Farmers in Nigeria under the Zero Hunger Commodity Associations, on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 commended Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) “for timely presentation of 2018 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP)” to the public.

The farmers National Coordinator, Dr Tunde Arosanyin, gave the commendation in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on the sidelines of the 2018 SRP presentation.

He said that the association, a subsidiary of the UN Committee – Zero Hunger Nigeria Forum was happy about the 2018 SRP presentation organised by NiMet with the theme “Seasonal Climate for Sustainable Development.”

Arosanyin added that the prediction was a welcome development because it would help farmers to plan properly before going into the 2018 farming season to avoid losses.

He explained that the 2017 SRP reviewed by the Agency showed 95.3 per cent achievement in terms of performance, “indicating there was head way in the agriculture sector.

“The 2018 SRP by NiMet was a welcome development and taking a case from the prediction of 2017 as reviewed by the Agency, achieving 95.3 per cent in terms of performance was great.

“To us as farmers, it was an excellent one. However, the information was in English and that was a big gap because we wish it could be adopted in various languages for rural farmers.

“This is because 70 per cent of our farming population do not have good education to be able to interpret some of the forecast.

“The burden is on us the farmers’ leaders at Zero Hunger Commodities to see how we can organise training at state and local levels to keep farmers abreast of the predictions.

“We will also inform farmers when rainfall will start and the quantity, when to expect
dry spell, the length and the intensity so as to take proactive steps before the occurrences to reduce wastage.”

The coordinator said the SRP was a good step in the right direction as agriculture became
the major driver of the Nigerian economy.

He said “it is critical for the Nigerian government to support farmers at all levels to be able to implement and interpret the SRP data effectively.”

Arosanyin also advised farmers to take the predictions seriously and not to rush into planting yet but wait until the rainfall set in properly.

He said “from the prediction today, there is going to be early rainfall but not advisable to plant until the rain has set in properly because there is no enough moisture presently in the soil.

“So, planting can start from April to avoid losses recorded in previous years.”

The national coordinator appealed to state and Federal Government to bring back extension services to help in passing on information to farmers.

He explained that “ordinarily, it is the role of extension officers at the state and federal level to educate farmers on farming techniques in different languages for easy assimilation.

“However, they are no longer there but farmers organisations have willing collaborative partners to carry out the assignment effectively.”

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted that the length of growing season for 2018 is expected to range from 117 to 287 days in many parts of the country.

NiMet, in its 2018 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), stated that normal length of growing season was predicted for most parts of the country during the years.

It explained that cities such as Yelwa, Bida, Shaki, Ikeja, Abuja, Jos, Ibi, Makurdi, Ogoja and Ikomare were expected to experience a longer than normal length of growing season.

NiMet said the end of 2018 growing season was expected to commence from Sept. 28, while the earliest cessation date was expected to start from the same date.

According to NiMet, this will occur around Sokoto and Katsina, while the southern cities, with ample soil moisture should have their cessation as late as December.

“Cessation of the growing season is expected to be normal across most parts of the country.

“Early cessation is anticipated over Jos, Ibi, Uyo, and Ikeja but will, however, be a little delayed over parts of Ibadan, Ondo and Warri.’’

The agency also predicted that the 2018 rainfall season was expected to start by early March over southern coastal cities and end in December over the coast.

It further predicted that a normal length of season was expected with normal rainfall amounts, adding that it would not present any major danger to agriculture and recommended climate smart agriculture.

According to the prediction, 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.

“The country is expected to experience normal-to-earlier-than-normal onset, while places like Sokoto, Bauchi, Kaduna, Lafia, Makurdi, Ado-Ekiti, Akure, Calabar and Eket are expected to experience early onset.

“Places like Yelwa, Bida, Abuja, Iseyin, Abeoukuta, Lagos and Umuahia are likely to experience late onset while other parts of the country are expected to have normal onset,’’ it said.

NiMet said the least amounts of rainfall for 2018 would be within the range of 400 to 800 millimetres across the extreme north like Katsina, Nguru and Sokoto.

It added that rainfall amount of above 1,300 millimetres was likely over Eket and Calabar along the coast of south east.

According to the agency, Abuja, Gombe, Yelwa, Bida, and places along the Rivers Niger and Benue are expected to have annual rainfall amount in the range of 800 to 1600mm.

“Most places are likely to have normal rainfall amount with exceptions to areas around Nguru, Yelwa and Ibi where about five to seven per cent above normal rainfall is expected.

“Areas around Shaki and Abeokuta are likely to experience below normal annual rainfall amount,’’ it said.

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Legislators at the Pan African Parliament (PAP) are eager to seek accountability by industrialised countries, whose activities have resulted in excess emission of greenhouse gasses that are causing global warming, but the African civil society on climate change has a different message.

These were some of the ideas at a training for Pan-African Parliamentarians conducted by the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) in collaboration with the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and the African Climate Legislative Initiative (ACLI) on uptake and use of climate information services (CIS) by vulnerable communities. The event convened at the PAP in Midrand, South Africa on the March 10, 2018 was attended by 31 members of parliament drawn from across the continent.

The training event was organised under the Pan-African component of the Weather and Climate Information Services for Africa (WISER) programme, which is implemented by ACPC. Mr. Frank Rutabingwa, the WISER coordinator at ACPC, informed participants that the objective of WISER is to contribute to enhancement of the policy and enabling environment for increased application of CIS in development planning.

Speaking at the event, participants recalled that the Paris Agreement on climate change calls for international interventions to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.

According to Mithika Mwenda, the PACJA Secretary General, there is urgent need for legislators to work hand in hand with the civil society and researchers for climate adaptation and in advancing the climate discourse at the global level.

“We all need to embrace the Talanoa dialogue introduced in the UN Climate negotiation process,” said Mithika. The purpose of Talanoa is to share stories, ideas, skills, experiences, build empathy and to facilitate wiser decisions for the collective good.

Amongin Jacquiline, the Chairperson of the PAP Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural resources and Environment, agreed with Mithika, saying that the Talanoa dialogue would help in stock taking of the achievements so far, as well as the challenges, which should inform the way Africa should engage in global climate negotiations.

In addition, Augustine Njamnshi, a board member of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), noted: “The changing climatic conditions is a problem all over Africa, and the first thing we must do, is accept that there is a problem that must be tackled immediately before pursuing those who caused it.”

A Kenyan study commissioned by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and conducted by scientists from the Kenya Markets Trust (KMT) through a project known as Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE), reveals that cattle population in the country has reduced by over 26% between 1977 and 2016.

“Our projections show that temperature is going to increase even further in the coming years, and the impact is likely going to be more devastating,” said Dr Mohammed Said, one of the PRISE researchers.

During the training, the lead trainer, Stephen Mutimba, pointed out that the African continent, especially sub-Saharan Africa, is exposed to climate variability and extremes at frequencies which exceed normal thresholds, and that such events could significantly erode gains already made in poverty reduction. There is therefore need for different countries to devise coping mechanisms so as to save livelihoods.

The trainer also underscored that governments can only prepare for disasters that may result from the extreme weather events only if they have access to adequate climate information

“Climate information and services are key resources for governments and communities to prepare for these changes and when well integrated into policy and practice, they can help reverse this trend and enhance cross-sectoral climate resilient development,” he told the legislators.

Studies have shown that Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change, especially in water, agriculture, forestry, and coastal development sectors, while the World Food Programme estimates that about 650 million people live in arid or semi-arid areas where floods and droughts impact lives and productivity.

In the arable land areas in sub-Saharan Africa, scientists say that there will be a decrease of 19% in maize yields, and 68% for bean yields. As a result, severe child stunting (leading to higher mortality risk) could increase by 31%-55% across the region by 2050 due to climate change.“The earlier we start tackling the challenge of climate change therefore, the better for our continent,” said Njamnshi.

The ACPC and PACJA committed to continue the engagement with both PAP and ACLI in order to further strengthen awareness and catalyse action on CIS application in development through robust policies and plans.

Courtesy: PAMACC News Agency