Weather data for agriculture
This magazine (PDF) by CTA portrays how various stakeholders in the data value chain are working with and creating agriculture services from weather data while showcasing some of the best practices and the most common challenges in this field. Agricultural stakeholders have an interest in accurate localised and reliable meteorological data. These raw weather data can be translated into accessible weather information, crucial for farmers to make well-informed farm management decisions and for effective mitigation. One article in the magazine emphasizes the importance of weather data for smallholder farmers and the fact that the support to farmers should go beyond being familiar and being able to work with data. It requires are broader view on standards, entrepreneurship, partnerships and ways to combine all kinds of data. The open weather data value chain should be demand-driven and as short as possible to reduce costs and make services cheaper. The key for sustainability of open weather data value chain are sustainable business models, which requires collaboration with many stakeholders. Another article aims to answer the question whether open data is ‘fit-for-purpose’; does it match the needs of being reliable, relevant, timely and accessible? The article suggests that the still scarce sources might suggest that open weather data are less fit-for-purpose, which might currently result in opting for paid, non-open services. Nevertheless, it can be expected that more open weather data will become available in the future, hopefully, better suited for the purpose of agricultural services for smallholders.