Likely bumper harvests as NiMet forecasts normal rainfall


Farmers in Nigeria are likely to experience bumper harvests at the end of this year’s wet season following the release of Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) 2018 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) which indicates that normal rainfall will persist across the country.


Sen. Hadi Sirika, Minister of State, Aviation, who disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at the official presentation of the SRP report, explained that the expectation for this year is a normal length of season with normal rainfall amounts in most parts of the country.

The report entitled, "seasonal climate forecasting for sustainable development" and presented by the Prof. Sani Mashi, Director-General, NiMet, noted that this year’s rainfall "shouldn't present any major threat to agriculture."

Giving specifics on the predictions, Mashi said: "The earliest onset date is expected to be from March 1 around the coastal region of the South-South. The onset date changes as we move northwards with areas around Maiduguri, Potiskum and Nguru predicted to have onset from June 1."

Thus "the country is expected to experience normal-to-earlier-than-normal onset. Places like Sokoto, Bauchi, Kaduna, Lafia, Makurdi and Ado-Ekiti, Akure,Calabar and Eket are expected to experience early onset while places like Yelwa, Bida, Abuja, Iseyin, Abeokuta, Lagos Island, Ikeja and Umuahia are likely to experience late onset. Other parts of the country are expected to have normal onset."

On cessation of rains, he said "the end of 2018 growing season is expected to commence from September 28. The earliest cessation date is expected to start from September 28. This will occur around Sokoto and Katsina. The southern coastal cities, with ample oil moisture should have their cessation as late as December."

But the "cessation of growing season is expected to be normal across most parts of the country. Early cessation is anticipated over Jos, Ibi, Uyo and Ikeja. Cessation will however be little delayed over parts of Ibadan, Ondo and Warri" the NiMet DG explained.

Also "the length of growing season is expected to range from 117 days to 287 days increasing from north to south. Normal length of growing season is predicted for most parts of the country. However cities such as Yelwa, Bida, Shai, Ikeja, Abuja, Jos, Ibi, Makurdi, Ogoja and Ikom are expected to experience longer than normal length of growing season" he noted.

On the impact, he said "farmers around Sokoto, Katisna, Yobe, Zanfara, Kebbi, Jigawa, Kano and Borno are advised to source for early maturing and drought resistant varieties of seeds to avoid waste of resources. Farmers in Yelwa, Bida and Abuja are advised not to plant early."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Agric forum to encourage greater technology use by women

Image
Organizers of a one-day agricultural forum for women in Benin, the Edo State capital, have said the event will focus on increasing the awareness of available agricultural and outreach technologies for women in agriculture. The forum which will be anchored by Market Development Programme in the Niger Delta (MADE) with funding from UK Aid, is collaborating with Markets II, funded by USAID and Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, PIND and the Edo State Cooperative Farmers’ Agency is being held for womenas part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day. Mr. Fidelis Ekom, MADE’s Communications and Advocacy Manager, in a statement at the weekend said the forum also seeks to facilitate mindset change for women in the adoption of modern technologies and to facilitate engagement between women in agriculture and relevant value chain actors. Ekom said the forum will bring together women farmers in aquaculture, cassava, palm oil, poultry, hon
Read more

7 FEPSAN members to produce 1m tonnes under Presidential Fertiliser Initiative

Image
Seven active blending companies within the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) have been revived and are among the 1st of five batches that would produce 1 million tonnes of fertiliser under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, Thomas Etuh, President of FEPSAN has said. Etuh who disclosed this while speaking on Presidential Fertiliser Initiative noted that most of the plants owned by FEPSAN members are being revived after being dormant for over a decade. He expressed the hope that more plants would join the initiative before the end of April “Some of the blending plants which have already been supplied with raw materials including phosphate from Morocco and are blending include Fertiliser and Chemicals Ltd, Kaduna, producing 300,000 metric tonnes; Al-Yuma Fertilizer Company (300,000 metric tonnes) in Madobi-Kano; Kano Agricultural Supply Company, supplying 15 trailers daily and Golden Fertiliser based in Lagos. “Others blending plants ha
Read more

Over 100 exhibitors from 18 countries register for agrofood Nigeria 2017

Image
Fairtrade, the German trade fair specialist organisation, has said more than 100 exhibitors from 18 countries have confirmed their participation at the agrofood Nigeria, making it a record participation. The event which will take place from 28 to 30 March 2017 at the Landmark Centre in Lagos has attracted exhibitors from Austria, Benin, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey and the United Kingdom. agrofood Nigeria consists of the following exhibition topics: Agriculture, Process & Packaging, Food Ingredients, Food & Drinks and Foodservice Equipment. “For the third year, the French agrofood association adepta leads a delegation of French companies to agrofood Nigeria”, said Aude Roelly, Area Sales Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, adepta. “From farm to fork, companies specialized into equipment and know-how for agriculture, livestock, food processing and packaging offer their
Read more