Improving the co-production of climate services for agriculture: a case study from Nigeria

The document examines a two-year project in Nigeria aimed at strengthening the capacity of farmers and government officials to use climate information for agricultural decision-making. By applying the Tandem framework retrospectively, the author identifies the need to distinguish between direct users (farmers) and institutional users (government, NGOs), and suggests that co-production processes should explicitly address the costs of short-term coping strategies and the potential opportunities arising from climate change. The analysis emphasizes improving vertical and horizontal policy coordination across different levels of government to enhance the effectiveness of climate services.

• Climate services should move beyond focusing solely on negative impacts to identify opportunities created by climate change or the increased provision of information, such as improved agricultural product drying due to more sunshine and dry winds, or better water harvesting from increased runoff.
• Existing short-term physical coping strategies used in Enugu State—such as manual irrigation, building ridges instead of mounds, and using sandbags—are often unsustainable because they are physically demanding, require financial investment, and can negatively impact health.
• There is a critical need to distinguish between different types of climate service users: end-users (farmers and local communities) who are most vulnerable and affected by decisions, and institutional users (extension officers, NGOs, government, and academia) who implement measures and influence service provision.
• Co-production processes can be improved by incorporating specific mechanisms to enhance coordination between local, state, and federal governments, as current interactions often rely on simple SMS messaging and lack provisions to integrate rural inhabitants' experiences into governance.
• In the Edem Ani community, climate information is currently utilized for determining crop planting dates, timing for fertilizer and herbicide application, positioning poultry houses based on wind and temperature, and conducting loan appraisals.
• The study suggests that co-production frameworks should include questions on synergies between adaptation and mitigation, noting that discussions on agricultural challenges can lead to mitigation solutions such as reducing deforestation by replacing firewood with solar energy.

APA

Butterfield, R., & Osono, P. (2020). Improving the co-production of climate services for agriculture: a case study from Nigeria. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/improving-the-co-production-processes-for-agriculture-a-case-study-from-nigeria.pdf

Chicago

Butterfield, Ruth, and Philip Osono. Improving the co-production of climate services for agriculture: a case study from Nigeria. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2020. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/improving-the-co-production-processes-for-agriculture-a-case-study-from-nigeria.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Butterfield |first1=Ruth |last2=Osono |first2=Philip |title=Improving the co-production of climate services for agriculture: a case study from Nigeria |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/improving-the-co-production-processes-for-agriculture-a-case-study-from-nigeria.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{butterfield2020improving, author = {Butterfield, Ruth and Osono, Philip}, title = {{Improving the co-production of climate services for agriculture: a case study from Nigeria}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/improving-the-co-production-processes-for-agriculture-a-case-study-from-nigeria.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }