ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses operational climatic impact assessment programs that can provide decision makers and planners with needed information to improve short and long-term decisions involving economic plans, agricultural development, and food security. In recent years, decision makers and planners have recognized the need for quantitative and timely climatic impact statements prior to and during weather-related events. Such information can be used by economic analysts to develop government and private sector strategies for reducing climatic vulnerability of agriculture and industrial sectors, such as transportation and energy, and to increase private sector preparedness and mitigate the severity of weather-related events. Foreign assessments are disseminated biweekly under the title of climate impact assessment: foreign countries. They include brief descriptions of current and potential problems concerning world food production. Agroclimate analysis can support such agricultural development programs through its contributions in agricultural zoning, crop selection, optimum planting/harvesting dates, potential yields.
