity and increased resilience by encouraging farmers to adopt modern agricultural production technologies and practices, weather-based irrigation management, pest/disease management, and the use of improved post-harvest technologies.
Impacts and lessons learned
The current number of farmers that benefit from AAS is not known, but in 2011 IMD estimated the number to be 3 million and made a commitment to reach at least 10 million within a year. Factors that have contributed to the success of the program include:
- Co-production of information and advisories by teams of agricultural and meteorological experts.
- Sustained institutional partnerships at a sufficiently local level to provide relevant information and advisories.
- Use of diverse communications channels, including: SMS and voice messaging, media, internet, meetings and training events, village knowledge centers, local NGOs, farmers clubs, farmer fairs, and bulletins.
Although village-level meetings and training events have proven effective, supporting equitable involvement of women, lower-caste and other disadvantaged groups of farmers has been identified as a challenge.
CCAFS Big Facts - Weather-based agricultural advice boosting agricultural production in India: https://ccafs.cgiar.org/bigfacts/#theme=evidence-of-success&subtheme=services&casestudy=servicesCs3
Venkatasubramanian K, Tall A, Hansen J, Aggarwal P. 2014. Assessment of India’s integrated agrometeorological advisory service from a farmer perspective. CCAFS Working Paper no. 54. Copenhagen, Denmark: CCAFS.https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/34467/retrieve This report summarizes the results of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) commissioned evaluation of India’s Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (AAS). Conducted June-July of 2012, this assessment was a joint endeavor of CCAFS, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The assessment sought to offer transferable lessons that can guide investment in climate/agro-meteorological advisory services elsewhere in the world. Researchers conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 132 male and female farmers in eighteen villages across six states about how they receive and use AAS advisories, perceived gaps, and suggestions for improvement. The assessment uncovered the key role of diverse communications approaches. In villages where many communications channels were used to disseminate AAS information, such as SMS and voice messaging, meetings and trainings with agricultural extension officers, local knowledge centers, farmers clubs, and announcements over the microphone in villages, awareness and use of AAS advisories was higher. Farmers noted that trainings and discussions with agricultural extension officers at the village level were their preferred form of receiving information. However, ensuring wide representation in discussions is critical. In villages where women were fully engaged in receiving and disseminating AAS information, use and potential benefit from the program were maximized. Women overall had lower awareness of AAS than men do, indicating the importance of targeting women and information that responds to the demands of women in communications efforts. The establishment of specific trainings and discussions on AAS for women farmers in the villages was recommended by farmers, as were trainings and interactions with scientists that all farmers can attend. Membership in women’s or farmers groups may be a positive factor in increasing awareness of AAS information, and extension services targeting existing local groups could be a strategy for increasing the impact of AAS information.
Maini P, Rathore LS. 2011. Economic impact assessment of the Agrometeorological Advisory Service of India. Current Science 101(10):1296-1310.http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Agrometeorological.pdf A pilot study was conducted to assess the economic impact of weather forecast-based advisories issued to 15 of the 127 Agrometeorological Advisory Service (AAS) units of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. Six seasons comprising three Kharif (summer) and three Rabi (winter) during 2003–2007 were chosen. The major crops chosen for the study included food grains, oilseeds, cash crops, fruit and vegetable crops. The sample set consisted of 80 farmers, comprising 40 responding and 40 non-responding farmers. The main aim was to study the percentage increase/decrease in the yield and net return due to AAS. Results obtained suggest that the AAS farmers accrued a net benefit of 10–15% in the overall yield and a reduction by 2–5% in the cost of cultivation over the non-AAS farmers.