Telecoms and agriculture are in the news yet again. Service provider MTN Nigeria has announced plans to partner the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), in disseminating weather and climate information to farmers and other users across Nigeria.
Two months ago NiMet entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tomorrow.io, a leading weather intelligence company based in the US with a presence across Africa and the Middle East.
The MoU established a collaborative framework between NiMet and Tomorrow.io, encompassing various areas such as the commercialisation of weather data, enhancement of weather and climate forecast accuracy and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in weather and climate intelligence.
Now MTN Nigeria is also involved. It's not clear yet precisely how MTN will be making the information available. However, as we reported in December, its parent, MTN Group, recently joined forces with Tomorrow.io for an initiative aimed at providing life-saving early warnings and critical weather information to at-risk populations of more than 300 million people across Africa.
Tobechukwu Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services & Sustainability Officer of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, points out: “As the leading provider of communications services in Nigeria, with over 77 million people on our network, we are committed to supporting national initiatives that enhance the quality of life of Nigerians. Therefore, we are open to supporting NiMet’s partnership with Tomorrow.io to make this service available to farmers across Nigeria. We appreciate the opportunity to work together to improve the nation’s food security and anticipate a fruitful working relationship.”
NiMet is the federal government of Nigeria agency responsible for observing, collating, collecting, processing and disseminating all meteorological data and information. It says that the weather and climate data that it generates are useful planning tools for farmers and other sectoral operators in areas as diverse as aviation, marine, oil and gas, construction and academia.
