An agriculturalist, Mr Ismail Olawale, on Monday said that the continuous rains being recorded in the country may negatively affect harvest at the end of the farming season.
Olawale, a fellow at the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He said that though NAERLS’ National Agriculture Performance Survey 2022 indicated likelihood of bumper agro-harvest, the continuous and incessant rainfalls may ruin the harvests.
This, he said, would likely manifest where flooding washed away farmlands.
“The major atmosphere for agriculture performance survey conducted by NAERLS this year is that farmers are expecting better yields than last year.
“The rains started early around March in spite of the few dry spells witnessed in the course of the year which had minimal effect on production output.
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“However in the South-South states, the rains have continued incessantly, since its return in April.
“The farmers’ prayer now is that the rains should not create flood problems that may likely wash away their harvest before time,” he told NAN.
Olawale added that the continuous rainfall may also affect late planting of crops like corn, cassava and yams in early 2023.
“Asides the flooding of farmlands, if the rains continue, which may result in food shortage or increase in price, it may also affect the late planting season.
“The continuous rains may hinder farmers from late planting if it does not abate, as the farmlands may be too flooded to hold the crops.
“The most important thing is that a lot of farmers are still enthusiastic to go into farming despite the challenges they face,” Olawale said.
