By Nkechi Eze
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has intensified its efforts to promote digital and climate-smart agriculture through improved access to weather and climate information for farmers across Nigeria.
The Director-General/CEO 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, organised by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security under the World Bank-supported Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value Chain (AGROW) Project.
The dialogue, themed “Building a Unified, Inclusive and Future-Ready Digital Agriculture Ecosystem for a More Productive, Resilient and Food-Secure Nigeria,” brought together key stakeholders to deliberate on strengthening Nigeria’s digital agriculture ecosystem.
Anosike said the initiative aligns with NiMet’s mandate to provide weather and climate information that supports livelihoods, protects lives and enables informed decision-making across climate-sensitive sectors.
He noted that changing rainfall patterns, climate variability and extreme weather events were increasingly affecting agricultural activities, making timely and reliable climate information essential for effective planning and reducing losses.
According to him, NiMet provides Seasonal Climate Predictions, regular weather updates, agrometeorological services and impact-based advisories to help farmers make informed decisions on planting, water and input management.
The NiMet boss highlighted the agency’s partnership with Tomorrow.io and MTN on the Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) System, which delivers location-specific weather advisories to farmers through mobile SMS.
He also cited NiMet’s collaboration with the Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) to strengthen the integration of artificial intelligence-based weather forecasting with digital advisory systems.
Anosike stressed that digital agriculture would only achieve its full potential if services reached farmers through accessible and trusted channels, calling for stronger collaboration with extension services, technology providers, telecommunications companies, community radio stations and farmer organisations.
He also emphasised the need for digital agricultural services to reflect farmers’ realities, including language, literacy, connectivity, affordability and gender inclusion, while ensuring that farmers are involved in the development of climate services.
The NiMet DG commended the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, for his efforts towards promoting climate-smart agriculture and urged stakeholders to develop a practical, inclusive and measurable roadmap for integrating weather and climate services into decision-making across the agricultural value chain.
He reaffirmed NiMet’s readiness to provide the technical leadership required to strengthen climate services, support food security and build resilient livelihoods in Nigeria.
