By Bisola Adeyemo
All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) have said to plant more crops following Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) prediction of rainfall stopping by mid-November
This was disclosed by Alhaji Abdulrahman Yusuf, Vice Chairman, AFAN, on Thursday, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.
“We are taking advantage of NiMet prediction that the rains will stop by November instead of October to plant more crops. Right now we are cultivating crops that will take 45 to 60 days to mature,’’ he said.
The farmers union added that measures to take advantage of more rain are expected to increase food production in the state and the country at large, adding that the rains which were predicted to stop by mid-November would help the farmers in the ongoing late cultivation of crops. AFAN also revealed that crops involved in the late planting include cowpea, short-kaura, okra, pepper and tomatoes.
Recently, Nairametric reported that Nigeria’s agricultural productivity which is currently growing by 1.3% is insufficient to meet food and raw material demands, as disclosed by the Chairman, Board of Directors, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Asue Ighodalo, at the 4th Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) 2021 organised by Sterling Bank on Wednesday in Lagos.
He warned that Nigeria’s agriculture deficit continues to widen despite government interventions, irrespective of a wide range of opportunities, citing low yields per hectare due to shortages in quality of inputs, changes in climate, among others.
Nigeria’s agricultural sector grew by 1.3% (year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2021, a decrease compared to 1.58% recorded in the same period of 2020, and a decrease of -0.97% points from Q1 2021 which recorded a growth rate of 2.28%.