The Federal Government, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has launched the Climate-Smart Agribusiness Partnership for Resilience (CSAPR) Project to tackle climate change impact on agricultural sector.

The project, funded by the Gates Foundation, is aimed at strengthening the resilience, productivity, and profitability of Nigeria’s agricultural value chains by integrating Climate Information Services (CIS) into commercially viable agribusiness products and services delivered through partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Speaking during the launch of the project yesterday in Abuja, the IFAD Country Director, Dede Ekoue, said the FGN/IFAD Climate-Smart Agribusiness Partnership for Resilience Project (CSAPR) is anchored in the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone Programme.

She acknowledged that contributions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) during the policy dialogue provided the foundation for the design of the CSAPR project. She said NiMet’s expertise, data, and institutional leadership are essential to ensuring that climate information services are accurate, timely, locally relevant, and useful for farmers, agribusinesses, financial institutions, insurers, and public decision-makers.

Ekoue stated that the project was designed to strengthen the business case for climate information services by engaging public institutions and private sector actors in practical, financially viable partnerships.

She added that a financially viable CIS-PPP model is both a resilience solution and a fund-mobilization strategy for a more competitive agricultural sector.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi, in his remarks, noted that the launch signifies a strengthened shared commitment among government, development partners, the private sector, financial institutions, researchers, and farmers to address climate change.

Noting the ripple effect of climate variability and extreme weather events on agricultural production across Nigeria, he said floods, droughts, erratic rainfall patterns, desertification, and rising temperatures continue to threaten agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods, and national food security.

The Permanent Secretary stated that the CSAPR Programme is a pilot initiative that emerged from extensive consultations and stakeholder engagements. He said climate information delivers the greatest impact when embedded within agricultural finance, insurance, extension services, input supply systems, and market linkages.

He added that stakeholders also agreed that bundled service models, which combine climate information with credit, insurance, extension support, and quality inputs, offer the most practical and sustainable pathway for farmer adoption and resilience-building.

He said: “On this note, the CSAPR programme has been designed precisely to respond to these realities as it seeks to foster innovative partnerships that connect climate science with agricultural decision-making.”

“Through collaboration among government institutions, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), financial institutions, insurance providers, agritech companies, farmer organizations, and development partners, the programme will support the development and scaling of climate-informed products and services that directly benefit farmers, particularly smallholders, women, and youth,” he added.

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, in his remarks, pledged the agency’s full technical support for the newly launched FGN/IFAD Climate-Smart Agribusiness Partnership for Resilience (CSAPR) Project.

He assured that NiMet will work with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, IFAD, state governments, research institutions, and farmer organizations to expand access to Climate Information Services through seasonal predictions, agrometeorological bulletins, early warnings, and digital advisory platforms.

He outlined the three priorities for the project: translating climate information into simple, localized advisories; building sustainable public-private partnerships; and ensuring women, youth, and vulnerable smallholders remain at the center of implementation.