NiMet to Leverage AI-Powered Weather Forecasting to Strengthen Climate Information for Farmers – DG Anosike

By Iyojo Ameh

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, has reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to harnessing artificial intelligence (AI)-driven weather forecasting tools to improve access to timely and reliable climate information for Nigerian farmers.

Anosike made this known when he received the Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) delegation led by Imara Salas, Director of the AIM for Scale Secretariat, and Mohammad Farrae, Scientific Director, during a courtesy visit to NiMet headquarters in Abuja.

AIM for Scale is a global consortium dedicated to promoting agricultural innovation and scaling up weather services for farmers. The team’s visit focused on exploring potential areas of collaboration, particularly in the development of AI-powered weather solutions and investment mobilisation to deliver tailored, cost-effective innovations for smallholder farmers in Nigeria.

The AIM for Scale consortium comprises leading global organisations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), NASA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Community Jameel, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), University of Chicago’s Human-Centered Weather Forecasts and AI for Climate (AICE) initiatives, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and the United Nations Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF).

Speaking during the visit, Imara Salas commended NiMet for its proactive approach and expressed gratitude for the warm reception. She explained that AIM for Scale’s model revolves around creating tailored innovation packages and AI-driven weather forecasts that can be scaled through partnerships with national meteorological agencies such as NiMet.

“Our approach is to co-develop innovation packages that respond directly to the needs of farmers. Through partnerships, we aim to expand access to reliable, AI-powered weather information that supports decision-making, improves resilience, and boosts agricultural productivity,” Salas said.

In his remarks, Prof. Anosike expressed appreciation for Nigeria’s inclusion in AIM for Scale’s first African pilot project and the invitation extended to NiMet for the just-concluded AI weather training in Abu Dhabi. He reiterated the agency’s readiness to deploy its expertise in advancing the initiative, stressing the critical role of accurate, real-time weather information in modern agriculture.

“NiMet is fully prepared to embrace this collaboration as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen climate services delivery. Farmers across Nigeria increasingly rely on accurate weather and climate data to guide their planting, harvesting, and risk management decisions,” Anosike stated.

He further underscored the transformative potential of AI-powered weather forecasting, noting that such systems use advanced algorithms to improve prediction accuracy and dissemination speed. According to him, these innovations will help farmers and other stakeholders make more informed decisions amid the growing impacts of climate variability.

However, Anosike identified existing infrastructure gaps particularly the limited network of in-situ weather stations and insufficient radar coverage across Nigeria as challenges requiring urgent attention to support the effective deployment of advanced forecasting systems.

Following the meeting, the NiMet DG led the AIM for Scale delegation on a guided tour of the agency’s main weather forecasting facility, showcasing NiMet’s technical capacity and current operations.

Both parties concluded the visit with an agreement to develop and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will guide future collaboration on joint research initiatives and ensure the operational sustainability of the proposed AI weather services in Nigeria.