Farmers and livestock producers may soon have a simpler way to turn weather and climate information into decisions on when to plant, move livestock, prepare for extreme weather or manage climate-related risks, as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) advances work on a new digital data hub.
The NiMet Data Hub, developed in partnership with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and Crea2Solutions, has progressed from the design and mock-up stage to an advanced Minimum Viable Product, with NiMet’s weather and climate services now undergoing testing.
The initiative, which began in February 2026 under the Climate Services for Youth (CS4Y) and AGRA programmes, is designed to improve access to historical, monitored and forecast climate information for agriculture and other climate-sensitive activities.
By July 2026, the project had reached the stage of a testable product, marking a shift from conceptual design towards practical deployment.
The hub is expected to help bridge one of the persistent gaps in agricultural climate services: getting reliable technical information into a form that farmers, livestock keepers and their advisers can understand and use at the right time.
Stakeholder engagements co-hosted by NiMet and ILRI have focused on mapping Nigeria’s agro-meteorological data and advisory landscape, identifying information and delivery gaps, strengthening institutional collaboration and improving last-mile communication.
The process also incorporates gender and social inclusion considerations, with the partners seeking to ensure that climate information services reach different categories of users across the agricultural value chain.
Turning forecasts into practical advice
The proposed platform will serve a broad user base comprising farmers, pastoralists, extension professionals, researchers, government institutions and private advisory providers.
NiMet resources, including its online map rooms and agricultural climate products, are expected to feed into the system, providing the foundation for developing more targeted agro-weather advisories.
The objective is not simply to make more data available, but to make climate information more useful to people making day-to-day and seasonal decisions.
For farmers, this could include information supporting planting and crop-management decisions, while livestock producers and pastoralists could use relevant climate information in planning movements and managing weather-related risks.
ILRI’s contribution draws on its wider work in organising research data, developing digital tools and making information more accessible and usable for partners and decision-makers.
The partners believe that better coordination of climate information and advisory services could help address the fragmentation that has historically made it difficult for agricultural users to obtain timely and relevant information.
The initiative also aligns with the food security, climate-smart agriculture and digital service priorities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
By bringing climate information and potential users closer together through a digital platform, the NiMet Data Hub is intended to strengthen preparedness, help reduce climate-related losses and support more resilient agri-food livelihoods.