Effectiveness of agrometeorological services for smallholder farmers: The case study in the regions of Dosso and Tillaberi in Niger

The increasing frequency of extreme events in West Africa, such as droughts and floods, has made populations that base their subsistence mostly on rainfed agriculture even more vulnerable to climate threats. Climate Services (CS) are largely acknowledged as effective tools for tackling climate risks in agriculture, particularly in semi-arid developing countries but evidences of their effectiveness are still jeopardized. In Niger a climate service (CS) has been set up in the regions of Dosso and Tillab?ri by the National Meteorological Service (NMS) to provide salient information for smallholder farmers. The CS was built on a robust collaboration among NMS, local extension services and authorities and farmers in 8 municipalities. The case study shows that a large share of farmers receives throughout the cropping season climatic information and advice via roving seminars and various media, including instant messaging services and radio broadcasts. Nevertheless, the results indicate that access to CS alone doesn't imply relevant positive impacts on crop yields while the training of farmers in the use of the information results to be a significant factor. Indeed, in 2020, yields of trained farmers are significantly higher by around 17% compared to those of non-trained ones. Training and iterative interaction between farmers and NMS could also have indirect effects on information uptake, contributing to building reciprocal trust and therefore stronger action by trained farmers. The study confirms the importance of the social learning process in CS co-development. Since the study is limited by the small sample and the dataset covering only one cropping season, further research is needed to deepen cost-benefit analysis and disentangle the relative contribution of the CS components to yield increase. Indeed, evidences of the positive impact of CS could represent a leverage for local governments and international funders to support CS co-development and related capacity building activities. Practical implication Climate variability and a strong increase in extreme hydro meteorological events are affecting agriculture production and exacerbating food insecurity in West Africa. In Niger, the vulnerability of agricultural production systems is coupled to ecosystem fragility and soil degradation. In this area, the rural population is the most vulnerable to climate threats because they have a reduced capability to implement effective risk reduction and climate change adaptation strategies and national government has limited resources to invest in climate policies. The CS implemented for the regions of Dosso and Tillab?ri in Niger demonstrates that it is possible to set up an effective network for disseminating agrometeorological information for smallholder farmers at the municipal level with the aim of reducing the impact of climate threats on agriculture production. The information produced by the National Meteorological Service (NMS) is spread through extension services and rural radios to reach farmers. At the same time the agrometeorological field data are collected by local farmers and sent to the national service, ensuring the continuous monitoring of the cropping season. Subsequently, the agrometeorological information is coupled with setting up roving seminars in each municipality to spread tailored advice for farmers concerning seasonal climate forecasts and to build capacities in the use of agrometeorological advices during the season. During these seminars, rain gauges are also distributed to farmers and their use explained. In this way, farmers become able to autonomously take some tactical decisions, such as better timing the sowing of crops or performing farming activities, basing these choices on direct observations. The present