NiMet advises northern farmers to exercise restraint on planting

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has advised farmers in the north to exercise restraint in planting crops with the current rainfalls across the region.

Technical Assistant to the Director General of NiMet, Dr. Mansur Matazu, who gave the advice in Abuja on Friday in an interview, warned that the central and extreme northern parts of the country were yet to experience the onset of the rainy season based on NiMet’s 2019 seasonal rainfall prediction.

He added that the current rains being experienced around the region were known as transition period activities leading to the onset of the new planting season. According to him, the rains will get established in the north around the first and second week of May to the first and second week of June.

‘‘The rains we are experiencing now are what we describe as transition period activities because between the dry season and the rainy season we have a transition.

‘‘This transition is associated with some occasional rains and these rains are meant for farmers to get prepared in terms of their planting activities; that is getting the land cleared, getting the inputs such as seeds and fertilizer ready.

‘‘It is not advisable especially in the northern parts of the country; North Central, North West and North East to get into real planting now. Our seasonal rainfall prediction explained in details and we have covered all parts of the local governments in the country, the 744; and in the forecast we have indicated when the rain will get well established.

‘‘So these earlier rains are not meant for farming but this is an indication that rain will soon commence and farmers need to get ready in getting their lands cleared and be in full preparations,’’ he said.

Also, Matazu advised the government and people of the southern part of the country to take precaution towards preventing floods associated with early intense rains around the region.

He said that the agency’s seasonal rainfall prediction released in January had indicated that there would be below-normal rainfall across the country, including parts of the southern states.

According to him, some southern parts also will have some below normal rainfall even though the rainfall has fully commenced in the southern part and farming activities are already taking place.