Event Description
Weather and climate services (WCS) are increasingly promoted as a policy solution to help smallholder farmers manage climate risk and adapt agricultural practices. But do they work, and for whom? This talk draws on mixed-methods research conducted across the Dry Corridor and the western highlands of Guatemala to examine how farmers access, interpret, and act on weather and climate information. Quantitative survey data from 330 farming households reveals that while access to climate information is associated with greater adoption of climate-resilient practices and improved food security, these relationships are confounded by wealth and education, and a lack of information is not the primary barrier to adaptation. Qualitative research using in-depth interviews and focus groups further illuminates how social identities — including gender, age, and indigeneity — shape uneven access to and trust in official forecasts, with many farmers continuing to rely on ancestral knowledge systems. Taken together, these findings challenge the view of WCS as a technical fix, and instead highlight structural, social, and epistemic barriers that limit their effectiveness. The talk concludes with lessons for designing more equitable and farmer-centric climate services, including the integration of local knowledge, investment in community-based communication channels, and the pairing of information with material resources to strengthen adaptive capacity.
Event Speaker
Maya Moore, Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University
Event Information
Free and open to the public; registration required for in-person and online attendance. For more information, please email Gabby Cohen at [email protected].
Hosted by the Columbia Climate School.
