Agroclimate Mozambique: Adapting Agroclimate for Climate Smart Agricultural Management in Mozambique.

Climate variability is the main factor affecting agricultural production variation throughout the world. However, climate information and forecasts are only useful when there are clear management adaptations associated with it. The AgroClimate web-based information and decision support system (http://AgroClimate.org/) was developed to help agricultural managers in the Southeastern USA to reduce production risks associated with climate variability. AgroClimate provides climate information and tools that relate climate and crops, providing information to reduce the chances of climate related problems, and to take advantage of favorable conditions to crop production. As drought, floods, heat stress, and disease incidence have been reported as major challenges faced by growers in Mozambique, a version of AgroClimate for the region (http://mz.AgroClimate.org/) was created. It takes advantage of the strong influence of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon to anticipate expected weather patterns based on the ENSO phase. However, the country of Mozambique lacks station-based long-term historical and current weather data to drive the system. The main goal of this project is to evaluate alternative solutions to develop a climate information system following AgroClimate standards for a region where no weather station data are available. The AgroClimate Mozambique has two main components, the first one is a section with local information and news related to climate, and the second one is a set of dynamic tools which are based on spatial data provided by CFSR, CFS and FEWS-Net datasets provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) combined with local crop information. The tools currently available on the website are the weather forecast, climate summaries and statistics for each ENSO phase, and optimal planting dates for tomato based on ENSO information. Future tools include optimization of irrigation management and plant disease control besides the definition of crops sustainability for the country.