BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
In line with the federal government’s drive to guarantee food security, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) have announced a collaborative partnership aimed at bringing to fruition several projects designed to boost agricultural productivity in Nigeria.
The two establishments’ Chief Executives, Professor Charles Anosike of NiMET, and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL, Abbas Umar Masanawa, met in Abuja on Wednesday, February, 14, 2024 at NIRSAL’s headquarters to fine-tune arrangements.
While speaking at the meeting, Professor Anosike said; “The urgency of climate action requires that critical stakeholders collaborate, invest in preparedness and ensure that smallholder farmers are protected by early warnings of climate disaster. NiMet is keen on exploring opportunities for both NiMet and NIRSAL to partner in de-risking agriculture. With the work that NiMet does and the data it generates on a daily basis, this will help farmers to plan effectively and efficiently”.
Concluding, Professor Anosike added; “Climate change impacts greatly on farming activities and agricultural yield, hence the need for data-driven farming operations. This will help to de-risk the agricultural value chain”.
In his welcome remarks, NIRSAL’s CEO, Umar Masanawa, said that NiMet has done well over the years not only in the aviation sector but also in the other economic sectors including agriculture.
“The DG/CEO of NiMet, Professor Charles Anosike and his team have been doing very well not only in aviation but in agriculture as well. NIRSAL is interested in collaborating with them to support smallholder farmers for increased productivity. This is in line with NIRSAL’s mandate”.
Masanawa said that collaborating with NiMet is critical as the focus will be on increasing primary production. “This will be beneficial to all as the farmers are the ones that are most vulnerable. We are also happy that NiMeT downscales its weather and climate data and information in different local Nigerian languages for wider reach and understanding”.
“A technical committee will be set up for the benefit of Nigerians and small holder farmers, drawn from experts from NiMet and NIRSAL to operationalize quickly the various areas of interest including but not limited to training, data sharing, setting up weather stations etc”, Masanawa noted.
