A seasonal weather bulletin posted at the People's Committee of Tan Hung commune, Cai Be district, Tien Giang province. (Photo: the Tien Giang provincial Crop Production and Plant Protection Sub-Department) The seasonal weather bulletin of the DeRISK SE project hasassisted farmers to make better decisions, helping to reduceproduction costs, improve efficiency and boost cultivation.
The project “Applying seasonal climate forecasting and innovativeinsurance solutions to climate risk management in the agricultural sector inSoutheast Asia” (DeRISK SE Asia), has been in Vietnam for four years.
In Vietnam, climate change and extreme weather have causedan increase in damage to agriculture. Drought and saltwater intrusionfrom the El Nino weather phenomenon in 2016 affected production in theMekong Delta region, causing great economic losses.
Meanwhile, current climate information has not completely met theneeds of people, leading farmers to make inaccurate decisionsabout choosing plant varieties and care.
Seasonal weather bulletins are produced based on seasonal, monthlyor 10-day forecasts.
A bulletin is built on the interaction of stakeholders includinghydro-meteorological forecasters, agricultural staff, irrigation staff andrepresentatives of farmers to produce, interpret and disseminate specific recommendationsfor agricultural planning and decision-making.
Vo Thi Kim Phuong, Deputy Director of Tien Giang province's CropProduction and Plant Protection Sub-Department, said that it plans to developand maintain the seasonal weather bulletin in the region.
“It provides timely, local-appropriate seasonal and weatherrecommendations to farmers to help them reduce production costs, reduce damagecaused by weather changes, increase crop yields, and income for farmers,” Phuongsaid.
The Department of Southern Crop Production has issued a directiveon the application of seasonal weather bulletins to the Mekong Delta region.
The DeRISK SE Asia project builds climate risk management systemsthat apply advances in seasonal climate forecasting and insurance products,thereby protecting farmers and businesses in key agricultural value chains in Vietnamfrom the economic losses associated with climate change.
The DeRISK SE Asia project was implemented by the WorldMeteorological Organisation (WMO), the University of Southern Queensland(USQ), and the International Biodiversity Alliance.
The project was supported by the International ClimateInitiative of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, NatureConservation and Nuclear Safety.
In Vietnam, it was implemented jointly with the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development./.
VNA
