Agriculture
Researchers Empower Farmers With Information On Climate Change
In a bid to ensure food sufficiency in Nigeria, researchers from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, (FUNAA) have began sensitisation of farmers on climate information services for early warning system on climate change in the south-west.
The unveiling of the research work aimed at assisting farmers to prepare against the impacts of climate change held in Abeokuta, has stakeholders from the six states of the southwest in attendance
The project trained 1,440 farmers from 70 villages across the six states on smart farming with access to early warning systems and information dissemination platforms.
Through the research outcome, the farmers also have access to weather information websites, online radio and other small phone enabled applications aimed at providing useful information on farming activities.
Additionally, the researchers will also launch an application to assist the farmers in navigating climate conditions towards planning for their planting seasons and times.
While speaking, the Lead Researcher, Dr. John Oyedepo, Deputy Director, Institute of Food Security, Environmental Resources and Agricultural Research, FUNAAB, said the research, sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) was to assist the country in achieving food security and improve the economic status of the farmers.
He hinted that the sensitisation was to prepare farmers with alternatives to training as a source of farming, adding that the project also provided opportunities on how to farm better during the dry season.
According to the Lead Investigator on Early Warning and Climate Information Service, farming during dry seasons provide more yield because of less cloud cover, fewer weeds and fewer pests, adding that countries with less than two months of rainfall like Israel have food security and also export.
Explaining the details of the project, Oyedepo said the researchers were planning to send a policy document to the Federal Government towards ensuring the sustainability of the project which, he said, was in six phases.
“In this part of the world, our farmers depend on rain. For instance, now, many of them are not going to the farms yet because they don’t know what the rain pattern will be for this year, but we can’t continue to wait for the rain. A nation that is rain-fed cannot feed itself because the rain can be erratic.
“When we saw that problem, the farmers do not know when to go to the farm, when to come out of the farm, the onset and cessation of rain is not certain, and we thought we need to give them a kind of intervention and that is by putting in their hands something they can use to look at the weather and then plan their planting activities.
“Fortunately, we got support from TETFUND and that has taken us to six states where we have established ‘climate-smart villages’, trained the farmers on the climate-smart agricultural practices. We have developed a mobile App that will help them predict or forecast the weather in real-time.
“We are also thinking of sending policy documents to the government so that this will not just end here, but something the government can support and put in yearly budget for continuity”, he said.
Speaking further about the N40 million project, he said: “In it, we established the early warning system, ground receiving station connected with geo-Netcasting in Germany, because we need quality data to be able to advise the farmers, reliable data, so we loaded the data in conjunction with the NiMet in Abuja and other institutions around this place like OAU, and other Institutions. We came together and you will see that the project was divided into six parts.
“The first is the socio-economic aspect of it, you must know the baseline problem of farmers before you bring in any solution to them; we also develop a ground receiving station where you get quality data; we must disseminate the data, and that is why we bought those smart phoned, and from our analysis, we discovered that most of these farmers are using these smartphones, all they need is for us to train them to use it in solving their problems.
“The other thing we also did was to give them other interventions like the drip irrigation kit to demonstrate to them how to use them in case we have prolonged drought, they will be able to go to the farm and still produce something”.
Federal Government and the Ogun State Government, on Wednesday, distributed farm inputs to farmers as part of effort to address food security challenge.
The State Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, during the flag-off ceremony of Inputs Redemption Under The National Agricultural Growth Scheme-Agro Pocket (NAGS-AP), in Ogun State, disclosed that beneficiaries of the gesture were primarily rice, maize and cassava farmers across the State.
Ayo-Ajayi commended the Ogun State Government for partnering with the government at the centre for the effort in supporting farmers with inputs that would bring about yieldings for local consumption and likely exportation.
She noted that government is supporting rice, cassava and maize farmers with inputs worth N212,000; N189,000 and N186,000 respectively.
The Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs Kehinde Jokotoye, who represented the Commissioner in the Ministry, Bolu Owotomo, stated that traditional farmers are critical in food production, hence the need to encourage and support them with inputs that would bring about desired results during harvesting.
Owotomo said: “Let us make good use of this opportunity, so that the success of this phase will make farmers benefit more from the state and federal governments of Nigeria.”
Earlier, State Coordinator, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Oluwatoyin Ayo-Ajayi, appreciated the present administration for partnering with the federal government for the initiative, adding that the programme is designed to support farmers at the grassroots level in cassava, rice and maize with inputs such as, seeds, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, to boost their production and enhance their livelihood.
The Niger State Government has mapped out 10,000 hectares of farmland in Gbapo Community of Katcha Local Government Area of the State for smallholder farmers to benefit from the state government’s agricultural intervention programme.
Two thousand out of the 10,000 holders of the farmlands have already received inputs.
At a flag-off ceremony in Yinti Village, the facilitator of the programme, Shinkafan Nupe, Malam Idris Usman Makanta, assured the farmers of increased distributions to the mapped-out ten thousand (10,000) farmlands if farmers respond positively.
He explained that the commencement of the two thousand is to measure the positive response of farmers before obtaining full-scale support.
Malam Makanta stated that this initiative aligns with the farmers’ initial commitment through Niger Foods, whose mission is primarily geared towards establishing efficient and profitable agricultural businesses to support the present administration of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s quest to boost agricultural productivity in the state.
He also commended Niger Foods for their steadfastness and resilience in the effective implementation of the input financing scheme.
Makanta reiterated the commitment of the State Governor in making judicious use of the arable land in the state.
Shinkafan Nupe, therefore, urged the farmers to support the Governor by using the inputs wisely so that the dream can be actualised.
The Gombe State Government has empowered a total of 573,429 farmers and entrepreneurs under the 4th phase of the GO-CARES programme.
The programme was officially flagged off by Governor Inuwa Yahaya in another major step towards alleviating poverty and supporting the state’s vulnerable populations.
The Governor, while inaugurating the disbursement in Akko Community of Akko Local Government Area, restated his administration’s commitment to the welfare of vulnerable citizens in the state.
He was represented by the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Salihu Baba Alkali, who is also the Chairman of the Steering Committee on GO- CARES implementation.
“The 4th phase of GO-CARES will directly and indirectly impact a total of 573,429 citizens across the state. Of these, 152,429 individuals will benefit directly through cash transfers, livelihood grants, agricultural inputs, and operational grants to small businesses”, he stated.
The Governor added that, “421,000 people will be indirect beneficiaries through infrastructural projects such as classroom blocks, healthcare facilities, WASH services, and rural infrastructure projects like culverts and drainages”.
Yahaya, reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the state’s most vulnerable citizens are not left behind in the state’s development.
According to him, “Earlier this year, on June 25, 2024, we flagged off the distribution of improved seedlings, fertilizers, and herbicides to less privileged farmers in Malam Sidi, Kwami Local Government Area, signaling the commencement of the 4th phase implementation of GO-CARES under Result Area 2”.
The Governor reiterated that these initiatives have had a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries and the overall agricultural sector.
He explained that, “Today’s ceremony marked the simultaneous launch of activities under all three GO-CARES Result Areas for the 4th phase. These areas include: State Cash Transfer Grants: 2,500 direct beneficiaries; Labour Intensive Public Works: 2,700 direct beneficiaries; Livelihood Grants: 10,000 direct beneficiaries; and Basic Services: 405,000 indirect beneficiaries”.
