An unusual and albeit simple ‘bean game’ was used to send a strong message to farmers participating in a recent climate services forum.

The message was that practising climate-smart risk management strategies will help to greatly reduce losses incurred by farmers during periods of extreme weather changes, such as in the case of a drought.

The game, which saw the beans being used as currency, afforded farmers the choice of paying a bean in order to secure their remaining currency, or not paying in the hope that when a pair of dice were thrown, the numbers would not accumulate to more than seven. If they did, those who did not pay the security fee of a bean would be required to hand over four beans in payment for taking a gamble, instead of choosing to protect their currency from the beginning of the round.

Appropriately titled ‘Paying for the Forecast’, the game was one of several tactics employed by the Meteorology (Met) Service of Jamaica during its presentation at the Jamaica Rural Economy and Ecosystems Adapting to Climate cHange (Ja REEACH) II forum held at Gulf View Hotel in Mandeville last week Tuesday.

The Ja REEACH II project is a four-year initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development and implemented by ACDI/VOCA and Government of Jamaica partners.

ACDI/VOCA states on its websites that it is a Washington, DC-based economic development organisation that fosters broad-based economic growth, raises living standards, and creates vibrant communities.

“The name ACDI/VOCA dates back to the 1997 merger of Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance,” the website states. “ACDI/VOCA has worked in 146 countries since 1963. Its expertise is in catalysing investment, climate-smart agriculture, empowerment and resilience, institutional strengthening, and market systems.”

The Ja REEACH II project, which started in October 2015, is an expansion of Ja REEACH which promoted the protection of rural lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems through interventions that increased and strengthened climate change adaptation.

The forum, the third in a series being hosted by Ja REEACH, is designed to get farmers to understand the importance of climate services, which relate to using the forecasts and advisories released by the Met Service in order to inform long-term decisions for planting and reaping according to climate and weather conditions.

In addition to the well-received game and the use of other tactics such as Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, farmers were exposed to the various terms used by the Meteorological Service during its broadcasts and more importantly, the tools and services offered to farmers for interpreting these terms.

Further interactive and visual presentations by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, as well as Ja REEACH were also used to creatively encourage farmers to make use of climate services tools, such as those used by the Met Service for online drought forecasting. The farmers, the majority of whom plant mainly Irish potatoes, were also given information relating to land preparation and fungicides for the crop.

“The forum really teach us a lot… when we did the bean game to show us how to spend our money [it] really helped to put us on track. They also show us how best to prepare our Irish potato land, and it [the forum] was worth coming to because the things you didn’t know before, you know it today,” farmer Valerie Nash shared with the Jamaica Observer.

Nash stated that one of the main takeaways for her was the climate services tools offered by the Met Service for in-depth weather reading, as well as the opportunity to be able to contact the Met Service directly by text message to get additional weather information for farming purposes.

Yet another farmer, Trevor Hyman, who was also the recipient of a one-year insurance policy worth $50,000 for his farm courtesy of GraceKennedy Insurance, expressed his appreciation for the forum, which he said was a timely reminder about the negative effects of climate change.

“It hard to recover when the drought really affect wi. The climate change affecting us. When dem a tell wi about the weather now, it look like wi see little light as dem say we mus plan and plant at the right time… because wi lose every year, so now that they have helped us to plan for it, wi haffi give thanks,” Hyman said.

According to technical advisor for institutionalisation and awareness at Ja REEACH, Shelly Lawson-Francis, the forum’s most important goals were for farmers to understand how to prepare a farm plan, how to examine the weather to determine planting patterns, as well as being comfortable with contacting the Met Service.

“That’s where the information is. There’s a text number for the Met Service, there is a website and the texting is important, because not everybody will be able to access technology, so if you are very rural they can text the Met office and ask what it is going to look like for the next three months. So these kinds of forecasts will help them now to plant accordingly,” Lawson-Francis stated.

She added that they also want to reach a point where people are comfortable paying for the information needed to make these decisions once the four-year Ja REEACH project has ended and is no longer around to facilitate such fora, or to fund project inputs such as weather stations.

“We want people to get more comfortable with doing that (paying) just like you go anywhere else and pay for getting a licence. This is now important information for your business, because this is your livelihood, so you want to protect that and you want to make sure you have the information on hand which can help you to plant better, to help to prevent losses or waste,” Lawson-Francis explained.