By Uche Onyeali
Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at WMO, Professor Charles Anosike, has advocated Public-Private-Partnership, PPP, for climate information services and validation of the Climate-Smart Agribusiness Partnership for Resilience, CSAPR.
Professor Anosike made the call in his opening remarks at the Best Practice Workshop on Public-Private-Partnership for Climate Information Services and Validation of the Climate-Smart Agribusiness Partnership for Resilience Programme Monday in Abuja.
According to him, “Climate Smart PPP is critical in this era of climate change to enable the integration of climate related risks into agro infrastructural development. This can be achieved by embedding climate data and adaptation, mitigation measures into project design to ensure long term stability.”
He expressed his gratitude to IFAD’s Country Firector, Mrs Dede Ekoue for the commitment and efforts in sustaining NiMet’s long-standing collaboration with IFAD through projects such as LIFE-ND, VCDP and SAPZ
Professor Anosike drew attention to NiMet’s feat in climate services, the recent launch of Enhancing National Climate Services, ENACTS, Maproom, a powerful tool designed to accelerate access to climate information in Nigeria, especially for those involved in agribusiness.
“Maproom provides real-time weather forecasts, historical climate data and tailored advisories to support farmers in making informed decisions about planting and harvesting, thereby promoting resilience and productivity. I encourage you all to explore the NiMet Maproom by visiting its website and share your valuable feedback.”
Underscoring the workshop’s objective, he added: “In line with the objective of this workshop today – to build a common understanding of best practices for PPP in Climate Information Services, CIS, NiMet is actively engaging private sector practitioners across the CIS value chain to establish sustainable Digital Climate Advisory Services, DCAS, for small-holder farmers in Nigeria.
“These efforts are designed to deliver timely and accurate climate information, enabling small holder farmers to make informed decisions that improve crop yields, protect their livelihoods and strengthen resilience to the impact of climate change.”
IFAD’s country director lauded the exemplary leadership of NiMet. “NiMet has been at the forefront of safeguarding livelihoods and strengthening national resilience. The agency’s role in forging stronger linkages between science, policy and practice is indispensable. Going forward, deeper partnerships with the private sector and development actors will be critical in ensuring that climate information is not only generated, but also translated into accessible, affordable and actionable services for millions of smallholder farmers”, she said.
