Climate change: Scientists advocate tolerant technologies transfer to farmers

·       * Ask Govt to develop irrigation

·        *Promises partner with NIMET, others

Scientists have reiterated the need for more tolerant technologies transfer that will help farmers to mitigate climate change negativity impacts on agricultural produce in Nigeria.

This position was taken in view of threatened food security at the Webinar zoom conference organised by the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) and Faculty of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, last week Wednesday.

The two guest speakers from IAR, Prof. Yusuf Ado and Dr. Aliyu M. Yamusa both expatiated on the vagaries of climate change as it relates to variability in  rainfall and temperature patterns, saying their negative effects have resulted to decreasing in crops and animals production yields with evidence of great losses due to delay in harvest as a result of longer rainfall especially in the Northern Nigeria where 80% grains food come.

Prof. Ado A. Yusuf (Deputy Director (DD) IAR) in his paper titled ‘’ Predicted variations in intra- seasonal rainfall, Impact of climate change on crop yields, and Adaptability Option in Northern Nigeria’’ said that rainfall in Nigeria is highly variable with more rains expected in the northern Nigeria, added that deviation from its expected variability has led to devastating flood, drought and famines in different ecologies in the country.

Yusuf pointed that agricultural lands in the northern ecology is characterised as barren lands with very few green portions that made soils susceptible to high evaporation, rain water runoff, wind erosion, water scarcity, soil nutrient leaching and decreasing soil fertility, adding that all these have increased threat to agriculture production in the region.

He pointed that the Northern region is expected to see major shifts in temperature, rainfall, storms and sea level in the subsisting century, adding that the Inter- Governmental Panel on climate change (IPCC) has identified Nigeria a hot spot to experience all the aforementioned as shift in rainfall would lead to overall drying trend.

The IAR, DD stressed further against the backdrop of decreasing yield in maize, sorghum and millet per hectare as contrary to the general assumption that we are food secured nation, argued that  more lands are being cultivated by farmers than seed varieties optimal utilization of actual expected yields.

Responding to the question asked by the National President, Kola/Bitter Kola Association of Nigeria, Mr. Sunday Osifeso on why farmers cannot embark on planting, he said the high temperature and late rainfall were the causes, buttressed that strange biological behaviours are now obvious in plants with evidence of not flowering when they are supposed due to climate change stresses. He therefore acknowledged the need for more extension services that would give capacity to farmers on climate change resilience.

 Prof. Ado stressed the need to strengthening irrigation facilities in order to mitigate water scarcity and rained farming in the country, advised that both federal and states government must be ready to put resources down to ensure this, just as he enjoined the farmers to embrace cooperative mechanism towards being able to procure simple irrigation machine for cultivation of 5-10 hectares.

Apart from irrigation as climate change management strategy, he admonished  farmers to move away from conventional or traditional farmings to shifting planting to medium variability with the use of medium maturing drought tolerant seeds, saying that delayed planting with a well managed soil fertility by the application of nitrogen fertilizers 3 times as against two would assist a lot in the crops yield in the region.   

On collaboration between soil and animal scientists to  mitigating animals’ emission, he said it was a welcome idea but indicated the need for facilities provision that would aid the  measurement process as they are very extensive, adding that application of organic manure for soil management in the northern Nigeria was good, but also expensive, and not as relevant as live mulching with leaves.

The topic on the ‘’ lessons learned from the 2019 Extended Rainfall and the Consequences on Harvest’’ the speaker, Head, Meteorological Unit, IAR Dr. Aliyu M. Yamusa said that climate change variability is threatening food security unabated with country like United States of America (USA) losing billions of dollar on annually basis on agricultural produce.

Dr. Yamusa pointed that Nigeria as a country is not left out in the losses despite the fact of no documented economic record, saying that many grain crops were wasted on the farms due to none being able to harvest as a result of lengthy rainy days as many becomes rotten on the farms

He, therefore suggested the use of more invented dryers to preserve grains from more longer rainfalls adding that insurance cover for the crops and animals must be taken very serious to mitigate loses.

In his closing remark, the Executive Director, IAR, Prof. Mohammed Ishiyaku emphasised on the need for robust partnership with necessary partners and stakeholders for more information outreach, saying scientists must be ready to give substantiating reasons for physical or physiological losses that would convince farmers on why mitigation precautions, and better understanding of climate change challenges in terms of moisture and drought to achieve food security.

He expressed the need to invest more on innovative technologies that would be able to checkmate rainfall and temperature variability negative impacts, saying that ‘’ we need to invest in simple transferable technologies to enhance drying for harvested crops, we need to invest in engineering crops to have elastic reproductive ways, we need to invest in varieties that are tolerant to heat and drought and certain pest that are associated to very high moisture than very low moisture’’

Prof. Isiaku pointed software mobile application to help farmers for planting with reference to NIMET predicted would be discussed with National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for possibility of inventing one, adding that the next edition of the webinar must endeavour to invite FMARD, NIMET, AFAN and ARCN.