Increasing Food Security with Agrometeorological Information: Mali’s National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk

This case study describes an agrometeorological project launched in 1982 by Mali’s Direction Nationale de la Météorologie (DNM) to help rural farmers manage climate risks and improve food security. The program provides weather forecasts, rainfall measurement tools, and technical advice through a multidisciplinary framework, resulting in higher crop yields and incomes for participating farmers.

• Launched in 1982, Mali’s agrometeorological project was the first in Africa to provide climate information directly to farmers and teach them to measure climatic variables themselves. The program has expanded from a small pilot with 16 farmers in Bancoumana to a government-sponsored initiative that has trained over 2,500 farmers.
• The project utilizes a multidisciplinary working group that acts as a “boundary organization” to translate technical climate data into practical agricultural advice. This group includes representatives from the meteorological service, the ministry of agriculture, research institutes, rural development agencies, farmer groups, and the media.
• Climate information is disseminated through three primary channels: seasonal forecasts processed for 10-day bulletins and government planning; daily to three-day weather forecasts broadcast via radio; and 10-day bulletins providing advice on crop health, water resources, and markets. Radio is the most effective medium, with an 80% audience share in project areas as of 2003.
• Farmers using agrometeorological information report higher yields and incomes compared to those relying on traditional indicators. In the 2003-04 season, gross income gains in agromet fields ranged from 10% to 80% across various crops including pearl millet, sorghum, maize, and groundnut. By 2010, average yields for millet, sorghum, and maize in project areas were 36%, 37%, and 48% higher than national averages, respectively.
• The project has empowered farmers to reduce perceived risk, leading to increased investment in new technologies such as improved seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides.
• Despite its success, the project faces several challenges: it focuses primarily on cereals and cotton while neglecting herding families; it struggles with the reliability of local-scale forecasts for dry spells and rainy season onset; and it faces communication barriers due to high illiteracy rates and difficulties translating technical terms into local languages.

APA

HELLMUTH, M., DIARRA, D. Z., VAUGHAN, C., & COUSIN, R. (n.d.). Increasing Food Security with Agrometeorological Information: Mali’s National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wrr_case_study_increasing_food_security_mali_.pdf

Chicago

HELLMUTH, MOLLY, DAOUDA ZAN DIARRA, CATHERINE VAUGHAN, and REMI COUSIN. Increasing Food Security with Agrometeorological Information: Mali’s National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk. World Resources Institute, n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wrr_case_study_increasing_food_security_mali_.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=HELLMUTH |first1=MOLLY |last2=DIARRA |first2=DAOUDA ZAN |last3=VAUGHAN |first3=CATHERINE |last4=COUSIN |first4=REMI |title=Increasing Food Security with Agrometeorological Information: Mali’s National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk |publisher=World Resources Institute |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wrr_case_study_increasing_food_security_mali_.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hellmuthndincreasing, author = {HELLMUTH, MOLLY and DIARRA, DAOUDA ZAN and VAUGHAN, CATHERINE and COUSIN, REMI}, title = {{Increasing Food Security with Agrometeorological Information: Mali’s National Meteorological Service Helps Farmers Manage Climate Risk}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wrr_case_study_increasing_food_security_mali_.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }