A Gombe based agronomist, Dr Joseph Kaltungo, has advised farmers against rushing to plant their crops after the first rainfall of the year to avoid unnecessary losses.
Kaltungo in an interview with NAN on Tuesday in Gombe, said farmers should wait until rainfall is consistent and stable before planting their seeds.
“Advice is necessary as it will protect farmers from incurring losses in this year’s wet season farming,” he said.
He said farmers should start clearing their land in preparation for the rainy season, adding that the rainfall being experienced in some locations was false.
According to him, false rainfall is not real rainfall but a signal to farmers that the real rainy season is around the corner; hence, farmers should only start clearing their farmland.
Kaltungo, a former acting programme manager in the Gombe State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), urged farmers to wait until the rain falls a minimum of two times a week and a maximum of three times a week before planting.
“This is not time for planting anything in Gombe State as anything a farmer plants is a risk.
“This is time for land clearing, not even land preparation as that will come when the rain starts and then people can plough, harrow and ridge.
“I am aware many farmers have planted millet and maize after one rainfall in certain locations in Gombe and they (the millet and maize) are drying,” he said.
He explained that the first rain was recorded about three or four weeks ago, and crops were drying amounting to a waste of money, time and energy.
“This advice is to help farmers maximise their profit and avoid waste that would result in losses and impoverish them,” he said.
Kaltungo analysing NiMet prediction for Gombe, said it was not good news for farmers, hence urged for caution and smartness.
According to him, based on the recent prediction by NIMET, the state will experience late rainfall and early cessation.
Kaltungo said the rain may not come early for people to plant.
He added that hitherto farmers planted crops towards end of May to early June, but this year’s prediction may change.
He said with the prediction, farmers should go for an early maturing variety that takes 90 to 100 days to mature or extra early maturing variety, which matures between 75 and 80 days.
“So, farmers should not go for their traditional grains that take 120 days to mature except for FADAMA area where such farmers have so much water to supplement the rainfall with irrigation.
“Any farmer who wants to go into agriculture this year must be careful in selecting what time to plant and what variety to plant,” he said.
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He added that based on NiMet’s prediction, there would be a dry spell of about 15 days in July. He, therefore, urged farmers to be careful with how they handle the dry spell.
Kaltungo attributed the unusual weather conditions to climate change.
“No one believed us, then but the reality is here for all to see and it is here to stay.”
He described climate change as the significant variation of average weather patterns resulting in extreme weather conditions.
“This is the first time in May that we are recording temperatures of 42 to 43⁰Celcius, meaning the temperature is excessively high; some call it a heat wave in other parts of the country.
“The temperature in Gombe between 6.00 a.m. and 7.00 a.m. is 28 to 29⁰C; this is extremely abnormal as temperature should be within 18, 19 and 20⁰C range.
“This is climate change and that is why farmers must now be smart by using drought-tolerant variety, disease-resistant variety in addition to the advice given earlier,” he said.
