The suitability of existing open data weather data for agro-meteo advisory – ICT Update

"Open data in the weather domain could address the information needs of agro-meteo farm advisory systems. However, is open data ‘fit-for-purpose’; does it match the needs of being reliable, relevant, timely and accessible? Some answers come from the CommonSense project targeting smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. With relevant, reliable, timely and accessible weather information, smallholder farmers can make important farming decisions, especially for the semi-arid to arid environments such as those found in Ethiopia. Therefore, weather information, in the form of forecasts and Near Real Time (NRT) observations or estimates, is essential for any farm advisory system targeting smallholder farmers. Is open data best suited for agro-meteo advisory services to smallholders? Open data in the weather domain could address the information needs of agro-meteo farm advisory systems. However, is open data ‘fit-for-purpose’; does it match the needs of being reliable, relevant, timely and accessible? Some answers come from the CommonSense project targeting smallholder farmers in Ethiopia...."