Experts discuss roles of mobile technology, media in achieving climate-resilient agriculture in Nigeria

Relevant Agricultural and Climate Change experts met in Abuja to discuss the roles of mobile technology and media in achieving climate-resilient agriculture and inclusive climate action.

This is amidst the devastating impacts of extreme weather events (flooding, drought) on food production, women and People Living with Disabilities (PWD) in the country.

The experts spoke at the “high-level advocacy dialogue/flood impact report launch” organised by HEDA Resource Centre in Abuja on Wednesday.

The event, themed “Protecting Smallholder Farmers and Vulnerable Communities from Climate-Related Shocks: Implementing Early Warning Systems for Food Security and Livelihood Resilience in Nigeria”, brought together several relevant agricultural/climate change experts from the private and public sectors, farmers and academia.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of HEDA Resource CentreSulaimon Arigbabu, noted that the theme could not be more timely, as climate risks continue to escalate the need for robust, culturally-relevant Early Warning Systems (EWS).

“Today’s event is part of activities to sign post our work around climate justice, under the African Activists for Climate Justice Project, a 5-year pan African funding by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands,” he said.

Early warning system (EWS) is explained as the set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful climate warning information to enable individuals, communities and organisations threatened by hazards to take necessary proactive actions and act swiftly to reduce the possibility of harm or losses.

On Wednesday, Mr Arigbabu explained that EWS are vital in providing actionable information that can empower farmers and communities to anticipate, prepare for, and mitigate the impacts of climate-induced disasters such as floods and droughts.

He emphasised that the aim of the event is to spotlight the current EWS in Nigeria, identify coverage gaps, accessibility and effectiveness, particularly for smallholder farmers.

“Our mission is to change the narrative of communicating condolences to our vulnerable communities after each climate induced disaster, but rather communicating warnings and knowledge that help build resilience in these communities,” he said.

Roles of mobile technology/media in climate-resilient agriculture

During the first panel discussion of the event moderated by James Jayeoba, a Professor of Sustainable Agriculture in Nasarawa State University, the panellists discussed the theme “leveraging Mobile Technology for Climate-Resilient Agriculture in Nigeria”.

One of the discussants, Abdulwarees Solanke, a media practitioner, said to enhance the delivery of climate services to smallholder farmers, there is a need for the media to profile those in farming communities and identify the quantum of media technology in the possession of farmers.

By doing so, he said, the media will be able to mainstream information to rural farmers effectively, coupled with adequate engagement of relevant researchers in the country.

“The use of radio for the passage of agricultural messages is very critical. Almost all radio stations in the country have programs on environmental and agriculture issues,” Mr Solanke said.

He urged critical stakeholders in the agricultural sector to research available free radio programs they can leverage to disseminate vital information for farmers.

On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of Rashak Farms Agri-Allied Limited, Rahmah Aderinoye, said cultural barriers and lack of inclusiveness is preventing women farmers from assessing climate risks information seamlessly.

“Cultural barriers are preventing women from participating in the trainers courses. This is why we give preference to women and PWDs in our outreaches,” she said.

She explained that there is a need to encourage women farmers by providing them with necessary resources and support because the sector is dominated by men.

Mrs Aderinoye said one of the ways to support women farmers is to ensure that weather forecasts information are passed through mobile devices to women farmers in a timely manner.

In his intervention, Adetoro Akindele, the Vice President, Commercial of Thrive Agric, said there is a need to take advantage of social media to disseminate relevant climate-related information to farmers in the country.

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“Short video clips(reels) message goes a long way in disseminating information and they are not gender biased,” he said.

He noted that in some tribes across the country, women are not permitted to look at men in the face, and as such they are disenfranchised.

Based on this, the expert said there is a need to empower women and encourage them by providing reliable information timely to the women.

Mr Akindele said there is a need to engage telecommunication companies to help in passing relevant climate risks information to farmers across the country.

In his swift intervention, Yusuf Kelani, an aide to President Bola Tinubu on Climate Change Matters, said the government is working towards building a climate alert system to capture everyone within the Nigerian territory.

“The government is considering sending early warning system information to everyone in the country via their mobile phones,” he said.