Equitable access to climate-related information and adaptation tools for women farmers

In rural Kenya, the agricultural sector employs up to 70 per cent of the population. These regions are very vulnerable to climate change. However, few farmers have access to the online and digital resources needed to mitigate the climate challenges. This project addressed this challenge by leveraging local, proven, and easy-to-use SMS and other mobile phone-based techniques to deliver climate information and adaptation resources for women farmers. This considered the digital gender divide: Women of the area hardly use smartphones, but mobile phones are widespread. The mobile-based information included real-time weather forecasts, seasonal climate hazard forecasts, agricultural adaptation strategies, climate risk assessment tools, and climate finance opportunities. It also provided up-to-date trade and market information. The project enhanced accessibility of information to farmers in a simplified and multilingual format that was free to access for maximum social impact.