From Left: Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of State, for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika and the Director General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (Nimet), Dr Anthony Anuforom at a meeting on the Impact of Weather Variability and Climate Change on Transportation Infrastructure and Agriculture in Abuja on Tuesday

Farmers in some commu
nities of Rivers State have expressed joy for experiencing the first reainfall after nearly six months of harsh dry weather.
According to the President of the Etche Cooperative Union, Mr Godwin Akandu, who spoke to The Tide in a telephone interview recently, the first rainfall has raised the hopes of the farmers in Etche.
He explained that it rekindled the hope of the farmers in the area because for over five months, the farmers could not plant any crop due to the prolonged harmattan.
Akandu, who is also a well known farmer in the area said that the losses experienced by the farmers throughout the period cannot be quantified as every crop planted by the farmer all died out.
“The farmers are happy, they are now ready to go back to the farms to plant their crops and vegetables, especially those that have three months duration”, he said.
He, however, expressed gratitude to the Rivers State Governor, Barr Nyesom Wike, for fixing the Igwuruta-Chokocho Road, adding that farmers in the area were afraid on how to evacuate their produce before Wike came to their rescue.
“We thank Governor Wike for putting that road in order because farmers in the area were worried on how they will transport their produce to other parts of the state”, he said.
In a related development, the paramount ruler of Emughan Clan in the Abua/Odual Local  Government Area of the state, HRH, Thankyou Obagana, while reacting to the first rainfall experienced in his dormain described it as God-sent.
According to him, people of the area especially the farmers were happy as they are all set to cultivate the land that they cleared before the long dry season set in.
The Emughan Monarch said that the farmers who planted early would now have the double task of replanting and replacing the cassava stems that were dried up.
While not ruling out an impending hunger occasioned by the development, he explained that providence had a way of sustaining the rural farmers during such weather extremes.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Aminigboko Community Development Committee, Elder Chukwudi Georgewill said the farmers in the community have a big task ahead of them.
He explained that the ugly experience was capable of discouraging farming activities in the area even as he called on the farmers to take advantage of the first rain and start preparing their land for cultivation.
He, however, cautioned them to allow more rain to fall before going into serious farming activities.
“Locally we know that the first rain does not go deep down so it is important to wait and expect more rain before doing serious farming”, he said.
It could be recalled that rural farmers’ activities were halted in the past five months due to the prolonged harmatten and dry season.