Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has called for robust collaboration with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) to boost agricultural production and mitigate the impact of climate variability on farmers’ livelihoods among others.
The Minister, who spoke during the Press Briefing of 2024 NiMet Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) held at the Ministry’s Conference Room, Abuja, recently, revealed that ‘’the Ministry and NiMet signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on March 3, 2022, to collaborate in various areas, including the development of a dashboard for early warning systems, capacity building for Ministry staff and other stakeholders in accessing and interpreting meteorological information as well as provide agro-meteorological advisory services to farmers on specific agricultural commodities’.’
He stated that the collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and NiMet underscores the importance of interagency cooperation in addressing challenges related to agricultural production and food security.
Senator Kyari pointed out that the partnership would focus on enhancing data dissemination, capacity-building, and stakeholder engagement to ensure that Nigerian farmers have access to actionable weather and climate information
He added that the Ministry’s 10 Automatic Weather Stations had been handed over to NiMet to expand its capacity in data and information gathering in the Agricultural Sector.
Kyari pointed out that the SCP would provide valuable information about rainfall patterns, growing seasons, and potential dry spells, assisting farmers in making informed decisions to enhance their adaptive capacity.
In his remarks, Director-General, NiMet and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Prof. Charles Anosike stated that NiMet is committed to reaching out to many Nigerians as possible with timely and accurate weather and climate information.
Prof. Anosike highlighted NiMet’s efforts in disseminating seasonal climate predictions through formal engagements with farmers through various media channels. He also emphasized the need to equip Nigerians, especially farmers, with information and resources to enable them to make climate-resilient decisions.