By Nkechi Eze
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), and the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, have discussed strategies to mitigate the impact of climate disasters on Nigerian farmers.
At a meeting hosted by the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, in his office on Monday, 3rd March 2025, Prof. Anosike extolled the wonderful work that WOFAN is doing. “I commend WOFAN for the amazing work they have done over the years since 1993. With a network of close to 700,000 farmers and their various community-based agricultural projects including training of agricultural extension workers, I consider the partnership between WOFAN and NiMet as one of my most important achievements because of the potential positive impact it would have on agricultural yield in Nigeria”.
Continuing, Professor Anosike said that following the public unveiling of NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction in February 2025, partnership with WOFAN is coming at the right time. “We are highly dependent on rain-fed agriculture in Nigeria. Our work at NiMet won’t be complete If our products and information are not passed to the farmers and other end users. With this partnership, we can meet the farmers before the onset of the rains to guide them properly on how to respond, reduce damages, reduce and manage pests, and also reduce illnesses. We would also have the opportunity through interacting with the farmers to receive feedback from them on the impact of our weather information on their yield”. Prof. Anosike concluded.
Responding, the founder of WOFAN, Hajia Salamatu Garba praised Prof. Anosike and the NiMet team for their consistency in releasing weather and climate information to the public, saying that WOFAN has always relied on climate information from NiMet in addressing climate-smart related issues. “We have always received NiMet data from other sources but with this partnership, we will have a more direct access”, Hajia Garba said.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is set to be signed between NiMet and WOFAN to formalize their partnership.
