I took a class during undergrad titled “Humanitarianism and International Aid Work.” The course was largely a (deserved) critique of humanitarian aid provided by the west. One of the reoccurring constraints to effective aid was that the development of it was not participatory, and therefore it did not incorporate local knowledge. Without the input of the community the assistance was aiming to serve, the aid proved to be ineffective more often than not.
Similarly, in order for climate information services (CIS) to be as effective as possible it needs to be developed through a participatory process. CIS is largely context-specific, so different groups and communities are going to have different needs. Therefore, the appropriate information and the most suitable delivery channels will vary.
By incorporating local knowledge, participatory development of CIS can accurately determine the needs of farmers and how to best deliver the information to them. Farmers, especially those that can be considered marginalized, should be included in the CIS development process from the onset, to ensure their needs are included, which will contribute to the adoption and effective use of the information (Tall et al. 2014; McNie 2012).
When we asked interviewees what the constraints to the delivery of advisory were, the two largest themes that emerged from these answers were that (1) the content of advisory needs to be more practical/applicable for farmers and (2) advisory is not reaching enough farmers. Both of these constraints could be ameliorated through a participatory CIS development process because farmers would have the opportunity to convey the information they really need and how to best disseminate that information.
It is essential that future development of CIS is mindful of the needs of the different groups the services are aiming to reach (McOmber et al. 2013; Tall et al. 2014). Participatory processes have been shown to improve the adoption and use of CIS, which is understandable given that individuals are more likely to utilize information if they have requested it (Tall et al. 2014; McNie 2012).
Sources:
McNie, E. C. (2012). “Delivering climate services: organizational strategies and approaches for producing useful climate-science information.” Weather, Climate, and Society 5(1): 14-26.
McOmber, C., et al. (2013). “Investigating climate information services through a gendered lens.”
Tall, A., et al. (2014). “Scaling up climate services for farmers: Mission Possible. Learning from good practice in Africa and South Asia.”
Tall, A., et al. (2014). “Who gets the Information? Gender, power and equity considerations in the design of climate services for farmers.”