Key highlights:
- The partnership would see increased collaboration dedicated toward Nigeria’s food production.
- Farmers to get precise weather forecasts, to enable farming activities to be smart would result in enhanced yields.
- The partnership comes after thousands of hectares were destroyed last year during the flooding.
The Nigerian Government through the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which would see increased collaboration dedicated towards Nigeria’s food production.
Under the agreement, farmers would get precise weather forecasts, and making farming activities to be smart would result in enhanced yields.
This was disclosed by NiMet`s Director-General, Prof. Mansur Matazu, who disclosed this on Monday in Abuja when a delegation from the CBN visited NiMet and said that the outcome of the partnership
Predictive forecasts
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) DG said the agreement will enable increased food security in Nigeria through precise weather forecasts and also improve the standards of living of Nigerians.
He added that technical collaboration has been established with the development of a work plan that will provide a platform for CBN intervention, the statement read:
“Basically in the next two months, we are going to see this project being run-on between CBN and NiMet by supporting target areas.
“Making farming activities to be smart would result in enhanced yields and an improvement in the livelihood of farmers.
“The project will support irrigation among other things.
Central Bank’s support
Mr. Chika Nwanja, Head of the Retail Agriculture Credit Division, CBN, said the Central bank of Nigeria is committed to boosting Nigeria’s food security, adding that CBN’s partnership with Nigerian farmers would no anymore face adverse conditions that would be inimical to their yields, he added:
- “It is not about efforts and labor you put into agriculture, it is about what you achieve at the end of the season.
- “Meeting with NiMet and discussing with NiMet has given us hope that Nigeria has that capability in terms of precise prediction of weather forecast across the different geographical zones in the country.
- “NiMet has shown us capacity and some level of capability and we will be willing to partner with it to move this project forward.”
Weather and Monetary Policy
Nigeria suffered severe agriculture losses in 2022, as many farmers failed to listen to NiMet’s warnings on flooding last year, as of November last year Nairametrics reported that the number of Nigerians affected by flooding has risen to 3.2 million 392,399 hectares of farmland totally damaged.
The minister of humanitarian affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq said: more than 1.4 million persons have been internally displaced; 2,776 persons were injured, 612 people lost their lives and 181,600 houses were partially damaged. The number of totally destroyed houses was 123,807; 176,852 hectares of farmland were partially affected, while 392,399 hectares of farmlands have been totally destroyed.
Meanwhile, The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released some strategic grain reserves to combat the adverse effects of the flooding and checkmate food inflation last year.
The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele acknowledged that Nigerian farmers have lost a lot to the floods. He also noted that Nigeria should brace up for higher food inflation in the months to come. He said:
“The flooding of this year happens to be the worst in the last five years in Nigeria. 32 out of the 36 states of the country were affected adversely by the floods. This meant that farmers lost their crops, and food prices and other agricultural products would go up.
“From our side at the CBN and the Federal Government, we have our strategic reserve, particularly for rice and for grains like maize, which we will use to moderate prices.”
