NiMet, NIRSAL to Boost Agriculture in Nigeria

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) have announced their collaboration on several projects to boost agricultural productivity in Nigeria.

This followed a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday at NIRSAL Plc’s headquarters, between the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Professor Charles Anosike, and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL, Abbas Umar Masanawa, OON.

While speaking at the meeting, Prof. 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”.

While welcoming the NiMet team, Masanawa said NiMet had done well over the years not only in the aviation sector but also in the other economic sectors including agriculture.

“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 small holder farmers for increased productivity. This is in line with NIRSAL’s mandate”, he said.

Masanawa said collaborating with NiMet was critical as the focus would 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,” Masanawa further said.