By Bonaventure Phillips Melah

A giant stride recorded by President Bola Tinubu’s administration in food availability, is being twisted in the media by detractors and enemies of Nigeria, in a manner that falsely suggests hardship to farmers, with the aim of diminishing the massive positive impact the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda is having in agriculture and food security.

One of the cardinal points of the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, is to invest substantially in agriculture, in order to ensure that farmers enjoy bountiful harvest with the overall aim of seeing that prices of food items go down. That way, food would become affordable to Nigerians, irrespective of their social standing.

To the applause of the administration, prices of food and other essential needs, have continued to come down, a development that is being celebrated by families and households in the country.

While welcoming the positive development, farmers have however appealed to the government to subsidize their business through interest-free loan, provision of fertilizer and seedlings, as well as other essential tools to help them cope with the continuing crash of food items.

But on Tuesday, a clandestine group that goes by the name, Peace Foundation Professionals, planted and syndicated a false, malicious, and obviously sponsored report in some media platforms, claiming that farmers in Nigeria lost N5trillion Naira in two years, due to what the faceless authors of claimed to be the fault of the Nigerian Metereological Agency (NiMet), saying it was due to the agency’s unreliable weather forecasts.

Interestingly, the report was planted only a few days after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had rated NiMet as one of the best performing institutions in the country, with a high mark of 82.65% on its Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) for 2025. NiMet was the first and only agency in the aviation sector to receive the A-Class rating.

Ordinarily, this latest media contraption against the federal government with NiMet as alibi, shouldn’t be seen as anything different from the others sponsored posts in the past and should therefore been thrown into the trash bin.

However, what is curious here, is how editors of otherwise, reputable national dailies, would allow such a fabricated falsehood that is laced with innuendos and without an iota of reasonable or provable evidence, could pass through their editorial gates and find its way to their online platforms. That is where the shame lies.

It is true that NiMet has, through a statement issued Tuesday, January 22nd 2026, addressed the fabricated lies, saying its Seasonal Climate Predictions (SCPs), Early Warning Alerts, and localized agro-advisories have helped farmers make informed decisions on planting schedules, crop choices, irrigation, and climate risk management, adding that the above have helped immensely in boosting crop yield, bountiful harvests and food availability across the country.

However, this piece is meant further lay bare, the emptiness of the write-up in reference as well as remind media practitioners, especially gate-keepers like online editors, of the danger in publishing unsubstantiated allegations submitted by brown envelop-waving jobless negotiators calling themselves NGOs whose only means of livelihood is collecting handouts from vested interests and inserting damaging media content to pull down committed, dedicated and patriotic citizens that are making genuine contributions to nation-building and overall wellbeing of humanity.

In the first place, the story was credited to a group that goes by a funny name- Peace Foundation Professionals. One may therefore ask, how did a so-called peace foundation become an agriculture institute that conducts research on impact of weather forecast? And how did the peace foundation arrive at its claim that farmers lost N5trillion and due to weather forecast? Did the editors ask the sponsor(s) of this falsehood any question at all, before planting them for public consumption?

The pertinent concern here is not the real identity or character of those masquerading as peace foundation or their underbelly motive, since we all know that as the 2027 election draws near, opposition elements and other detractors, would use the media to pursue their dastardly pull-them-down agenda against public officials. The concern is ‘what is the motivation that allowed editors of otherwise well-respected national dailies, to publish a baseless, unsubstantiated claim on an issue that needs scientific evidence?

Available and verifiable records show that NiMet has received dozens of commendations from both local and international organisations and agencies for its topnotch services to the nation and for which the agency has received awards from within and outside Nigeria.

Last year, Nigerian Farmers and Agricultural Stakeholders Forum commended NiMet for timely and accurate weather forecasts and especially in the past two years. Farmers are part of the direct beneficiaries of activities of NiMet.

Also expressing confidence in NiMet and its expert services, the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in March 2025, issued a strong advisory to local farmers, urging them to closely follow the predictions and directives from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

Mr. Femi Oke, the Chairman of AFAN for Lagos State and the Southwest zone, who stated this, emphasized that despite the challenges posed by unpredictable weather patterns, farmers can still achieve robust productivity if they adhere to the guidelines provided by NiMet regarding the changing climatic conditions. AFAN is the umbrella association of all Nigerian farmers in the country. so, who are the farmers that peace foundation represents?

At a broader level, evaluations by development partners, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), stakeholders, and farmers across all geopolitical zones show that NiMet’s forecast accuracy has improved and exceeded global benchmark of 60 percent to over 90 percent in recent years.

It also a blatant lie peddled by the clandestine group that Nigerian farmers recorded loses due to poor harvest. Rather, records and data harvestable with a tap on your keyboard has it that Nigerian farmers recorded improved harvest as a result of weather forecasts by NiMet.

For example, the 2025 Wet Season Agricultural Performance Report, produced through a collaboration involving institutions such as IAR, NBS, FDA, NASC, NRCRI, NCRI, NIFOR, NAPRI, ADPs, federal and state ministries of agriculture and livestock development, and commodity-based associations, show clearly that Nigeria recorded increased crop yields and livestock production, with output of major staples including rice, maize, cowpea, yam, cassava, and groundnut rising above 2024 levels.

The report shows that Nigeria recorded increased crop yields and livestock production, with output of major staples including rice, maize, cowpea, yam, cassava, and groundnut rising above 2024 levels. It also noted a decline in food prices across all zones, reflecting improved supply and the effectiveness of ongoing agricultural interventions.

NiMet reaffirmed its commitment to national food security, climate resilience, and sustainable agricultural development, stressing that it will not be distracted by sensational narratives.

What farmers have complained about however, is crash in prices of food items and not yield. Nigerian farmers said due to very bountiful harvest, prices of agricultural products and food items have reduced drastically. They are therefore seeking government’s intervention in terms of subsidy on areas like fertilizer, seedlings and others.

Meanwhile, Nigerians have been celebrating the reduction of food items across the country which is as a result of improved yields and bountiful harvest.

To turn around and claim falsely that farmers suffered financial losses due to inaccurate weather forecasts, cannot be dismissed as mere mischief but should be seen as a deliberate, calculated and sponsored project to water-down the President’s massive achievements in food security, using NiMet as a fall-guy.

This is even so, when it is obvious that the malicious media campaign was not backed by verifiable data, transparent methodology, or any independent assessment, and therefore should be treated as a treasonable offence as the misinformation contained therein, has the potency to cause economic anxiety in the country.