Maximizing harvests, minimizing risks: unveiling the economic impact of weather-based agromet advisories

A comprehensive study was conducted to evaluate the economic impact of Agromet Advisories issued by the Agro-Meteorological Field Unit (AMFU), Sabour, in the 16 blocks of Bhagalpur district, focusing on paddy and maize crops during the period from 2019 to 2022. The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of these advisories in optimizing agricultural practices and improving the livelihoods of farmers. A feedback format was designed to record farmers' responses, involving 440 rice and 440 maize farmers randomly selected from both users and non-users of agromet advisory services. In the case of paddy farmers, those who followed the agromet advisories reported reductions in input costs ranging from 4.34% to 7.81% during the kharif seasons of 2019 to 2022. Additionally, these farmers experienced increases in net profits ranging from 11.84% to 23.08% compared to non-users of Agromet Advisory Services (AAS) who did not utilize weather-based advisory information. Similarly, for rabi maize, farmers who diligently followed the agromet advisories witnessed significant reductions in input costs across the seasons from 2019 to 2022, ranging from 4.7% to 5.3%. Concurrently, these farmers experienced notable increase in net profit ranging from 12.82% to 19.96% compared to non-AAS farmers. Overall, the study findings indicate that weather-based advisories provided by AMFU Sabour have been instrumental in helping farmers, reduce input costs and increase net profits, thereby contributing to sustainable crop production and improving livelihoods. These findings underscore the importance of leveraging agromet advisory services to enhance agricultural productivity and promote the well-being of farming communities.