NiMet, ACReSAL Forge Strategic Partnership to Deliver Digital Climate Data to Farmers in Northern Nigeria
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project have agreed to collaborate on the development of a customised Digital Precision Agricultural Extension (DPAE) platform aimed at empowering smallholder farmers with real-time weather and agricultural information.
During a meeting held at NiMet’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, 29th April 2025, Mukhtar Y. Tanko, the National Project Coordinator of ACReSAL, emphasised NiMet’s vital role in the success of the forthcoming platform.
“The ACReSAL Project recognises NiMet as an important stakeholder in the development, deployment, and sustainability of the DPAE,” he said, briefing NiMet’s Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Charles Anosike.
Tanko explained that under Sub-Component B2 of the ACReSAL Project, the initiative seeks to support household-level farmers in optimising climate-smart, rain-fed agricultural practices.
“Achieving this requires utilising weather data to optimise farm management, leading to improved agricultural productivity,” he noted.
He further stated that the Federal Government, through ACReSAL, intends to roll out a comprehensive DPAE platform that would offer smallholder farmers access to a wide range of digital agricultural services.
These services include real-time updates, tailored advice on agricultural practices, input recommendations, market trends, and weather forecasts—all designed to improve decision-making and farm outcomes.
In response, Professor Anosike expressed strong support for the partnership, stressing the indispensable role of weather and climate data in modern agriculture.
“You can’t practise precision-smart agriculture without weather and climate information,” he remarked. “We have an existing relationship with ACReSAL which has been productive, so we welcome this idea to strengthen our partnership. It is also important that NiMet is a part of co-developing the weather and climate dashboard and platform, which should be interactive and easy for the farmers to access and use.”
The DPAE platform, once developed and implemented, aims to pilot and scale a digital extension and advisory system that will bridge critical information gaps across agricultural value chains in the region.
It will mobilise key stakeholders—including farmers, public extension officers, input suppliers, traders, processors, and mechanisation service providers—fostering integration and coordination for enhanced productivity and resilience.
The meeting also included Jonathan Lehe, Chief Strategy Officer at Precision Development (PxD), a key technical partner expected to support the initiative’s rollout and operational framework.
