Alhaji Habibu Zakari, the State Manager, Kebbi Branch Office of Cultivating New Frontier in Agriculture (CNFA), under Feed The Future, USAID, has counselled farmers in the state on early preparations following commencement of rainfall.
He gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi while reacting to the usual and early first rainfall in the town.
NAN reports that the first rainfall in 2023 had started with little shower drops at about 7 p.m. on Monday and methamopasised into full scale rainfall that lasted for about an hour plus.
Zakari described the rainfall as a source of blessing to all and called on farmers to take advantage of the rains by clearing their farmlands very early and make adequate preparation for the year’s farming season.
He said: “Based on the weather prediction by the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NIMET), we are going to experience early rainfall this year and the rains might not last longer, hence the need for farmers to start clearing their farmlands very early.”
The agricultural expert enjoined farmers to go for improved seed varieties from licenced authorities and dealers, adding that they shouldn’t rely on their traditional seeds, instead they should ensure they use early and extra early maturing varieties to avoid any in eventualities.
Citing examples of seed varieties that use to take 120 days and above to mature, Zakari however said now new early maturing varieties that take just 70 to 90 days were introduced and readily available for farmers’ use.
He also advised the farmers to embrace new farming technologies being introduced to not only improve their yields but also contribute to national food security.
Speaking to NAN, a farmer in the area, Alhaji Hamza Galaduma, gave glory to God Almighty for witnessing the first rainfall alive, urging his colleagues not to wait until the rains became rampant to start preparation for the farming year, adding “the earlier the better”.
Galaduma, who is also the Chairman, Kebbi State Council, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), called on farmers to venture into livestock farming to reap double advantages of using the meat for both commercial and domestic purposes as well as animal dung for soil fertility, “especially in this period of skyrocketing prices of scarce fertilisers”.
The farmer appealed to government to ensure early supply of inputs to boost the morale of farmers towards actualising the dream of farming “to grow what we eat, instead of relying on Thailand and other countries for food supply”.
Alhaji Umar Faruq, also a farmer in Birnin Kebbi, urged farmers not to rely 100 per cent on government fertilisers, but they should resort to use of organic or local manure, such as refuse, animal dung and neem tree seeds, to revitalise soil fertility of their farmlands and reduce the amount of money being used on inorganic or chemical fertilisers.
Faruq also appealed to the state government to be proactive in the supply of agricultural inputs, improved seed varieties and other farm inputs very early at a subsidised rates not until at the end of farming or mid-way season.
He expressed satisfaction with the falling of the rains, saying that the rains had became a source of relief to many residents due to the hot weather that translated to about 36 degree celsius.
“We are grateful to our creator, who has been showering His blessings upon us and we shall continue to remain grateful at all times,” he said.
This, according to him, had shown that rainy season is close-by, hence the need for farmers to brace up to the challenges of land cultivation.
Besides, Faruq advised farmers to take advantage of their cooperative societies to benefit from different agricultural policies and programmes of both the state and the federal governments.
