By Miriam Humbe
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) is advancing a national digital platform intended to give farmers, livestock keepers and agricultural advisers more reliable access to location-specific weather and climate information.
The NiMet Data Hub, developed with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Crea2Solutions, has moved from design and mock-up review to an advanced Minimum Viable Product, with NiMet weather and climate services now under testing.
Work on the hub began in February 2026 under the Climate Services for Youth (CS4Y) and AGRA programmes. By July 2026 the project had progressed from early design to a testable product.
The initiative is intended to improve access to historical, monitored and forecast climate information and to support risk analysis, seasonal planning and climate-informed decision-making.
Officials and partners have described the hub as a response to persistent weaknesses in agricultural climate services, including fragmented data, limited coordination among information providers, and the difficulty of turning technical forecasts into timely, practical advice.
Stakeholder engagement co-hosted by NiMet and ILRI has focused on mapping Nigeria’s agro-meteorological data and advisory landscape, identifying information and delivery gaps, strengthening institutional linkages, improving last-mile communication, and supporting gender and social inclusion.
The platform is expected to serve farmers, pastoralists, extension professionals, researchers, government institutions and private advisory providers.
NiMet resources such as online map rooms and agricultural climate products are expected to feed the system, enabling the development of context-specific agro-weather advisories.
ILRI’s contribution is aligned with its wider work of organising research data, developing digital tools and making information more usable for partners and decision-makers.
The project is consistent with the food security, climate-smart agriculture and digital service priorities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
By seeking to place usable climate information in the hands of producers and advisers, the hub is intended to support preparedness, reduce climate-related losses and strengthen agri-food livelihoods.
