Poor harvest looms as irregular rainfall continues

Findings showed that most of the farms in the FCT, especially those that planted early are worst affected as the crops are wilting away even as some are already drying up.“The way things are going, I am afraid there may be poor harvest this year. You can see that the crops are wilting and dying […]

Findings showed that most of the farms in the FCT, especially those that planted early are worst affected as the crops are wilting away even as some are already drying up.
“The way things are going, I am afraid there may be poor harvest this year. You can see that the crops are wilting and dying off,” one of the farmers, Mr. Bawa Gimba, told our reporters recently in Karu, Abuja.
He continued: “The crops that we planted early are the worst hit. The ones we planted late are still surviving, but if the rains stop early, we will surely run into trouble as those crops will fail as well.”
Mrs. Lucy Godwin, another farmer in Nyanya also in the FCT, said her crops were growing well because she planted late, but expressed fear that if the rains stop early there wouldn’t be bumper harvest.
“I am hoping and praying that the rains will not stop early so that the crops will survive and yield well. If not, farmers and everyone who eats food will be affected greatly. We may resort to importation which the country is trying to avoid,” the farmer observed.
 A subsistence farmer, James Onu, who has his farmland in New Nyanya, Nasarawa State, also expressed fear on the economic implication of low rainfall in this year’s farming season.
Onu said that rain comes from God, adding that “it is best known to God why it has refused to rain.’’
According to him, low rainfall can hinder the growth of crops and subsequently, lead to death of such crops as is happening in his farm.
“The prices of food stuffs are likely to rise if rain does not fall said Onu, adding that the lower the supply of food produce to the market, the higher the price leading to inflation.
“As a small scale farmer, I do not have money for irrigation farming, I will wait prayerfully for the rain,’’ he said.
 Abdullahi Owonare, another farmer, however, blamed the low rainfall on climate change, relating it to indiscriminate felling of trees.
He noted that the ratio of rain which fell last year dropped as compared to the drought in the area.
Owonare said that, “rain is said to be in a circle according to geographers”, adding that crops like maize, yam are supposed to be in the market already, but it is not so this year.
“I did not farm much this year because I get to see rain once in a while,’’ he also said.
Owonare appealed to government to come to the aid of farmers, by building more dams so that they can have an alternative in a situation like this, adding that government should set laws that will encourage tree planting.
A trader, Josephine Ajodo, lamented over rising food prices which she attributed to irregular rainfall.
“Recently, I was not able to buy tomatoes and pepper in the market. They are very expensive that they took a lot of money from my purse. I fear that price of commodities might triple at the end of this season if it does not rain,’’ she said.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had predicted that there would be delayed and less rainfall in various parts of the country this year, and therefore, advised farmers to go for early maturing and drought resistant varieties of crops to tackle the challenge.
However, checks revealed that most farmers preferred to do things the usual way, thereby leaving themselves and the nation in the shackles of poor crop yield.
Some farmers, however, blame the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the states agriculture ministries and ADPs over their inability to educate small holder farmers to prepare for moments like this.