Agric ministry hopes to boost food production with seasonal climate prediction.
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, the Minister of State for Agriculture, has spoken of the need for timely release of Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) to ensure informed decision and agricultural planning amongst farmers, thereby enhancing their productivity.
The Minister made this request at the Presentation of the 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) with the theme, “The Role of Early Warnings Towards a Climate Resilient Aviation Industry For Sustainable Socio Economic Development”, by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) held in Abuja, on Tuesday 4 February, 2025.
He made it known that “the SCP is a useful advisory guide to farmers. It offers site-specific downscaling and, when applied will boost the adaptive capacity and resilience of farmers to the impact of climate change.” Noting that “early warning systems and climate intelligence are indispensable for resilience adaptation, and economic stability.” Pointing out, “Seasonal climate prediction is germane to the nations agricultural sector. It will serve as a strategic guide for planning, decision-making, and risk mitigation.”
The Minister intimated that “the agricultural sector contributed 17.22 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2024, with smallholder farmers making up more than 70 per cent of the workforce.”
Furthermore, he disclosed the “SCP will enable farmers to increase productivity, while poverty, hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition, food imports, and unemployment will reduce, even as women’s empowerment in agriculture and environmental performance will increase.”
Sen. Dr Abdullahi praised the synergistic engagements between NiMet and the Ministry in integrating climate intelligence into agricultural practices, stating, “the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is fully supporting and committed to the early warning system, climate-smart agriculture, and every development initiative to achieve food security and a resilient environment.”
In conclusion, the Honourable Minister revealed that the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has prioritized SCP and given the nod for the office of the Presidential Special Envoy on Climate Action to serve as the lead negotiator on climate-related matters and coordinate climate-action-related activities across federal ministries.
