Samuel Mungai

Dr. Finney

MCOM -202-01

19 March 2018

Impact of World Metrological Organizations(WMO) in Southwest Virginian Agriculture.

World Metrological Organization(WMO) conference in South Korea is predicted to impact

Southwest Virginian agriculture by helping farmers better plan for the harvest; as said by Chief
of WMO’s Agricultural Meteorology Division, Robert Stefanski
Ever since I stepped into Southwest Virginia to pursue my bachelor’s degree, I have always been
amazed by the natural agricultural landscapes and beauties that the region has to offer, from
breathtaking landscapes to out of this world views. According to the Virginia Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services, there are about “44,800 farms in Virginia.” According to the
same website, the industry is said to have an “economic impact of $70 billion annually and
provides more than 334,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.” In addition to this, I was astonished to
find that Virginia’s Agriculture exports to several countries around the world. According to the
Global Trade Information Services Incorporation, “The top three export markets for Virginia in
2016 were China, Canada, and Switzerland.”
Having been involved in past conferences with the United Nations in my childhood, I have
always wondered if an international conference done by the United Nations can have a
significant impact on Southwest Virginian agriculture. The United Nations branch WMO (World
Metrological Organization) will be hosting a conference in South Korea this year, regarding the
future challenges and opportunities in agricultural meteorology. The conference is set to attract
to attract 191-member countries from around the world. The preparations for the meeting is said
to have started from November 2017.
Chief of WMO’s Agricultural Meteorology Division, Robert Stefanski said, “The conference
will be focusing on three principal aspects. One of these aspects that the conference will be
focusing will be on whom to provide member-countries with better agricultural information in
agricultural developments regarding weather and climate. The second aspect is to identify better
soil measurements and better agricultural flux measurements such as greenhouse gasses and
carbon emissions. The third focus will be on how we improve the quality of service that the
weather services can provide to farmers working in developing countries”.
The conference will be mainly dealing with member states from third- world countries such as
Côte d’Ivoire and Ivory Coast, South Africa, Nigeria, and others; however, it is still going to
have an impact in the Southwest Virginian agriculture. Stefanski says, “One way the conference
will impact agriculture is that it will help farmers to know which chemical to best use while
treating their tobacco crop based on the weather conditions. In addition to this, it will also help
farmers know what session is appropriate to start planting and doing fieldwork based on weather
conditions. The conference is also going to be looking ways to see what additional training for
farmers and for people in the weather services, so that both can work efficiently well together in
the agricultural sector.”
The conference is also said to increase women’s participation in agricultural. There are more
men than women working on farms within the Smith County Virginia area. According to the
2012 Census of Agriculture in Smith County Virginia, there are “715 men working on farms,
compared to 77 women.” WMO’s monitoring and evaluation, Assia Alexieva said, “We hope
that through this conference that we see a significant increase in women getting involved in
agriculture in the 191-member countries as well as in regions like Southwest Virginia. We hope
that through this empowerment we can have more female in leadership positions so that they can
address any issue that may come up in the agricultural sector in regions like Southwest Virginia.”
Although the meeting is not taking place until April Stefanski and Alexieva said they are
confident that the conference will achieve its goals of helping developing countries and regions
like Southwest Virginia in the agriculture sector.