News Category: Digital Advisory

Abuja, Nigeria — April 14, 2026 — The Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen the delivery of climate and weather information to farmers across Nigeria.

The partnership will focus on integrating AI-based weather forecasting and enhancing digital advisory systems – translating timely, accurate climate information into practical guidance that helps farmers make better decisions and reduce their exposure to climate-related risks.

Through this collaboration, NiMet and AIM for Scale–an initiative supported by the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court and the Gates Foundation–will leverage AI-driven forecasting to weather insights tailored to farmers’ needs. By translating these forecasts into actionable guidance, the partnership will support farmers in optimizing planting decisions, managing inputs more effectively, and mitigating the impacts of extreme weather, ultimately improving productivity and livelihoods.

NiMet plays a central role in Nigeria’s agricultural and climate information systems, providing early warning advisories, seasonal climate predictions, and digital climate services. This partnership builds on that foundation by integrating AI into forecasting systems, strengthening institutional capacity, and enhancing how information is communicated—expanding the reach and effectiveness of advisory services so more farmers receive timely, relevant information to support decision-making.

Nigeria was among the first cohort of countries to participate in the AI Weather Forecasting Training Program launched by AIM for Scale, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), and the University of Chicago in Abu Dhabi in September 2025. The program is designed to give countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America the tools and autonomy to generate and deliver forecasts locally, ensuring these innovations reach farmers where they are most needed.

AIM for Scale is also partnering with the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) to bring both in-country expertise to collaborations with NiMet and other meteorological services in the region. Together, they will support the integration of AI-based forecasting into national systems and build the capacity needed to sustain it over time.
The MoU also establishes a framework for joint activities, including technical collaboration, capacity building, coordinated outreach, and resource mobilization to support long-term implementation.

Prof. Charles Anosike, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, emphasized the importance of the partnership in advancing Nigeria’s weather and climate services to the benefit of farmers:
“Providing accurate and timely weather and climate information is essential for national development, food security, and disaster risk management. This collaboration with AIM for Scale will strengthen our ability to deliver actionable climate services to farmers and other stakeholders, while advancing innovation in forecasting through the integration of AI and data-driven tools.”

Paul Winters, Executive Director of AIM for Scale and Professor at University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, highlighted the opportunity to translate innovation into large-scale impact:
“Farmers rely on weather to make some of their most important decisions. By working with NiMet to integrate AI-based forecasting into existing advisory channels, we can ensure that accurate, timely, and actionable information reaches millions of farmers. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that evidence-backed solutions reach farmers in ways that meaningfully improve their livelihoods.”

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — February 6, 2026 — The Ethiopian Meteorological Institute (EMI) and the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) have entered into new partnerships with the Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) to enhance the scale and impact of weather services for farmers through Ethiopia’s digital advisory ecosystem. Each Institute has signed a separate Letter of Agreement with AIM, formalizing their collaboration. 

Timely and actionable weather information is essential for farmer decision-making. By strengthening national digital advisory systems and integrating AI-based weather forecasting into government processes, the collaboration aims to ensure that reliable information reaches farmers at scale–improving productivity, reducing risk, and building long-term resilience across Ethiopia’s food system.

The collaboration was officially launched this week with a technical workshop on February 2, 2026 convening more than 30 government and technical partners to align on next steps for scaling weather advisories and alerts. The engagement continued on February 6 with a meeting hosted by EMI convening government officials from ATI and the Ministry of Agriculture to explore institutional alignment and coordination to scale these efforts in the lead-up to COP32, which will be held in Addis Ababa.

The Human-Centered Weather Forecasts (HCWF) Initiative at the University of Chicago has signed on as a partner under the EMI agreement, providing their expertise to support AI model benchmarking, operationalization, and capacity building. This work is supported by the Gates Foundation and complements global efforts to ensure farmers in low- and middle-income countries can benefit from cutting-edge technologies.

This multistakeholder collaboration is also driven by Precision Development (PxD), which is supporting the design and testing of farmer-centered advisory messages to enhance access and adoption. AIM for Scale, HCWF, and PxD previously partnered to support the Government of India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to reach 38 million farmers with AI-based weather forecasts during the 2025 monsoon season.

The initiative will also benefit from the expertise of the social enterprise Connect for Impact Advisory Group (C4Impact), founded by Agnes Kalibata, former Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources of Rwanda and former President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. C4Impact works with African governments and their partners to accelerate food system transformation in support of inclusive growth, resilience, and long-term food security.

Dr. Fetene Teshome, Director General of EMI, underscored the importance of strengthening the link between artificial intelligence and real-world applications: “Climate variability is projected to continue increasing. This is likely to result in more irregular onset and cessation of the rainy season, longer dry spells, and periods of excessive rainfall. As a result, farming systems and other sectors of the economy are becoming increasingly vulnerable. The role of climate information in minimizing risks and optimizing opportunities is therefore non-debatable. The Ethiopian Meteorological Institute is working with AIM for Scale and the University of Chicago to ensure that climate information leads to better, more actionable decisions, leveraging new AI tools.”

Dr. Firew Tegegne, Deputy Director General of ATI, noted that the agreement represents an important step in Ethiopia’s digital transformation agenda. “Our goal at ATI is to ensure that farmers across Ethiopia have reliable access to timely, relevant, and actionable information. This agreement strengthens our national systems and supports our efforts to scale advisory services that reach millions of farmers.”

Paul Winters, Executive Director of AIM for Scale and Professor at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, highlighted Ethiopia’s leadership in adopting scalable digital solutions for agriculture. “We’ve seen the impact that digital advisory services can have in improving the lives of farmers. By integrating AI-powered tools and enhancing delivery channels, we can provide more accurate, tailored, and timely information to millions of farmers. AIM for Scale is honored to partner with ATI and EMI to support Ethiopia’s national priorities of strengthening its agriculture sector through technology and innovation.”

Together, these efforts position Ethiopia to build one of the most advanced digital advisory ecosystems on the continent—combining government leadership, cutting-edge research, strong development partnerships, and a commitment to delivering real value for farmers.

Government representatives and partners convened at the February 2 technical workshop to align on next steps for scaling weather advisories and alerts.

About the Partners

ATI 

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI), formerly known as the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA), is a strategy and delivery-oriented government institute created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, which is a key contributor to the country’s GDP, exports, and workforce. The ATI’s work is centered on improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers (SHFs) across the country, for improved income, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability. The ATI has reached close to 5 million small holder farmers, delivered over 400 strategic studies, and implemented over 60 innovative projects.

EMI

The Ethiopian Meteorological Institute (EMI) was established as an autonomous government organization in 1980 under proclamation No 201/1980 and the institute has 11 regional meteorological service centers. The main roles and responsibilities of EMI are to provide weather, climate forecast and early warning services by collecting and analyzing meteorological information. The institute focuses on three strategic issues. These are to ensure meteorological data coverage, quality and access, providing accurate and reliable meteorological forecast and early warning advisory service and conducting research on climate research. The Ethiopian Meteorological Institute has established 1400 manned meteorological stations, 300 automatic weather stations, one radar, three upper air stations, 11 geonet cast stations, and 4kmx4km gridded datasets.

AIM for Scale

AIM for Scale is a global initiative supported by the International Affairs Office of the Presidential Court of the UAE and the Gates Foundation to scale evidence-based, cost-effective innovations that improve farmer livelihoods and food security in low- and middle-income countries. 

Belém, Brazil. | 11 November, 2025 – At COP30, the Agricultural Innovation 

Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) announced a joint ambition to reach 100 million farmers with digital advisory services by 2030. Supported by the International Affairs Office of the Presidential Court of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Gates Foundation, the coalition brings together the Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and the Governments of Ethiopia and India, among others, under the stewardship of AIM for Scale. 

These efforts aim to deliver science-based insights–such as weather forecasts, pest advisories, or soil information–directly to farmers, improving decision-making, productivity, and climate resilience at scale. This milestone is tied to AIM for Scale’s new Innovation Package on Digital Advisory Services for Agriculture and builds on its previous Innovation Package on Weather Forecasts for Farmers, launched at COP29, which mobilized over $1 billion in commitments from multilateral development banks and partners to scale weather services for farmers. 

Her Excellency Mariam Almheiri, Chair of the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court, emphasized: “Around the world, millions of farmers face climate uncertainty every day. Turning that uncertainty into opportunity is what drives us. This is a testament to the UAE’s global role – not only in advancing innovative solutions, but in collaborating with global partners to adopt and scale them. AIM for Scale embodies this vision – bringing together governments, development banks, and partners to channel investment into solutions that can be deployed widely and sustainably, improving livelihoods and strengthening food systems around the world.”

Partner Highlights

As a key member of the AIM for Scale partnership, the Asian Development Bank is committed to helping 20 million farmers across the Asia and the Pacific region to access timely advisories backed by weather forecasts, as part of its commitment to help improve food production. Noelle O’Brien, Director of Climate Change at the Asian Development Bank, explained that “ADB is engaging in this partnership to promote the use of digital solutions as well as catalyze more investments into weather and climate information services to aid agriculture production.”

In Ethiopia, the Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) is partnering with AIM for Scale to provide tailored advisories to more than seven million farmers through the country’s trusted 8028 Hotline. Beginning in 2026, AIM for Scale will expand collaboration with multilateral development banks and governments in eleven additional countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to embed digital advisory services into national agricultural systems. Through these partnerships, AIM for Scale aims to reach 100 million farmers globally by 2030, enabling them to access timely, actionable information that supports more resilient and productive agricultural livelihoods.

Partners are already making significant progress toward this shared goal. In India, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare delivered AI-based monsoon onset forecasts via SMS to 38 million farmers earlier this year—the largest effort to date to provide targeted, AI-driven weather information. Monitoring surveys in two states showed near-universal interest in receiving future forecasts (97–98%), underscoring the high value farmers place on these services. 

“This program harnesses the revolution in AI-based weather forecasting to predict the arrival of continuous rains, empowering farmers to plan agricultural activities with greater confidence and manage risks,” noted Pramod Meherda, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India. “We look forward to continuing to improve this effort in future years.”

This milestone was made possible partly through a collaboration between the Human-Centered Weather Forecasts Initiative at the University of Chicago and Precision Development–supported by AIM for Scale–which helped advance the scientific foundation of the project and ensure that forecasts were communicated clearly and effectively. “These forecasts were successful in many ways, including by correctly predicting a pause in the northward progression of the monsoon,” noted Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer, co-Director of the Human-Centered Weather Forecasts Initiative and Chair of AIM for Scale’s Advisory Panel. “No other forecasts provided guidance to farmers on this unusual progression, especially with a two-to-four-week lead time. This illustrates how advances in AI weather forecasting can translate into practical, decision-relevant information for farmers–often delivered at very low cost.” 

To sustain these advances, partners launched the AIM for Scale AI Weather Forecasting for Agriculture Training Program in Abu Dhabi–a collaboration between the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the UAE National Center for Meteorology, and the University of Chicago. The program, supported by the International Affairs Office of the Presidential Court of the UAE, brought together meteorological and agricultural agencies from Bangladesh, Chile, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria for intensive, hands-on training in September 2025 and will expand to 25 additional countries by 2027.

“Our goal is simple,” said Paul Winters, Executive Director of AIM for Scale and Professor at the University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs. “Every farmer—regardless of where they live—should have access to the information they need to confidently make decisions that will strengthen their livelihoods. Reaching 100 million farmers is ambitious, but by working together and investing in scalable, evidence-based solutions, it’s within reach.”

Building on early commitments from the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Ethiopia, and continued progress in India, other partners are working closely with AIM for Scale to facilitate the scaling of digital advisory services, as well as design complementary initiatives to sustain long-term impact.

“By collaborating with partners like AIM for Scale, we can bring the best technical expertise to our region, adapt proven models to local contexts, and contribute lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean to global knowledge,” commented Morgan Doyle, General Manager of the Southern Cone Regional Country Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). “The IDB is committed to helping every country in the Americas turn innovation into inclusion—building food systems that are more productive, resilient, and adaptive. With the partnerships we forge here at COP30, we can ensure that digital agriculture reaches every corner of our region—so that by 2030, innovation truly impacts everyone.”

These efforts are reinforced by new strategic investments from the Gates Foundation, which are advancing forecast benchmarking across Africa to evaluate the real-world performance of AI models and ensure innovations deliver measurable value for farmers. “While these models have transformative potential, it is essential to evaluate them locally to ensure they appropriately represent local conditions for small-scale farmers, policy makers, and private enterprise use,” noted Neil Hausmann, Principal Officer at the Gates Foundation. 

The Gates Foundation investments in benchmarking will be channeled to AIM for Scale partner the Human-Centered Forecast Initiative at University of Chicago, co-directed by Amir Jina, Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago and Chair of the AIM for Scale Weather Forecasts for Farmers Technical Panel. “Last-mile delivery is where digital advisory services succeed or fail,” said Professor Jina, speaking from COP30. “We need to rigorously test what works for farmers in real conditions—how messages are delivered, understood, and acted upon. The more we learn from those interactions, the more effective and scalable digital systems become.”