An Agricultural Scientist says there is need for a strong relationship between the meteorological department in Zambia and farmers to trust and utilize weather forecasting information in relation to climate.
Patricia Masikati said in an interview that currently there is no strong relationship between the farmers and Meteorological department thereby widening the knowledge gap in climate.
Dr. Masikati said she wants the Met department and farmers to harmonize to mitigate climate impact.
“This year, Meteorology forecasts were quite on the right, but I think it was not loud enough for farmers to really follow but from the Mets side we can learn alot, they told us that the season was not going to be good,” she said.
Dr. Masikati said the Met department plays an important role of advising farmers what crops to grow depending on the season.
“From our side [as agronomists] we could research then together with Ministry of agriculture we could develop different practices and packages which could be printed out and shared with farmers prior to the farming season,” she said.
She suggested that the information on farming practices could be shared during the distribution of farming inputs.
Dr. Masikati also said there is need to include livestock in the farming system to ensure diversification.
She added that the approach to agriculture should be system based and not component based to achieve a holistic effect.
She emphasized that the proposed technological packages should also capitalize on diversification of crops not just for humans but livestock as well.