Agriculture Reporter
CLIMATE experts are meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, for the 18th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (Sarcof) that is expected to come up with a rainfall forecast for the region by the end of this week.
The forum, which starts tomorrow will give the forecast on the region that will be followed by the national forecast for individual countries.
Speaking at the Meteorological Services Department stand at the Harare Agricultural Show yesterday, climate expert Mr Ebedia Hodzera, said forecasts from the Sarcof workshop would not only help farmers in planning their agricultural activities but would also assist decision- makers on disaster preparedness.

“The main objective of Sarcof-18 is to develop a consensus climate outlook for the period October 2014 to March 2015, which is the upcoming rainfall season for the Sadc member states.

“The forum will also discuss the potential impacts of the consensus seasonal climate outlook on other socio-economic sectors including disaster risk management, food security, health, water resources and hydropower management, among others.

“The forum will also review the October 2013 to March 2014 rainy season for the Sadc region,” he said.
Sarcof-18 is preceded by a nine-day Climate Experts Capacity Building Workshop of Sadc National Meteorological/or Hydrological Services for the purposes of developing the 2014-15 seasonal climate forecast.

Sarcof-18 is a collaborative effort among the Sadc Climate Services Centre, African Development Bank (AfDB), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), and other partners.

Participants to Sarcof-18 will include climate prediction experts from the national meteorological services and hydrological services, universities, research institutions, as well as regional and international organisations engaged in climate modelling, prediction and applications for the region.

Various regional and international governmental and non-governmental organisations and development partners are also expected to attend.