By George George Idowu
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Abubakar Kyari has attributed climate change as the major cause of low crop yields and an increase in food prices.
He made this known in a joint news conference with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, organized by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) on agriculture production utilization of seasonal climate prediction
Kyari said climate change has disrupted supply chains, especially in vulnerable areas with limited capacity.
His words: “It is clearly the case now that the native knowledge and wisdom on which small holder farmers often relied to cultivate their fields are inadequate under the relentless impact of climate change.
“Accordingly, managing climate risks in the agriculture sector through climate information and early warnings services are important tools.
“In other words, integrating meteorological information as part of support services to agricultural production helps reduce losses to extreme weather events,” he added.
According to the minister, the small holders farmers are significant stakeholders in Nigeria’s agricultural space, with the rain fed being the major practice.
“But rain-fed agriculture is susceptible to elements of climate change, such as flood and drought, f no concrete action is taken to adapt to erratic weather conditions.”
Earlier, the Director General, NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike emphasized the need to maintain the relationship existing between Nimet and the ministry.
According to the DG, the agency is making plans to build on the ministry’s database of farmers in disseminating weather and climate predictions to them.
He highlighted that NiMet is using different platforms, both traditional and digital, to inform farmers about meteorological information.
“We have Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, and pidgin, now we are trying to explore SMS.
“So, building on the database of farmers are the critical elements that we want to explore moving forward,” he stated.
