Climate services boost agricultural resilience in the Andes

In the Andes region of South America, climate change threatens the livelihoods of smallholder farmers with unpredictable climate events. This article explores how co-produced climate services can help farmers adapt to the changing climate. Through the projects ENANDES and ENANDES+ the Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) are co-producing with farmers agroclimatic bulletins. These are produced during community agroclimatic roundtables and field schools that integrate scientific information with local observations and measurements. Together, IDEAM and the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) studied the socioeconomic benefits of climate information services. The study showed how active collaboration with farmers builds resilience, strengthens trust in meteorological institutions, and supports decision-making to potentially reduce production losses.