The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has called for stronger climate-smart Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to strengthen agribusiness resilience and safeguard farmers’ livelihoods against the impacts of climate change.

Speaking on Monday in Abuja at the Best Practice Workshop on Public-Private Partnerships for Climate Information Services and Validation of the Climate-Smart Agribusiness Partnership for Resilience (CSAPR) Programme, Charles Anosike, Director-General/CEO of NiMet stressed the need to embed climate data and adaptation measures into agricultural infrastructure.

“Climate Smart Public Private Partnership (PPP) is critical in this era of Climate Change to enable integration of climate related risks into agro infrastructure development. This can be achieved by embedding climate data and adaptation mitigation measures into project design to ensure long term stability,” Anosike said.

Anosike, who also serves as the Permanent Representative of Nigeria with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) commended the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security for convening the workshop.

Highlighting NiMet’s recent achievements, Anosike pointed to the launch of the Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS) Maproom, a digital tool providing real-time weather forecasts, historical climate data, and tailored advisories for agribusiness stakeholders.

According to him, the innovation is designed to support farmers in making informed planting and harvesting decisions while improving resilience and productivity.

“In line with the objective of this workshop today – to build a common understanding of best practices for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Climate Information Services (CIS)- NiMet is actively engaging with 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 impacts of climate change”, he added.

Also speaking, Dede Ekoue, IFAD Country Director, lauded NiMet’s leadership in generating and disseminating climate data. She emphasized the importance of translating such information into accessible and actionable tools for farmers.

“NiMet’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 affordable and actionable services for millions of smallholder farmers,” she said.