In a bold move to tackle rising food insecurity and climate shocks, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) in partnership with global weather technology firm Tomorrow.io and its affiliates as well as MTN, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to rollout a pilot Digital Climate Advisory Service (DCAS) targeting 100,000 smallholder farmers across six states.
The initiative, unveiled at a high-level technical workshop on Thursday in Abuja, aims to provide farmers with weekly, weather-driven advisories to guide planting, fertiliser application, pest control and harvesting decisions.
Director-General of NiMET, Prof. Charles Anosike, described the Digital Climate Advisory System Decision Tree as a transformative innovation in climate service delivery.
He said: “The decision tree is not merely a technical tool. It reflects the co-design principles that underpin our work. Through inclusive engagement with end-users, policymakers and technical experts, we ensure that the system is practical and adaptable.”
Anosike noted that the system integrates data expertise, advanced analytics and user-centric design to provide tailored guidance not only in agriculture but also in aviation, disaster management and other sectors.
“By harnessing data from diverse sources, we empower decision-makers to respond proactively to weather risks, optimise resource allocation and safeguard communities.”
The NiMET boss added that the collaboration with Tomorrow.io demonstrates the power of partnership between global innovation and local expertise.
“The future of ecological services lies not just in technological advancement but in our collective ability to co-design systems that meet the evolving needs of our communities. Together, let us refine the decision tree and lay the foundation for a more resilient, informed and sustainable future.”
Chief Executive Officer of TomorrowNow, Mr Brian Miranda, said the initiative goes beyond seasonal forecasts, promising continuous support to farmers from planting to harvest.
“Every single day, the first question farmers ask is when will the rains come?” 90 per cent of farmers across Africa are rain-fed. They depend entirely on the weather. If you plant too early or too late, even by a few weeks, you can suffer a 10 to 20 per cent yield penalty.”
Miranda noted that weather unpredictability is worsening food insecurity in Nigeria.
“The weather that farmers are experiencing today is not as predictable as it was five, ten or twenty years ago. Yet many farming practices have not adjusted to this reality,.”
“If you do what you’ve done every season and expect the rains haven’t changed, you will not have a great season.”
He disclosed that TomorrowNow, which already reaches nearly six million farmers in Kenya and close to one million in Malawi, recently expanded into Zambia and is now entering Nigeria with an ambitious target.
“Our vision is 100 million weather-resilient farmers across Africa. We are starting this pilot with about 100,000 farmers in multiple states, but we expect this to grow into tens of millions of farmers across Nigeria.
“We are moving to Nigeria to work with you all to help localize a food institution to help smallholder farmers to be more productive. What we’re looking to do is help unlock the potential of smallholder farmers.”
According to him, the project will initially deploy SMS-based advisories before expanding to voice services and strengthening extension agents with high-quality forecast information.
“You cannot put a weather station on every farm, and you cannot put an extension agent on every farm, but when you combine the best extension services with the best meteorology and forecasting, you can deliver timely, valuable advice that helps farmers adjust their decisions every week.”
General Manager, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) at NiMET, Mrs Ifeoma Ebede, said the workshop marked a critical step toward finalising documentation for a nationwide rollout.
“The reason why we’re here is that we want to develop the documentations that will help us roll out these digital climate advisory services that will support Nigerian farmers.”
“We have identified six states across the six geopolitical zones where data has already been collected, and these states will be used for the pilot phase.”
Ebede expressed optimism that the collaboration would strengthen agricultural resilience, as she noted, “ pray that we will bring our knowledge and support to ensure that this workshop is a success.”
Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Olaniyi Ogunbiyi emphasised the urgency of data-driven agriculture.
Represented by the Deputy Director of Land, Environment and Climate Change, Mrs Iyabo Mustapha, he noted that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has strengthened resilience, adding that the project would deepen scientific downscaling of climate data to the community level
“Climate change is hitting hard, especially our small rural farmers who practise mostly rain-fed agriculture. It is high time we change. Tomorrow is now. What we were supposed to anticipate is already happening.”
“We are not doing agriculture in the urban centres; the real practices are in rural communities. We must give them precise information. Science and data must go hand in hand.”
