The Agromet Decision Support System (ADSS) of Bhutan was developed through a World Bank funded ‘Hydromet Services Disaster Resilience Regional Project’ [HSDRRP, (P154477)] and later enhanced through ‘Strengthening risk information for disaster resilience in Bhutan’ project (P175081).

The ADSS (www.agromet.gov.bt) is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based Decision Support System developed for automation of agromet services. This includes a dynamic framework to link the information of NCHM weather forecast, real time weather observation, crop-weather calendar etc. to translate weather forecast into actionable farm advisories for efficient farm level decision making in 20 dzongkhags of Bhutan.

Most farming decisions are based on recent and future climatic conditions. Some decisions entail short term weather forecasts such as 1-10 days rainfall and temperature for farm decisions (cultivation, fertilizer application, transplanting, sowing, pesticide application, irrigation and so on) while some decisions such as what to plant, how much to plant, varietal selection etc., require sub-seasonal and seasonal forecasts for decisions.

The ADSS provide, real time monitoring, data analysis and comprehensive analytical tools and statistical information to support decision making across a range of temporal and spatial scales. It is one of the key components of the Agro-meteorology Program. It was developed mainly to strengthen and operationalize agro-met services in Bhutan.

However, it is important to note that climate forecasts are not the only determinant of a successful outcome as climate and weather forecasts inherently come with uncertainties.