August 2013: To provide assistance to better understand the impacts of agro-meteorological service information on farmer livelihood, a dozen experts gathered in Kaffrine, Senegal, to develop a methodology to evaluate climate services for farmers in Africa and South Asia. The methodology aimed to be: gender-responsive; quantitative; community-based and context specific; iterative; and scalable.

The workshop, which convened from 19-25 May 2013, stressed the importance of understanding the decision-making contexts where climate information is or is not useful, as well as the connections between information and outputs, outcomes and impacts. It builds on the work of the Global Framework for Climate Services, as well as the Climate Services Partnership. The experts considered a range of challenges in assessing climate service, and the different requirements for ex-ante and ex-post assessments. The workshop included a field-testing session for experts to work with local farmers.

The meeting was sponsored by US Agency for International Development, the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Program (CCAFS) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and the Senegalese Meteorological Service. [CCAFS Blog] [Publication: CCAFS Workshop Report]