Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has collaborated with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) to develop a weather forecasting service that will cater to the specific needs of farmers and livestock herders.
CGIAR believes the service will help provide precise and dependable weather predictions that will massively reduce risks associated with climate change.
Speaking during an interview at the Deep Tech Summit, Interim Director, Digital Transformation at CGIAR, Ram Dhulipala, said that the initiative will use AI and Machine Learning (ML) to offer factual weather predictions that will help farmers be better prepared against weather disasters that can ruin their agricultural efforts.
According to him, the collaboration would simply integrate advanced AI and machine learning algorithms into NiMet’s existing weather forecasting processes to deliver more reliable forecasts that will help farmers to smartly plan their planting, irrigation, and harvesting schedules.
“The consequence of this will be that you will have more reliable forecast that farmers can rely on to plan their agricultural and livestock operations because as you are as you know agriculture and livestock are very sensitive to weather. So the more opportunity it gives the farmers to anticipate what’s coming and prepare in better,” he said.
Ram revealed that because agriculture and livestock management work hand in hand with weather patterns, improving the accuracy and reliability of weather forecasts via AI is very important. He believes CGIAR deserves praise for providing farmers with a key tool to better manage their operations, decrease possible losses, and ultimately boost their productivity.
Dhulipala also confirmed the preparedness of the CGIAR to aid Nigeria in establishing a comprehensive and reliable national livestock database that will easily monitor animal health and productivity, while also detecting diseases affecting them at an early stage.
“A comprehensive livestock database can serve multiple critical functions, from tracking animal health and productivity to informing national development contributions. We are prepared to collaborate with Nigerian authorities to design and implement a system that meets their specific needs and contributes to a more resilient and productive livestock sector,” he added.
