The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nigeria’s leading telecommunication services provider (MTN), and advanced weather intelligence company, Tomorrow.io, to develop a Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) System aimed at delivering location-specific, actionable weather advisories to Nigerian farmers via mobile (SMS).
The partnership which is in line with the United Nations (UN) goal of ensuring early warning systems for all would serve the need of strengthening climate resilience in Nigeria, particularly in the agricultural sector.
The Director General of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike said that the overall aim of the partnership was to improve agricultural productivity and resilience by providing localised, timely weather advisories.
This, he said, aligns with the food security agenda of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government.
Anosike said that the choice of MTN and Tomorrow.io was strategic as they are leaders in their respective sectors.
He noted :“My primary objective has been to open up the space of the business of climate science to the private sector so that they will begin to understand the incredible impact of climate science. “
Responding, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN, Karl Toriola said that MTN is always looking for ways to support government agencies and the Nigerian public in general.
He noted that he was optimistic about what the partnership with NiMet and Tomorrow.io would do for the agricultural sector, emergency and disaster management, the public and the Nigerian economy as a whole.
Toriola said: “From the bottom of our hearts we are grateful to NiMet for allowing MTN to partner with it.”
Similarly, the Managing Director of Tomorrow.io, Dr. Henry Onyemachi commended Anosike for his strong leadership directing the process leading to the signing of the MoU.
According to him, For us at Tomorrow.io, it’s a very happy moment for us reflecting on the progressive and very focused journey which began a year ago. This is a very impactful project that we are embarking on which touches on the food security that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been harping on.
