The director-general of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike has highlighted the insufficiency of meteorological observation networks as a key challenge affecting the climate early warning system in Nigeria.
Anosike, serving as chairman of the steering committee, addressed the initial gathering of the ‘Building Agricultural Systems Resilience in Nigeria Project’ at NiMet’s headquarters in Abuja. He identified additional hurdles such as limited technical expertise, fragmented coordination and the struggle to disseminate pertinent climate advisories to smallholder farmers, particularly among rural women and youth.
He further stated, “To bridge these gaps, the ‘Building Agricultural Systems Resilience in Nigeria Project’, generously supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to enhance our infrastructure for climate early action and warning systems. The initiative seeks to meet the demand for timely climate information for decision-making in the agricultural sector by enhancing analytical capabilities and system functionality, improving support for locally customised climate analytics and information services, aligning national early response infrastructure for better regional outcomes and strengthening operational governance of early warning systems through inter-agency collaboration.”
The steering committee, comprising technical directors from key ministries and agencies, technical and implementing partners, as well as representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will oversee project implementation, offer strategic direction, track progress, advocate for programme coordination and ensure effective risk management.
Key climate stakeholders involved in the ‘Building Agricultural Systems Resilience in Nigeria Project’ include the NiMet, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The project is under the management of Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd.
