Drought: Kano farmers lament poor harvests
Farmers in Kano state have lamented poor harvests in 2021 due to lack of rainfall in the state, they expressed sincere worry that the scarcity of rainfall will make it difficult for most of them to achieve bountiful harvests this year.
The rainy season and planting in Kano usually starts in June and ends in October, but this year, the season came as a shock to the farmers, when rain stopped falling in September, experts attribute it to the devastating effects of climate change following global warming.
Kano had not experienced such a disruption in the last 20 years, and this compelled some northern Emirs to direct residents to offer special prayers against drought.
Some of the affected farmers in all the 44 local government areas of Kano witnessed a decrease in this year’s harvests due to early seizure of rainfalls across Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Bauchi and Katsina States and some parts of the Republic of Niger.
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Yushau Ahmad, a farmer in Baugauda of Garin Mallam area revealed that he had lost resources and time due to rain shortage, he said he is extremely worried as the problem can bring about food scarcity in the country
“As a subsistence farmer, I planted sorghum, maize, rice and beans. And as you can see, nobody would get half of what he got last year. This is a serious financial loss,” he added.
He further lamented that he invested more than N200,000 in the business to ensure food security for his household, but he realised less than half of what he expected. some of the farmers said with the way things are going, the price of food will definitely increase in the coming days.
“We do not know where to go, neither do we have any other means of survival,” he cried. my friend, Sulaimanu Hussaini, in Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area, said rainfalls seized when his maize and beans needed water most, adding that he had to look elsewhere to meet the need of his family.
“As a peasant farmer, I planted maize, guinea corn, and millet and I spent more than N100,000, but unfortunately, I lost everything due to lack of sufficient rains,” he lamented.
Expressing further fears, the speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Hamisu Ibrahim Chidari, raised the alarm over the need to expedite action to assuage the challenge being faced by the farmers in the state.
Chidari, who spoke during the budget presentation, said, the assembly was fully aware of the challenge caused by drought as one of the effects of climate change, expressing the need for urgent action.
“Farmers in rural areas are facing threat of food shortage due to drought, we as leaders must evolve ways to assuage the problem to avoid food crisis,” he warned.
