· * 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.
Thank you, Food Farm news for the fantastic summary. Very helpful
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