New Delhi (ABC Live): The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) have collaborated for decades on agricultural meteorology, desertification, drought, and many other issues of common concern.
At a meeting earlier this week at FAO headquarters in Rome, WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud and FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva explored ways of intensifying this collaboration to address growing challenges such as climate change and sustainable development. They agreed to update the WMO-FAO Memorandum of Understanding to formalize their strengthened partnership.
The forecasts and services provided by WMO in the domains of weather, climate and water are essential for the people and companies earning their living from farming, herding, fishing and forestry. Bringing the respective expertise of WMO and FAO even closer together will further improve the design and delivery of the weather, climate and water services and predictions that the agricultural sector so urgently needs.
Key issues that WMO and FAO will continue to collaborate on include how weather affects desert locusts, the impacts of a changing climate on fisheries, drought management policies and capacity development, the impacts of El Niño on farmers and fishers, support to users for accessing and applying climate information, implementation of the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel, and remote sensing in support of agricultural meteorology
