… Inaugurates Steering Committee Of Building Agricultural Systems Resilience
By Chidiebere Ugwu
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Charles Anosike, has said that inadequate meteorological observation networks is one of the challenges facing climate early warning system in Nigeria.
Prof Anosike was speaking as Chairman of the Steering Committee, at the inaugural meeting of the ‘Building Agricultural Systems Resilience In Nigeria Project’, which held at NiMet’s headquarters on Tuesday, 23rd April, 2024, in Abuja.
He listed the other challenges as limited technical capacity, fragmented coordination, and difficulties in reaching smallholder farmers with relevant climate advisories, especially among rural women and youth.
Continuing, Professor Anosike said; “To address these gaps, the “Building Agricultural Systems Resilience in Nigeria Project”, generously funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to bolster our infrastructure for climate early action and warning systems. The project will address the demand for relevant and timely climate information for decision-support analytics in the agriculture sector through increasing analytic capacity and capability of the system,
improving capacity to support locally tailored climate analytics and information services, aligning national early action infrastructure for improved regional impact and enhancing early warning systems operational governance through inter-agency cooperation”.
The steering committee which comprises technical directors from key ministries and agencies, technical partners, implementing partners, and representatives from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will oversee the project’s implementation, provide strategic guidance, monitor progress, advocate for program coordination, and ensure effective risk management.
Climate stakeholders involved in the ‘Building Agricultural Systems Resilience In Nigeria Project’ are; Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), the Federal Ministry of Environment, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. The project is being managed by Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Ltd.
