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NiMet, NIRSAL collaborate to boost agricultural productivity

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

This followed a meeting in Abuja yesterday, at NIRSAL Plc headquarters, between the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof Charles Anosike, and the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIRSAL, Abbas Umar Masanawa.

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.

 “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.”

While welcoming NiMet, the Managing Director/CEO, Abbas Umar Masanawa,  said  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, Prof Anosike and his team has 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 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,” he added.