Crops farmers in Delta State  have been advised to exercise caution and wait for the rains to set in properly before planting their crops.

A former chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in the state, Mr Jerry Ossai, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Asaba.

He said that the state, especially areas in the North senatorial district, had peculiar climatic condition, which delayed rains till about the fourth month of the year.

Ossai said as usual, no rain had fallen in that part of the state, adding “therefore, we need to wait for the land to be sufficiently wet before planting”.

“Quite a lot of farmlands have been cleared for the season, with the hope that the rains will begin in March but up till now, there has been no sign of meaningful rainfall to enable planting to begin.

“In the circumstance, we really need to wait, especially farmers involved in melon, cowpeas, tomatoes and other crops.”

Besides rainfall, Ossai said unavailability of fertilisers, tractors, agro-chemicals, pesticides and improved varieties of seedlings were other challenges faced by farmers in the state.

He also said that funding had remained a major constraint of the farmers, disclosing that it had been difficult for them to access agricultural loans provided by the Federal Government.

The former state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, lamented the non-inclusion of Delta among states where the new variety of cassava would be tested around the country.

“We can say that Delta is number one or at the worst, number two in cassava production in the country and yet, it was not selected alongside Benue, Oyo, Imo and Akwa Ibom for the test planting.”

Stating that cassava production was one area where Delta had comparative advantage, he challenged the state government to support farmers to enable them to continue to improve their yields and boost its economy.