By Paul Joseph
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has pledged continued support for the development of digital agriculture in Nigeria, stressing the importance of reliable weather and climate information in strengthening food security and helping farmers adapt to changing climate conditions.
The Director-General and 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.
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 meeting brought together stakeholders to examine ways of strengthening Nigeria’s digital agriculture ecosystem.
Anosike said the initiative was particularly important to NiMet because of the agency’s mandate to provide weather and climate information for planning and decision-making in climate-sensitive sectors, especially agriculture.
He noted that changing rainfall patterns, climate variability and extreme weather events were increasingly affecting agricultural activities, making access to timely and accurate climate information essential for farmers.
According to him, NiMet provides Seasonal Climate Predictions, routine weather updates, agrometeorological services and impact-based advisories to support decisions on planting, water management and the use of agricultural inputs while helping to minimise avoidable losses.
The NiMet DG said digital agriculture provides an important platform for turning climate information into practical advice that farmers can use at the farm level.
He highlighted NiMet’s partnership with Tomorrow.io and MTN on the Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) system, which is designed to provide location-specific weather information to farmers through mobile SMS.
He also cited the agency’s partnership with the Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) to improve the integration of artificial intelligence-based weather forecasting with digital agricultural advisory systems.
Anosike stressed that the success of digital agricultural services would depend on their ability to reach farmers through channels that are accessible, trusted and suited to local conditions.
He called for stronger collaboration among agricultural extension services, technology providers, telecommunications companies, community radio stations and farmer organisations to improve last-mile delivery.
The NiMet chief further urged stakeholders to ensure that digital agricultural services reflect the realities of farmers, including language, literacy, internet connectivity, affordability and gender inclusion.
He also advocated for greater involvement of farmers in the design and development of climate services to ensure that the solutions provided respond to their actual needs.
Anosike commended the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, CON, for efforts towards promoting climate-smart agriculture.
He challenged participants at the strategic dialogue to develop a practical, inclusive and measurable roadmap for integrating weather and climate services into decision-making across the agricultural value chain.
The NiMet DG expressed optimism that the initiative would help advance climate-smart, digitally enabled and farmer-centred agriculture in Nigeria.
He reaffirmed NiMet’s readiness to provide the technical expertise required to strengthen climate services, support food security and build more resilient livelihoods across the country.
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