A new rainfall app is helping farmers in Indonesia’s Sumbawa Island navigate climate change. A collaboration between Bandung Institute of Technology, USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and an international development nonprofit called World Neighbors is giving farmers important data on maximizing their crops.

 

In the past, the farmers in Dompu Regency have relied on natural signs and astronomical calculations to determine the best planting times. But climate change is throwing off generations of traditional knowledge as weather — especially rainfall — has become less predictable. Misjudging the best planting time can lead to financial ruin. The new rainfall app, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, aims to help farmers determine the best time to plant.

 

In Indonesia, a regency is an administrative division within a province. Dompu Regency contains many small family farms, with corn being the major crop. The land is sloping, and the farmers use dryland farming techniques, which means cultivating crops without irrigation in places that usually get less than 20 inches of annual rainfall. Every drop is precious. (inhabitat)