Remarks by Director General of Meteo Rwanda launching the Enhancing National Climate Services Program and the Rwanda Climate Services for Agriculture

 

Mr. John Ntaganda Semafara, Direcror General of Meteo officiating the Launch

The representative of CIAT Africa

The USAID Rwanda representative

The RAB representative

Ladies and Gentlemen

All protocol observed!

It is my pleasure to be here today in this joint occasion of launching of the Enhancing National Climate Services Program of Rwanda Meteorology Agency and the Rwanda Climate Services for Agriculture: Empowering Farmers to Manage Risk and Adapt to a Changing Climate in Rwanda.  

Distinguished guest, climate information plays a crucial role in national development planning, managing climate risks and maximizing opportunities. Availability of decision-relevant climate information about the past climate, recent trends, likely future trajectories, and associated impacts is a prerequisite for climate-informed decision making.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Rwanda Meteorology Agency is the main provider of climate information and weather stations are the main sources of climate and weather data. In this regards, one of our major challenge has been a 15-year gap in observations from 1994 to 2009, a result of Rwanda’s recent traumatic history that had weather stations’ infrastructure at near collapse.  This gap has been a serious challenge in the effort to reconstruct a long historical time series and provide the required services. 

To overcome this, the Rwanda Meteorology Agency, in collaboration with the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) and its Partners, has made progress to fill the data gaps thorough IRI’s ENACTS (Enhancing National Climate Services) initiative. As, a result of the ENACTS initiative implemented at Meteo Rwanda, we have now complete rainfall and temperature data for every 5kmgrid across Rwanda. The availability of this high-resolution, spa­tially and temporally continuous climate data is transformative and will be critical for delivering climate information at the community level.  

However, availability of climate data may not necessarily lead to their uptake by itself. Climate information must be made available to users and users need to be engaged on the value and application of climate information products. The ENACTS initiate has also enabled Meteo Rwanda to provide access a verities of climate information products through the Internet. This interactive online tool will be demonstrated here today.

Building on the innovative data sets and information products developed by ENACTS, the Rwanda Climate Services for Agriculture project that is being launched today will enable Meteo Rwanda to provide climate information to agriculture at different levels (from farmers to government ministries). This will empower farmers to manage climate risk and adapt to a ahanging climate. This will hep to improve agricultural planning and food security management at both local and central government levels.

By the end of the project period, nearly a million farmers will have timely access to useful climate services. They will have better opportunities to transform their livelihoods through improved agricultural productivity.

The Agricultural planners, policy makers, investors, and food security specialists will be able to respond more effectively to droughts, floods and other climate-related risks. I understand that at the end of the project, a national network of climate services will be operational, with key national agencies able to sustainably deliver climate services to farmers.

Towards the end of my remarks, I would like to thank IRI and the Africa Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) for supporting the implementation of ENACTS in Rwanda. I would also like to thank   USAID Rwanda for funding the new project and  sponsoring this launch.

With this few remarks, I thank you all and I wish a nice day.