‘Late Rains, Farmers’ Major Challenge’

The Divisional Agriculture Officer (DAO) in charge of Abua/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State, Mr John Ogum, says one of the major challenges facing farmers in the area during dry season farming is delayed rain fall.
Ogum, who disclosed this last Monday in a telephone interview with The Tide explained that the development has compelled farmers who have planted earlier to replant their cross especially cassava.
“Some of the farmers that have planted earlier and because of lack of rain, the crops that were planted wither and when rain falls they (farmers) replant,” he said.
According to him, one ugly aspect of such a development is that it sets back the planting season.
He said this is so because farmers who do not want to go into late planting will stop planting while waiting for the rains to set in.
However, Ogun said dry season farming depends on individual farmers to take a decision on how to go about their farming activities.
He explained that around the dry season, farmers are advised to cultivate on fertile lands that are close to waterlogged areas.
“If you plant by this season not minding that there is no rain, the crops will do well but if it is real dry land, you have to wait until the first rain comes,” he said.
Speaking on the significance of the early morning dew to the farmer, the Abolga DAO explained that the dew that comes with drops of water is beneficial to the farmer as it waters their crops.
Ogum who described the beneficial dew as “peak early morning dews” explained that such dews have a cooling effect on anybody that comes in contact with it.
“There is a difference between peak early morning dew and ordinary morning dew because peak early morning dew is the dew of the early morning that makes you feel fine .“If you see water dripping from the leaves of crops like cocoyam, plantain and yam, they drip water as if there is rainfall and when they descend on those crops, crops that are grown they do well,” he explained.
He however explained that crops that benefit from such dew are the ones that have already germinated and grown up in contrast to the ones that were still buried in the ground.
“If it is crops that have not sprouted and still in the ground, they do not benefit much from such dew,” he said.
He added that when the dew drops on the leaves of grown crops they accept that as rainfall and it helps the crops meaningfully.
However, he said the other dew that does not come with water drops can help cool the ground.
“The other dew will still be there and the tendency is that it can cool the ground and help the ungerminated crop to sprout and it saves the farmer from replanting,” he said.