By George George Idowu
An expert in agronomy, Mr. Joseph Kaltungo has attributed climate change, amongst other factors as the leading cause of food insecurity in Nigeria and therefore called on governments to invest massively in agriculture, particularly during irrigation farming.
He disclosed this to newsmen recently.
Kaltungo stressed the urgency of tackling climate change concerns to ensure progress in achieving food security goals nationwide.
Highlighting the potential for a major food crisis due to climate change impacts, Kaltungo warned that these challenges could deter farmers and disrupt agricultural productivity significantly.
He said: “In 2023, I witnessed unprecedented dry spells in September, severely affecting all crops and causing substantial losses for farmers, pointing to the disruption in the critical process of photosynthesis translocation due to insufficient water.
“As an agriculturist I can tell you that the major solution to addressing the impact of climate change on agriculture is to increase investment in dry season farming.
“In dry season farming all factors are regulated and you can have better harvest per hectare than in wet seasoning farming.
“In dry season flood, dry spell and other issues associated with weather and climate change have no impact on crops,” he added.
Drawing from his experience as the former acting program manager of the Gombe State Agricultural Development Programme, Kaltungo described the tangible impact on crop yields during the 2023 cropping season.
He noted that farmlands, typically yielding 100 bags of rice per hectare, produced only 10 bags due to adverse climate conditions.
