501
that the ability to access information using television and radio differed between
highly educated people and those with limited education. Limited education sometimes leads to low ability to access the information, as supported with findings by
Berg and Lune (2012), who reported that literate farmers effectively use different
ways to access climate information. Moreover, access to information using extension officers and local knowledge (traditional signs) was found to be independent of
education level (X
2
= 4.902; p = 0.086 and X
2
= 3.388; p = 0.184). This implies that
use of extension officers and traditional knowledge in Kilombero might not be
affected by lack of education among smallholder farmers.
3.6 Barriers to Using Weather and Climate Information
for Decision-Making of Smallholder Farmers
Although there are many advantages of using weather and climate information in
crop production, such as effective agricultural planning that may increase production, findings from the study area revealed that smallholder farmers in both villages
faced difficulties in using climate information due to various factors. The first major
issue was that information was too general to understand, with 66% of respondents
in Sanje and 66% of respondents in Msolwa Ujamaa reporting that they had difficulties in understanding where/when exactly the forecasted events would occur. For
example, many said that forecasts by TMA cover the whole Kilombero area, which
is huge. Therefore, pinpointing where a predicted weather event would occur is difficult. Another challenge is that climate information was too technical to comprehend, with 60% and 58% respondents in Sanje and Msolwa Ujamaa, respectively,
disclosing that climate information obtained was sometimes very difficult to understand due to low education and difficult (technical) language. For example, some
people said that a weather report might predict rain in the “southern highlands
zone”, but a typical person might not understand where exactly that zone is located.
Another challenge was the inaccuracy of information received, with 80% of respondents in Sanje and 74% of respondents in Msolwa Ujamaa reporting that TMA
weather forecasts proved mostly unreliable. One respondent stated that, “they can
predict that there will be enough rainfall and therefore we should prepare ourselves
on farming and we can sow our seeds in the farms and wait for the rainfall. But it
will never rain at the time they predicted, hence the seeds die”.
Timely availability of weather and climate information is crucial to farmers’
success. Farmers need to be provided with information that is comprehensible, at the
right time, to enable them to apply that information to their farming activities. This
is in line with the findings of Kandji et al. (2006) in the context of the importance of
climate information services to address the growing demand for food in a changing
climate. Other studies verify that timely availability and access to information are
vital for effective managerial functions such as planning, organising, leading and
control, in the context of agriculture (Daron 2015; Daron et al. 2015).
Availability, Access and Use of Weather and Climate Information by Smallholder…
that the ability to access information using television and radio differed between
highly educated people and those with limited education. Limited education sometimes leads to low ability to access the information, as supported with findings by
Berg and Lune (2012), who reported that literate farmers effectively use different
ways to access climate information. Moreover, access to information using extension officers and local knowledge (traditional signs) was found to be independent of
education level (X
2
= 4.902; p = 0.086 and X
2
= 3.388; p = 0.184). This implies that
use of extension officers and traditional knowledge in Kilombero might not be
affected by lack of education among smallholder farmers.
3.6 Barriers to Using Weather and Climate Information
for Decision-Making of Smallholder Farmers
Although there are many advantages of using weather and climate information in
crop production, such as effective agricultural planning that may increase production, findings from the study area revealed that smallholder farmers in both villages
faced difficulties in using climate information due to various factors. The first major
issue was that information was too general to understand, with 66% of respondents
in Sanje and 66% of respondents in Msolwa Ujamaa reporting that they had difficulties in understanding where/when exactly the forecasted events would occur. For
example, many said that forecasts by TMA cover the whole Kilombero area, which
is huge. Therefore, pinpointing where a predicted weather event would occur is difficult. Another challenge is that climate information was too technical to comprehend, with 60% and 58% respondents in Sanje and Msolwa Ujamaa, respectively,
disclosing that climate information obtained was sometimes very difficult to understand due to low education and difficult (technical) language. For example, some
people said that a weather report might predict rain in the “southern highlands
zone”, but a typical person might not understand where exactly that zone is located.
Another challenge was the inaccuracy of information received, with 80% of respondents in Sanje and 74% of respondents in Msolwa Ujamaa reporting that TMA
weather forecasts proved mostly unreliable. One respondent stated that, “they can
predict that there will be enough rainfall and therefore we should prepare ourselves
on farming and we can sow our seeds in the farms and wait for the rainfall. But it
will never rain at the time they predicted, hence the seeds die”.
Timely availability of weather and climate information is crucial to farmers’
success. Farmers need to be provided with information that is comprehensible, at the
right time, to enable them to apply that information to their farming activities. This
is in line with the findings of Kandji et al. (2006) in the context of the importance of
climate information services to address the growing demand for food in a changing
climate. Other studies verify that timely availability and access to information are
vital for effective managerial functions such as planning, organising, leading and
control, in the context of agriculture (Daron 2015; Daron et al. 2015).
Availability, Access and Use of Weather and Climate Information by Smallholder…