Assessment of the use of Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach by farmers to manage climate risk in Mali and Senegal

Dayamba, D S and Ky-Dembele, C and Bayala, J and Dorward, P and Clarkson, G and Sanogo, D and Diop Mamadou, L and Traore, I and Diakite, A and Nenkam, A and Binam, J N and Ouedraogo, M and Zougmore, R B (2018) Assessment of the use of Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach by farmers to manage climate risk in Mali and Senegal. Climate Services, 12. pp. 27-35. ISSN 24058807

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Abstract

Recently, a new approach to extension and climate information services, namely Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) has been developed. PICSA makes use of historical climate records, participatory decision-making tools and forecasts to help farmers identify and better plan livelihood options that are suited to local climate features and farmers’ own circumstances. This approach was implemented in 2016 in two sites in Senegal and Mali, with 57 and 47 farmers, respectively. At the end of the growing season, these farmers were surveyed to explore their perceptions on the use of the approach. In Senegal and Mali, respectively 97% and 76% of the respondents found the approach ‘very useful’. The approach enabled farmers to make strategic plans long before the season, based on their improved knowledge of local climate features. Moreover, evidence demonstrates that PICSA stimulated farmers to consider and then implement a range of innovations which included: (i) changes in timing of activities such as sowing dates, (ii) implementing soil and water management practices, (iii) selection of crop varieties, (iv) fertiliser management and (v) adaptation of plans for the season (farm size, etc.) to the actual resources available to them. The study also demonstrated the potential of farmer-to-farmer extension in scaling up the approach, which is of great interest especially in the current context of limited extension services in the West African region.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : West & Central Africa
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Climate change, Climate information services, Climate variability, Food security, Livelihood options, West Africa, Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture, PISA, PICSA approach, Mali, Senegal, climate risk
Subjects:	Others > Climate Risk Others > Climate Change Others > African Agriculture Others > West Africa Others > Mali
Depositing User:	Mr Ramesh K
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2019 10:47
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2019 10:47
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/11133
Official URL:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2018.07.003
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	Funding sources: This work was partly funded by the CASCAID (Capacitating African Smallholders with Climate Advisories and Insurance Development) project within the frame of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), which is a strategic partnership of the CGIAR and Future Earth. The CCAFS Program is carried out with funding by CGIAR Fund Donors, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), and the European Union (EU); with technical support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A USAID funded project in Mopti region (Mali), the Global Climate Change (GCC) project, run by a consortium of institutions including ICRAF, ICRISAT, CCAFS, World Vision, Aga Khan Foundation, Mali Meteo and ICRAF, supported implementation of the PICSA approach and data collection in Mopti. Acknowledgements: The meteorological services, Agence Nationale de la Météorologie du Mali (Mali-Meteo) and Agence Nationale de l'Aviation Civile et de la Météorologie du Sénégal (ANACIM) have analyzed the historical climate records and provided support for the training and implementation of the PICSA approach in Mopti and Kaffrine. The authors are also grateful to the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA) research assistants (Mouhamadou Diop and Baba Ansoumana Camara) who assisted in rolling-out PICSA with farmers and in data collection in Kaffrine and to Dr Sam Poskitt for providing comments on the paper.
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