General News
NiMet Data Hub Targets Climate-Smart Farming, Better Weather Information For Nigerians
By Iyojo Ameh
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, is developing a national digital platform to provide farmers, pastoralists and agricultural advisers with easier access to reliable, location-specific weather and climate information.
The NiMet Data Hub, developed in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute, ILRI, and Crea2Solutions, has progressed to an advanced Minimum Viable Product stage, with the agency’s weather and climate services currently undergoing testing on the platform.
The initiative, which began in February 2026 under the Climate Services for Youth, CS4Y, and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, AGRA, programmes, is designed to improve the availability and use of climate information for agricultural planning and decision-making.
By July 2026, the project had moved from initial design and mock-up reviews to a testable product, marking a significant step towards establishing a central digital access point for historical, monitored and forecast climate information.
The development comes against the backdrop of persistent challenges in Nigeria’s agricultural climate information system, including fragmented data, limited coordination between information providers and difficulties in converting technical forecasts into practical advice that farmers can readily use.
Through stakeholder engagements co-hosted by NiMet and ILRI, project partners have been assessing Nigeria’s agro-meteorological data and advisory landscape, identifying gaps in information and service delivery while exploring ways to strengthen coordination among institutions.
The engagements have also focused on improving last-mile communication and ensuring that climate services adequately address gender and social inclusion concerns.
When fully operational, the platform is expected to support a wide range of users, including farmers, pastoralists, agricultural extension workers, researchers, government institutions and private-sector advisory providers.
NiMet’s existing digital resources, including online map rooms and agricultural climate products, are expected to provide data for the development of more targeted agro-weather advisories that reflect the conditions of specific locations and agricultural activities.
For ILRI, the partnership forms part of its broader efforts to organise research data, develop digital solutions and make scientific information more accessible and useful to partners, policymakers and end users.
The initiative is also in line with the food security, climate-smart agriculture and digital-service objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
By bringing climate information closer to agricultural producers and advisers, the NiMet Data Hub is expected to strengthen seasonal preparedness, support better farm and livestock decisions and help reduce the impact of weather and climate-related risks on Nigeria’s agri-food sector.
