NiMet, Tomorrow.io, MTN unveil digital climate advisory to tackle food insecurity

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), in partnership with global weather technology firm Tomorrow.io and its affiliates, as well as MTN, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to roll out a pilot Digital Climate Advisory Service (DCAS) targeting 100,000 smallholder farmers across six states.

The initiative, unveiled at a technical workshop in Abuja on Thursday, February 12, 2026, aims to provide farmers with weekly, weather-driven advisories to guide planting, fertiliser application, pest control, and harvesting decisions.

The Director-General of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, described the Digital Climate Advisory System Decision Tree as a transformative innovation in climate service delivery.

“The decision tree is not merely a technical tool. It reflects the co-design principles that underpin our work. Through inclusive engagement with end-users, policymakers, and technical experts, we ensure that the system is practical and adaptable,” Anosike said.

Anosike noted that the system integrates data expertise, advanced analytics and user-centric design to provide tailored guidance not only in agriculture but also in aviation, disaster management and other sectors.

The NiMET boss added that the collaboration with Tomorrow.io demonstrates the power of partnership between global innovation and local expertise.

The Chief Executive Officer of TomorrowNow, Brian Miranda, said the initiative goes beyond seasonal forecasts, promising continuous support to farmers from planting to harvest.

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“Every single day, the first question farmers ask is when will the rains come?” 90 per cent of farmers across Africa are rain-fed. They depend entirely on the weather. If you plant too early or too late, even by a few weeks, you can suffer a 10 to 20 per cent yield penalty,” he said.

Miranda noted that weather is worsening food insecurity in Nigeria, saying: “The weather that farmers are experiencing today is not as predictable as it was five, ten or twenty years ago. Yet many farming practices have not adjusted to this reality.

“If you do what you’ve done every season and expect the rains haven’t changed, you will not have a great season.”

He disclosed that TomorrowNow, which already reaches nearly six million farmers in Kenya and close to one million in Malawi, recently expanded into Zambia and is now entering Nigeria with an ambitious target.

Miranda said: “Our vision is 100 million weather-resilient farmers across Africa. We are starting this pilot with about 100,000 farmers in multiple states, but we expect this to grow into tens of millions of farmers across Nigeria.

“We are moving to Nigeria to work with you all to help localise a food institution to help smallholder farmers to be more productive. What we’re looking to do is help unlock the potential of smallholder farmers.”

According to him, the project will initially deploy SMS-based advisories before expanding to voice services and strengthening extension agents with high-quality forecast information.

Also speaking, the General Manager of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) at NiMet, Ifeoma Ebede, said the workshop marked a critical step toward finalising documentation for a nationwide rollout.

The Star