Updated: Farmers urged on best practices as rains fall short

. . . Increased adoption of early maturing, drought resistant crop varieties required

Farmers and other agric value chain operators have been urged to deploy best practices and implements, to mitigate food shortages, following meteorological service reports that this year’s growing season will be shorter, on account of an early cessation of rains.

Experts suggest that improved farming practices with scientific and technological aids will help contain the situation.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had in this year’s seasonal rainfall prediction, stated that “early cessation of rainfall is predicted in many parts of the north and inland of the southeast during 2017.
“Farmers need to plan for the worst but hope for the best,” Emmanuel Ijewere, vice president, Nigeria AgriBusiness Group told BusinessDay via a phone interview.
Ijewere explained that every farmer going into business must go in from the business point of view, and must take into consideration all these possibilities. “Once there is a warning that there could be a shortage in rainfall and time-lines are provided, farmers should be able to get the right seedlings, either early maturing ones, or the ones that can also withstand some level of dryness.
Olatunji Adenola, president, Maize Association of Nigeria, corroborated the need for adoption of improved seedlings, saying “In areas which usually have short duration of rainfall; early maturing and drought resistant varieties are expected to be used (especially in view of the recent warning).”
Adenola further said government needs to ensure that the various river basins are operational. “If they are able to do that, at this critical period, then they will be able to provide supplementary irrigation.
“In areas where there is no irrigation, they should just pray,” he added.
For Ijewere, who is also CEO, Best Foods Limited, “The situation is one of both good and bad news. The good news is that we have enough dams already built by previous governments for use. The bad news however, is that they have been deliberately monopolised and underutilised because government doesn’t want the private sector to take them over and run. Consequently, they are in disrepair, about 80 percent of them.
“There is not much that can be done between now and the end of this rainy season, but let there be a definite decision by government to allow the private sector come in. They are more time sensitive than government is, they are aware of the fact that agriculture is time-based,” said Ijewere.
Tunji Falade, chairman, Agric & Agro-Allied Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), highlighted the need for the information contained in the seasonal rainfall prediction to be widely disseminated for it to reach all rural farmers, who form the bulk of food producers in the country.
“Now that the information is available, it should be disseminated everywhere, especially among the critical actors- the farmers in the rural areas, so as to get them prepared,” he said.
“The world is becoming more scientific with agriculture and Nigeria must not be an exception. If America can survive and generate very high agricultural output with only four months of planting season, what is our excuse in Nigeria?
Falade added that, “this development points to the fact that we have to transform and develop a robust irrigation system in Nigeria and deploy it appropriately at times like this, to achieve a very good yield. It is time agric research institutions and extension services partner actively with farmers and provide high quality, fast yielding seeds to farmers, and also for government to play its role, which includes provision of fertilisers.”
As noted by Adenola, another alternative is for those in areas without irrigation to commence planting quickly as soon as the rain comes.
NIMET’s prediction for the year indicates that the length of the growing season will range from 100 days in the far North, to 287 days in the southernmost areas. A shorter length of season is predicted for many areas in 2017.
Rainfall amount is predicted to range from 400mm (Yobe) – 3100mm (coastal areas) in 2017. The predicted rainfall amount is expected to be below normal over Yobe, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Kebbi, Plateau, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, northern Cross River, Enugu, Imo, Abia and some of the coastal areas, while it is predicted to be above normal in and around Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun and Adamawa States. The rest of the country will experience “normal” rainfall according to NIMET.
It also noted that the decline in rainfall may be compensated by a projected up to 10 percent in additional rains over large parts of the Savana, Nigeria’s food basket for cereals. Agricultural traders, as well as post harvest technology providers need to note early cessation of rains in the northern parts and pockets of south, means harvested products will arrive in the markets early.
According to the agency, the predictions are probabilistic in nature, that is, they are done on the premise that the probability of occurrence of each component is above the climatological 50 percent. However, users should also note that the predictions are not speculative but are supported by scientific evidences.