Delayed Rains: Farmers Foresee Low Harvest

Following the absence of
rainfall for more than four months, a cross section of farmers who spoke to our correspondent have expressed fear over a possible rise in hunger across the state.
According to the chairman of the Aminigboko Community Development Committee (CDC) in the Abua/Odual Local Government Area of the state, Elder Chukwudi Georgewill, the development would be devastating to farmers in the future. Georgewill, who is also a renowned farmer in the community while speaking to The Tide recently described the development as unprecedented in the lives of farmers from the community.
He further expressed the fear that farmers who took advantage of the dry season farming and planted cassava, were worse hit.
The CDC boss lamented that already all the stems have dried up with the farmers still expecting the rains to come, to enable them replant.
But unfortunately, he further explained, the unexpected development has also drastically affected mature cassava farms which the farmers hoped to use in the replanting process.
Also speaking, the paramount ruler of Emughan, HRH Thankyou Wariboko Obagana IV in a telephone interview with The Tide corroborated the CDC boss account.
According to him, since it was a natural disaster the government should come to the aid to the farmers as soon as the rains begin by helping the people of Emughan with cassava cuttings and other farm implements.
He described the development as a once-in-a-life time occurrence even as he sympathised with his subjects.
Investigations by The Tide indicated that the hammattan haze coupled with the dry season has affected both old and new farms across all the local government areas of the state.
Crops mostly affected include cassava, plantain, maize, vegetables and fish ponds, amongst others.
However a cat fish farmer, Chief Ishiaki Steven said he would use the dryness of the environment to prepare his fish ponds ahead of restocking.