The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has reiterated its commitment to strengthening weather and climate information services for farmers to support a more productive, resilient and food-secure agricultural sector in Nigeria.
The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, stated this in his goodwill message at the National Strategic Dialogue on the Preparation of the AGROW Component 2.2 – National Implementation Strategy and Digital Agriculture Architecture.
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The dialogue was organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security under the World Bank-supported Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value Chain (AGROW) Project.
Held under the theme, “Building a Unified, Inclusive and Future-Ready Digital Agriculture Ecosystem for a More Productive, Resilient and Food-Secure Nigeria,” the event brought together key stakeholders to discuss ways of strengthening Nigeria’s digital agriculture ecosystem.
Prof. Anosike said the dialogue was particularly important to NiMet given its mandate to provide weather and climate information that protects lives, supports livelihoods and enables informed planning across climate-sensitive sectors.
He noted that climate variability, changing rainfall patterns and extreme weather events are increasingly affecting agricultural production, making timely and reliable climate information essential for planning and decision-making.
According to him, NiMet provides Seasonal Climate Predictions, regular weather updates, agrometeorological services and impact-based advisories to enable farmers to make informed decisions on planting, water management and the use of agricultural inputs while reducing avoidable losses.
The NiMet DG/CEO described digital agriculture as a critical pathway for translating climate information into practical, farm-level action.
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He highlighted the agency’s partnerships with Tomorrow.io and MTN on the Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) System, designed to deliver location-specific weather advisories to farmers through mobile SMS.
Prof. Anosike also highlighted NiMet’s partnership with the Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) to strengthen the integration of artificial intelligence-based weather forecasting with digital advisory systems.
He stressed the need for digital agricultural services to reach farmers through accessible and trusted channels, noting that collaboration with extension services, technology providers, telecommunications companies, community radio and farmer organisations would be essential for effective last-mile delivery.
The NiMet chief further emphasised the need to make climate services responsive to farmers’ realities, including language, literacy, connectivity, affordability and gender inclusion.
He also advocated the involvement of farmers in the development of climate services to ensure that the solutions provided address their practical needs.
Prof. Anosike commended the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, for his efforts to promote climate-smart agriculture.
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He challenged stakeholders at the dialogue to develop a practical, inclusive and measurable roadmap for integrating weather and climate services into decision-making across the agricultural value chain.
Prof. Anosike expressed optimism that the dialogue would advance climate-smart, digitally enabled and farmer-centred agriculture, while reaffirming NiMet’s readiness to provide the technical leadership required to strengthen climate services, support food security and build resilient livelihoods across Nigeria.