NIMET Advocates Better Use Of Climate Information In Agriculture

The Director General/CEO of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi, has advocated better use of climate information in agriculture to rebuild the sector and make it sustainable.

Mashi made the recommendation, while presenting a paper titled: “Agrometeorological Service Delivery for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Nigeria” at the Senior Executive Course Programme, held at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Plateau State.

He said; “Effective climate information and services will not only transform agricultural production from labour-intensive high risk endeavor to knowledge based strategic enterprise, but will also enable sustainable utilisation of resources to achieve food security in the country.”

Speaking further, he asserted that climate and weather variability play an overriding role in determining the amount of physical productivity of agricultural crops, livestock and forests, as well as, the risk of the failure of the productivity.

The DG also disclosed that with over 100 years climate information on Nigeria in its archive, NiMet has been playing crucial role addressing the issues relating to climate variability and change, and the possible impact on agriculture production and food security in particular.

He urged the Federal Government to set in motion the National Framework for Application of Climate Services (NFACS); use of Information Communication Technology (ICT); and enforcement effective intervention policies, among others.

Source: Guardian