News facts
The agriculture sector is the mainstay of Benin’s economy, providing livelihoods for almost 60% of the working population. However, droughts and floods are increasing in frequency and severity, thus harming agricultural production in Benin. Farmers have little access to basic climate forecasting information, which impedes their ability to adapt their agricultural planning and practices accordingly.
Benin’s Ministry of Agriculture requested assistance through the CTCN to address its severe lack of data and forecasting information which threatens farmers’ agricultural productivity and resilience to increasing droughts and floods in the country. The CTCN assistance aims to fill the identified gaps by strengthening expertise of national practitioners to utilize appropriate forecasting software:
- Adapt a software to national context for crop monitoring and facilitate its use in a pilot area
- Recommend procedures to compile and communicate localised information bulletins about anticipated severity and duration of droughts and floods to national planners and local farmers
- Provide training in managing and using the information system to produce agro-meteorological bulletins addressed to producers
Agricultural extension agents will be trained in data collection, information dissemination and popularization of agro-meteorological information. The agro-meteorological system will enable national planners and local producers to analyse the agro-meteorological information and make calculations for ensuring better forecasting and analysis of water balance in relation to the agricultural calendar of producers.
The CTCN assistance supports the adaptation strategy identified in Benin's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) as well as its National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA), and aims to strengthen the capacity of agricultural communities to adapt to climate change in four climate-vulnerable agro-ecological zones in Benin.