Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe

Residents of wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood. They have since developed their own indigenous weather forecasting systems which they have been using in conjunction with meteorological weather forecasts in the planning and execution of their agricultural ac...

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Main Authors: Shoko, Kampion, Shoko, Nothabo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Canadian Center of Science and Education 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/26988
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4356
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author Shoko, Kampion
Shoko, Nothabo
author_facet Shoko, Kampion
Shoko, Nothabo
author_sort Shoko, Kampion
collection DSpace
description Residents of wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood. They have since developed their own indigenous weather forecasting systems which they have been using in conjunction with meteorological weather forecasts in the planning and execution of their agricultural activities. These systems are used singularly or are complimented with the conventional meteorological forecast from the Meteorological Services Department. The main objective of this research was to identify the abiotic weather forecasting indicators as well as to acquire information on how they are used. Questionnaires, focus group discussions and interviews with key informants were used to collect the data. Key informants were those whose time of residence in the wards was more than 50 years. Investigations revealed that the residents rely mostly on environmental indicators for planning agricultural activities. Results showed that of the two categories of indigenous abiotic weather forecasting indicators, weather forecasts derived from weather indicators were the mostly used followed by forecasts derived from celestial indicators. There were however differences on the interpretations of the behavioural signs or indicators which were used in the production of the forecasts from these abiotic factors.The study recommends that further research should be carried out on the application and on the statistical evaluation of the precision of the indigenous forecasts. Attempts should also be made to document the abiotic weather indicators and the behavioural signs from which these forecasts are derived. The establishment of an effective indigenous weather forecasting system as part of a decision support system would go a long way in improving food security for this area.
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spelling ir-11408-43562022-06-27T13:49:06Z Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe Shoko, Kampion Shoko, Nothabo Indigenous weather forecasting Celestial body indicator Weather indicator Behavioural sign Environmental indicator Residents of wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa depend on agriculture as a source of livelihood. They have since developed their own indigenous weather forecasting systems which they have been using in conjunction with meteorological weather forecasts in the planning and execution of their agricultural activities. These systems are used singularly or are complimented with the conventional meteorological forecast from the Meteorological Services Department. The main objective of this research was to identify the abiotic weather forecasting indicators as well as to acquire information on how they are used. Questionnaires, focus group discussions and interviews with key informants were used to collect the data. Key informants were those whose time of residence in the wards was more than 50 years. Investigations revealed that the residents rely mostly on environmental indicators for planning agricultural activities. Results showed that of the two categories of indigenous abiotic weather forecasting indicators, weather forecasts derived from weather indicators were the mostly used followed by forecasts derived from celestial indicators. There were however differences on the interpretations of the behavioural signs or indicators which were used in the production of the forecasts from these abiotic factors.The study recommends that further research should be carried out on the application and on the statistical evaluation of the precision of the indigenous forecasts. Attempts should also be made to document the abiotic weather indicators and the behavioural signs from which these forecasts are derived. The establishment of an effective indigenous weather forecasting system as part of a decision support system would go a long way in improving food security for this area. 2021-06-04T08:12:03Z 2021-06-04T08:12:03Z 2013 Article 1911-2017 1911-2025 http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/26988 10.5539/ass.v9n5p285 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4356 en Asian Social Science;Vol. 9; No. 5: p. 285-297 open Canadian Center of Science and Education
spellingShingle Indigenous weather forecasting
Celestial body indicator
Weather indicator
Behavioural sign
Environmental indicator
Shoko, Kampion
Shoko, Nothabo
Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe
title Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe
title_full Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe
title_fullStr Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe
title_full_unstemmed Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe
title_short Indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the Abiotic Weather Forecasting Indicators for Wards 12 and 13 in Mberengwa District Zimbabwe
title_sort indigenous weather forecasting systems: a case study of the abiotic weather forecasting indicators for wards 12 and 13 in mberengwa district zimbabwe
topic Indigenous weather forecasting
Celestial body indicator
Weather indicator
Behavioural sign
Environmental indicator
url http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/26988
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4356
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AT shokonothabo indigenousweatherforecastingsystemsacasestudyoftheabioticweatherforecastingindicatorsforwards12and13inmberengwadistrictzimbabwe