The Federal Government has called for collective efforts to safeguard Nigeria’s food systems against the growing threats of climate change, urging stakeholders to commit to building resilience, enhancing productivity, and ensuring food security for millions of Nigerians.

Mr. Ibrahim Tanimu, Director of Planning and Policy Coordination at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, made the call at the FGN/IFAD Best Practice Workshop on Public-Private Partnerships for Climate Information Services and the Consultations on the Climate-Smart Agribusiness Partnership for Resilience (CSAPR) Project, held on Monday in Abuja.

He stressed that climate change poses one of the greatest challenges to agricultural development in Nigeria and across Africa, with erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and extreme weather increasingly undermining farmers’ livelihoods, food security, and rural economies. 

Represented by Mr. Aliyu Agwai, he noted that the Federal Government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, has prioritised climate-resilient agriculture as a critical pillar of national development.

“This commitment is reflected in key policies and frameworks such as the National Agriculture Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP), the CAADP Kampala Declaration, and Nigeria’s Food Systems Transformation Pathways”. 

“These frameworks serve as a compass guiding us toward a more resilient, productive, and inclusive agricultural sector,” he said.

According to him, the Best Practice Workshop and the consultations on the CSAPR project are designed to build a common understanding of global and regional best practices on Public-Private Partnerships for Climate Information Services, identify opportunities for leveraging the private sector to expand and scale up access to climate information for smallholder farmers, and strengthen national ownership to ensure the successful implementation of the CSAPR project.

Mr. Tanimu appreciated development partners, farmer organisations, and ministries for their role in implementing innovative solutions at scale.

“This journey would not be possible without the invaluable support of our partners. We deeply appreciate IFAD for its unwavering commitment to Nigeria’s agricultural and rural transformation agenda and its leadership in promoting climate resilience globally”.

“We acknowledge NiMet for its technical expertise in climate information services, and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning for its continued support in advancing this initiative. I equally wish to acknowledge and thank the co-financiers of the SAPZ project, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), for their steadfast partnership and support.”

Declaring the workshop open, he urged all stakeholders present to actively engage, share their experiences, and fully leverage the best practices that would be discussed. 

He said, “Let us together chart a clear pathway for building a robust, inclusive, and climate-resilient agricultural sector in Nigeria.”

In her High-Level Remark, Mrs. Dede Ekoue, IFAD Country Director, described the workshop theme as forward-looking and urgent. She recalled the UN Food Systems Summit +4 in Addis Ababa, where leaders reaffirmed that food systems transformation must be anchored in resilience, inclusivity, and sustainability.

“We gather at a defining moment for Nigeria, Africa, and the global community. Only weeks ago, at the UN Food Systems Summit +4 in Addis Ababa, leaders reaffirmed that food systems transformation must be anchored in resilience, inclusivity, and sustainability.” She said.

For Nigeria, that Summit reinforced the country’s leadership in shaping Africa’s journey towards resilient and climate-smart food systems, with a clear emphasis on digital solutions and strengthened partnerships across government, the private sector, civil society, and development partners.

At the continental level, the CAADP Kampala Declaration has once again underscored the importance of embedding resilience, mobilising investments for innovation, and ensuring that women and youth are at the centre of agricultural transformation. Regionally, Nigeria’s role is pivotal. Globally, the stakes are high. 

Climate change is not a distant threat; it is a daily reality that redefines risks and presents opportunities for innovation, transformation, and shared prosperity.

Nationally, Nigeria has laid out motivated Food Systems Transformation Pathways that prioritise climate-smart agriculture, digital innovations, and deeper partnerships that bring the private sector closer to farmers and rural communities. 

This vision aligns well with IFAD’s strategic direction, particularly our commitment to climate mainstreaming across all investments. From the Value Chain Development Programme to LIFE-ND and the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones, IFAD has worked hand in hand with government and partners to embed resilience, gender equality, youth empowerment, and innovative financing into the very fabric of agricultural transformation.

Mrs. Ekoue maintained that climate information services are not just technical tools, but life-saving, productivity-enhancing, and resilience-building instruments.

In her words, “Farmers cannot adapt without timely and reliable information on when to plant, when to harvest, or how to prepare for extreme weather. Agribusinesses cannot scale sustainably without reliable data, early warning systems, and risk management instruments.”

Also speaking, Prof. Charles Anosike, Director-General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), described Climate-Smart Public-Private Partnerships as critical in this era of climate change, enabling integration of climate-related risks into infrastructure development. 

He explained that NiMet is actively engaging with private sector practitioners across the Climate Information Services value chain to establish sustainable Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) for smallholder farmers in Nigeria.

“These efforts are designed to deliver timely and accurate climate information, enabling smallholder farmers to make informed decisions that improve crop yields, protect their livelihoods, and strengthen resilience to the impacts of climate change,” he said.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with IFAD, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and with the strong support of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, and the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ).

Source: AgroNigeria

Image Credit: FMIC