Food Security: WMO forecast longer unstable weather

 * Agric Don raises food hope

*  Advises FG 

As the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO) alerted the entire globe about unstable weather situations till next year April, a professor of Agriculture and plant breeder, Prof. Samuel Olakojo has alleyed inherent fear of food insecurity just as he advised farmers and Federal Government ( FG) on what to do for best agronomics practices.

A  press statement made available to Food Farm News by the WMO Communication Assistant, Sarah Odu on Wednesday said that the world would experience unstable weather till next year April 2024.

The statement attributed the global unstable weather to " El Nino" which is a periodic warming of sea surface temperature in Central and Eastern regions of the pacific ocean adding that the ongoing phenomenon is expected to last till April 2024.

Recall that Nigeria as a nation has lost lives, properties and Agricultural produce running billions of Naira to climate change challenges coupled constant fight between herdsmen/ farmers for want of water and grasses for cattle.

Speaking on what should be done as a nation to mitigate the impact of the unstable weather on food security, the plant breeder don from the Institute of Agricultural Research & Training ( IAR&T) Ibadan, Prof. Samuel Olakojo pointed that the impact of El Nino would bring about huge risk to global food supplies, public health, economic recovery and stability in the South and East Asia where the effect may be more acute, but added it could be an advantage for food security in Nigeria if all necessary precautions are taken.

Prof Olakojo advised farmers in Nigeria to embark on crops that could be harvested earlier enough with farmers' constant weeding, pest and fungi diseases control, saying all these strived well in an unstable weather period.

Among the crops listed by him to be planted in order to rescue the food security situation of the country in a period like this includes cassava, early maturity maize, yam, fruits, leaf vegetables, potato, pepper, tomato, cowpea,rice and all other crops that fall within the period of three months of harvest.

He also advised wheat farmers to take advantage of suplus rainfall for bountiful harvest as he cautioned Okeogun wheat producers on what to do towards pumper harvest.

Read the full text of Prof. Samuel Olakojo as regards El Nino in respect of what that needs to be done between now and April next year in the Nigeria food sector titled " E L Nino Event and its implication on Agriculture, Food Security/ Nutritional Security and Human life"

" What is El Nino?

 El Nino which means ‘’little Boy” in Spanish among fishermen  is the warm phase of El Nino-Southern oscillation which is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the Central and East-central equatorial pacific, including the area off the Pacific Coast of America. The term was used first in 1600s with the full name used as El Nino de Navidad, because this event always pick up around December. The word El nino was originally used and applied to annual warm  ocean current that ran southwards along coast of Peru and Ecuador at about Christmas time. When El Nino is strong, storms and circulation are usually with strong effect on Aircraft stream and weather. In some parts of the globe, effect can last for between nine months and a year. It occurs every two to seven years on the average, but not on a regular schedule

Effect: This bring a huge risk to global food supplies, public health, economic recovery and stability in South and East Asia where it impact is acute.  It is predicted by the expert that the world will set a record for hottest year by the end of 2026, with 93% chance that the five years (from 2022-2026 will be the hottest in record"

" Implications on Agricultural Food Production

 Heat wave increases and usually spread across the globe having negative effects on human life, live stock and crop production.

 Drought in some parts of the globe bringing about accute shortage of water for human activities, fishery and agriculture.

 Heavy rains especially in places like tropical environment where it will be an advantage as it synchronizes with expected dry period thereby providing water for farmers under irrigation and enhance continuous food production unabated in such years. 

 Unpredictable in magnitude of effects especially drought, rainfall, wind, temperature, thereby calling for readiness to re-adjust to the prevailing situations at all time.

" What to do as Nigerian farmers in time like this"

1. Arable farmers- it is the best time for arable farmers to engage in planting crops such as cassava, early maturing maize, yam, fruit and leafy vegetables, potatoes, pepper, tomato, cowpea, rice and all crops that may not last for more than three months before harvesting, and are photo periodic non-sensitive crops. They will definitely give higher yield/ha and bountiful harvest before the on-set of full rainy season.

" However, they should prepare for constant weed control, insect pest and fungal diseases control which often thrives under hot humid environment of such period. Land preparation and soil fertility management should be factored into production plan since torrential down-pour of the period tends to boost the wave of erosion often occasioned by wind and water. Wheat and rice farmers in the northern region shall be at advantage for natural rain-fed condition couple with cold dry wind that will aid flowering for good yield and better harvest. The wheat farmers  in Oke-Ogun may however be cautious of poor expected cold wind that is required for flowering of wheat.

2. Tree and Plantation farming: It will be  a good period for plantation agricultural estates. Good sunsine, heavy and well distributed rainfall pattern will favour crops such as cocoa, oil palm, rubber, Mango, Citrus, Banana and Plantain, and all form of orchards. The usual drought may not be experienced. The estate managers may however prepare for fungal disease control which will be more sporadic as a carry over of pathogen bank of the earlier season that often promotes wide spread, since the expected dry weather that normal dry off many of the spores may be completely absent. Seedling nursery establishment will be favoured with higher germination percentage, reduced cost of watering or irrigation, and accelerated growth of the seedlings. A good manger will also need to prepare for constant weed control. Fire outbreak in plantation should be avoided completely, losses from such is usually monumental.

3. The Livestock farmers especially cattle will be of advantage of growing wild grasses throughout the year to feed cattle, Pig farmers may need to plant fast growing trees round the farm because of the inherent heat and high humidity of the farm environment on pig and poultry. Fish farms may have to be seriously on the lookout, to check flooding of the farm, since there may be virtually no break in the rainy pattern from now till April and which synchronizes with the peak of the rainy season of the 2024. Surrounding of fish ponds may also have to be planted with fast growing tree to provide shade and reduce the temperature of the pond then.

4. Food processing, grains aggregating  and crop produce drying may have some  hard times except with flash driers. The atmospheric moisture percentage might not favour processing by drying. Leaving farm produce especially grains over night might pose some threat from rain. The period will also encourage growth of mould because of fungal activities that pre-disposes cereal to aflatoxin.

5. Generally speaking, dry season farming in Nigeria under this situation will provide the best of opportunity to farmers for reduced cost of production. Nation food security threat will be reduced, as more food are produced to bridge the shortage presently been experienced.

What should government do?

1. By now, government policy on dry season farming should move from paper work, bureaucracy, to action plans to distribute seeds, farming inputs, such as chemicals and fertilizer, and necessary implement.

2. Provide the promised  ago-rangers for the security of farming environment.

3. Engage in massive extension service delivery especially electronically now that ADP nation- wide are no longer there in action. 

4. Prepare for massive control of any possible pest or disease outbreak.

5. Arrange for buy-back of excess grains in the food system for storage in silos, in preparation for time of need.

6. Monitor strictly all the Nigerian boarders against unofficial carting away of food. This may be dangerous for us as a nation in time like this.

7. Globally, the need for private sector to drive the economy is the practice, but, subsidy on agricultural production is vital in nations like ours, simply because we are yet to fulfill the 10% national  budget allocation to Agriculture as agreed upon. Therefore, federal government should use some of the proceed from the removal of fuel subsidy to subsidize agriculture and food production. Food of course is the only common denominator across class, profession, and group of people in any nation. Feed the citizen and peace will be every where.