Ensuring legacy : FOCUS-Africa’s last mission to Malawi 

News

The FOCUS-Africa CS2 team, had its last encounter of the project during a three-day mission in Malawi, divided between the two cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe. The CS2 team has been working on climate services to improve food security.  

All of the partners, first met up in the DCCMS offices of Blantyre for two days of presentation and training around two tools. The team was made up of experts from the BSC, the TMA, the DDCMS, the WEMC and LGI.   

FOCUS-Africa CS2 team at DCCMS headquarters in Blantyre, Malawi. 15th July 2024.

The Teal tool, a seasonal climate forecasting tool, was presented to the NMHS, with all its latest updates. Training was provided with the aim of further deepening their knowledge of it and increasing chances of sustaining the service within their institution post-project. There was also some discussion on the future use of the tool and its integration within existing processes in DCCMS for seasonal forecast provision. 

In the same way, the latest updates of the multi-annual forecasting tool, the Shiny App, were presented. It showed how the season forecast predictions have been updated to include all the locally relevant rain seasons, in addition to the standardly used 3-month seasons. Following the presentation, a training about the Shiny App and decadal predictions was held for the DCCMS team.  

On the last day of the mission, a stakeholder workshop was organized in Lilongwe, around the presentation of the project outcomes and roundtable discussions focused on the remaining challenges for effective use of climate information and its potential solutions. Representatives of 6 institutions joined the discussion: Mpatamanga Hydro, MVAC, LUANAR, Farm Radio Trust, GIZ as well as DCCMS. Several challenges in the climate service value chain arose, such as the need for capacity building for delivering climate information to farmers, how they use the information, whether or not it should include Indigenous Knowledge and more. 

CS2 team engaging with stakeholders : MVAC, LUANAR, FRT, GIZ and Mpatamanga Hydro in Lilongwe, Malawi.17th July 2024. 

To close the mission, participants recognized the importance of strengthening coordination efforts, particularly through MaFAAS and the National Climate Outlook Forum (NCOF), as well as empowering communities and granting access to the Teal tool. This will help certain stakeholders build climate resilience and address the challenges posed by climate change in Malawi.