CR 19:57-67 (2001)  -  doi:10.3354/cr019057

ABSTRACT: A necessary initial step in assessing the value of climate information for regional agriculture is to gauge user perceptions concerning the use of that information. We attempt to do so for cereal and oilseed production in Pergamino, Argentina, located in the Pampas, one of the world¹s major agricultural regions. A survey of 200 farmers identified climate forecast scale and the reliability of the source of forecast as critical obstacles to adoption. Users¹ incomplete knowledge of how El Niño-Southern Oscillation affects their region may also pose an obstacle to greater use of climate information. A related problem is that users sometimes confuse the different time scales of weather and climate forecasting. Research and outreach to downscaling forecasts temporally and spatially toward user communities would help close the gap of expectations between forecast user and provider, and would facilitate the trust building process between the two that must precede adoption.

KEY WORDS: Climate information · Attitudes · ENSO · Agriculture