Ecuador farmers use climate info to protect crops
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Over 15,000 farmers in Ecuador are now using accessible climate bulletins to plan their planting and harvests.
For years, these farmers relied on traditional methods like observing the moon and reading the Bristol Almanac to predict weather patterns. However, these methods have become unreliable with increasing climate change. Between 2022 and 2025, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Ecuador (Inamhi) increased its climate warnings from 51 to 70, reflecting a rise in extreme weather events.
To address this, the World Food Programme (WFP) initiated a project in the border region of Ecuador and Colombia. They trained community leaders and public servants to translate complex Inamhi data into easy-to-understand bulletins, shared via WhatsApp. This project began in 2018, focusing on communities with large Indigenous and Afro-descendant populations in fragile ecosystems already impacted by climate change.
The initiative has expanded to include tools like “Nuna,” a chatbot developed by the Imbabura prefecture, which provides climate information beyond basic forecasts. Farmers like Evita Tupiza are using these bulletins to make crucial decisions, like whether to milk cows in the early morning to avoid spoiled milk, and to prepare for changing conditions. The success in Imbabura and Manabí provinces is now being replicated nationally, with Inamhi adopting video-based bulletins to reach more farmers and share vital information.
