WATERAPPS is implemented in Sylhet and Mymensingh

WATERAPPS is implemented in Sylhet and Mymensingh

This month, October 2021, Dr. Uthpal Kumar (Wageningen University and Khulna University) went to Sylhet and Mymensingh districts on his mission to implement the Meteoblue and FarmerSupport APP (WATERAPP) in these regions. In his visit, Uthpal aims to initiate WATERAPPscale ‘weather clubs and farmers field schools’ in these locations with the help of the agricultural officers (DAE) and local farmers and introduce and further develop the WATERAPP in co-development processes. There, he shared the weather forecasts of the following week and discussed the forecasts of the previous week and their effect on the farmer's decisions.

In the following, we share some pictures taken during the Uthpal visit to these two districts. From the picture below, it is seen that male and female farmers in the Sylhet district are interested in the use of WATERAPP demonstrated by researchers from Sylhet Agricultural University.  They are very enthusiastic about the Apps and will use the Apps in future farming decision-making. Uthpal told us that many farmers share the same enthusiasm with them.

Demonstration of WATERAPP in the Sylhet district, Bangladesh

The next figure shows farmers, both male and female, gathering during the weather school in the Mymensingh district. During the training, the farmers sat together and looked up the forecast data printed by Uthpal. Uthpal and DAE officers told them about the weather forecasts for the next days, how to use the forecasts, and the reliability of the forecasts. By the end of the training, we hope that the farmers are aware that the forecast is never 100% reliable but they will still see the value of climate and weather information.

Farmers in Mymensingh district showing the next week forecasts

Uthpal mission hopefully will bring many benefits to farmers in these two districts as we already saw in the Khulna district. His mission this time will create a baseline farmer perception about the climate services provided by the WATERAPPscale team. In the next coming months, we are hoping to see the outcomes of his visit, where the farmers get benefits in using the WATERAPP tool in their farming decision making. The detailed story about Uthpal visit will be published soon by Uthpal.