Agrometeorology and sustainable agriculture

Current concerns with the sustainability of agroecosystems in different parts of the world have hightened the awareness for careful use of the natural resource base on which agriculture depends. For proper and efficient use of soils and plant/animal genetic material, knowledge of the role of climate is an essential precondition. Several elements of the chapters in Agenda 21, a global plan of action agreed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), require the attention of the agrometeorologists and these have been reviewed. Three International Conventions which have a bearing on sustainable agriculture including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) were negotiated and ratified since 1992. The World Food Summit Plan of Action (WFSPA), which was developed in 1996, includes several commitments to make agricultural production sustainable. Agrometeorological aspects of these three Conventions and the WFSPA were reviewed. Some of the priorities for agrometeorologists to address sustainable agriculture in the 21st Century were discussed. These include improvement and strengthening of agrometeorological networks, development of new sources of data for operational agrometeorology, improved understanding of natural climate variability, promotion and use of seasonal to inter-annual climate forecasts, establishment and/or strengthening of early warning and monitoring systems and promotion of geographical information systems and remote sensing applications and agroecological zoning for sustainable management of farming systems, forestry and livestock. Other priorities include use of improved methods, procedures and techniques for the dissemination of agrometeorological information, development of agrometeorological adaptation strategies to climate variability and climate change, mitigation of the effects of climate change, more active applications of models for phenology, yield forecasting etc., active promotion of tactical applications such as response farming at the field level and promoting a better understanding of the interactions between climate and biological diversity. These present important challenges and great opportunities for agrometeorologists to play a proactive role in promoting sustainable development in the 21st Century.