Post by TomorrowNow

Dr Hilda Manzi is one of the brains behind our Suitable Planting Window (SPW) messages. These advisories help smallholder farmers answer one of the most important questions of the season: should I plant now or wait? They are also part of a wider decision-ready advisory system that can support guidance on fertilizer timing, spraying, harvest timing, and pest and disease risk. In this blog, she explains what it takes to carry next-generation weather science from a forecast to a localized advisory guiding a farmer’s decision: “Describing the weather only takes us part of the way there; guiding the decision that follows is what drives all the value and is where we put our effort.” Through our collaboration with Google DeepMind, we are working with advanced weather AI to strengthen the forecasts behind our SPW advisories. These are tested, translated into local languages, and delivered through trusted farmer-facing partners like Regen Organics. Together, we are building a system where advanced science is turned into practical guidance farmers can trust. Margaret Ruguru, a 47-year-old smallholder farmer in Njoro, Kenya, shares: “I have been helped a lot by the messages because I planted at the right time. If I am patient, I get a high yield, and it is that high yield that pays well.”  That outcome does not happen by accident. It depends on the kind of expertise Dr Manzi brings to this work: combining weather science, agro-met intelligence, local validation, and farmer-centered design so that a forecast becomes something much more useful — guidance a farmer can act on at the right moment. Read Dr Manzi’s full piece on how we’re turning Google’s weather AI into practical farmer decisions. Link in comments. #ClimateAdaptation #AgroMet #DigitalAgriculture #AIForGood #SmallholderFarmers #WeatherResilience