South-South farmers have lamented the adverse effect of rainfall on the 2021 harvest, saying it has resulted in poor yield.

Several interest groups in agriculture expressed concerns in a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) across the region. Respondents feared that the situation could lead to the high cost of staple food.

The chairman of Cassava Growers Association in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers, Emmanuel Ekene, said persistent rainfall ravaged farmlands in the state in 2021.

Mr Ekene said that farmers in Etche suffered a higher flood impact and it led to increased loss of farm output.

“The farm settlement of Okarafor in Etche area was submerged in flood with attendant loss of farm produce, especially cassava and other tuber crops.

“Other crops that were largely affected were plantain, banana, and even some tree crops like oil palm.

“Iguruta, Chokocho Olakwo and Okehi down to Igbodo area, all faced massive flooding challenge this year.

“Some farmlands were swept off by erosion and this has affected the cost of garri which is a cassava byproduct.

“Currently, a basin of garri is N7,000; the same quantity that was sold for N4,000 last year.

“Sadly, this may lead to a continued hike in the cost of food as farmers no longer have cassava stems for the next planting season,” he said.

Mr Ekene called on the government to support local farmers in Rivers with farm inputs to cushion the effect of flood on their farm investments.

In Bayelsa, the majority of the farmers said that heavy rainfall destroyed their farmlands and animals during the 2021 season.

Eunice Ebipado from Onopa community in Yenagoa Local Government Area said that rain destroyed her crops such as cassava and led her into harvesting them too early.

Ms Ebipado also said that the early harvest affected the price of the products as she sold them at cheaper rates in the market.

Another farmer, Judith Kwokwo said the price of garri, one of the common food in Bayelsa, had gone up because of the early harvest of cassava for fear of rain and flooding.

However, Ms Kwokwo, said constant rain was good for rice farming in Bayelsa as it made the crop grow faster.

She nonetheless said that too much of it could destroy the farm or make the plant rot before harvest.

Another respondent, Chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Delta chapter, Silvanus Ejezie, said delayed rainfall earlier in the season, impacted negatively on food production in the state.

He said that most crops in Asaba suffered setbacks in the state due to drought earlier in the year.

“Unfortunately, after we had planted the crops, the rains were delayed and did not come again until May-June in parts of the state.

“The impact on our crops was devastating as most of the crops died, thereby resulting in poor harvest and production. This cannot in any way be said to be a bumper harvest,” he lamented.

On the high cost of food items, the farmer attributed it to other factors than the rains, adding that most commercial farmers had ways of reducing the impact of droughts, using irrigation.

Meanwhile, an agro-industry and value chain expert, Chijioke Osuji, says the major challenge of harvest in the nation is not rainfall but the preservation of the harvest while it continues to rain.

Mr Osuji said because farmers had no commercial and mechanised drying system, they relied on the sun for drying.

He said during prolonged rain they encountered losses as the harvest grew moulds and got infected.

The expert noted that Nigerian farmers need to be climate-smart and build into their resilience the fact that the weather could be inconsistent.

According to him, this is where the services of the meteorological agency come into play to assist them.

“For different states and localities, the meteorological agency should be able to provide zonal specific forecasts.

“This will enable farmers in those areas to know what to do or the kind of agricultural practice to engage in.

“There is a need for synergy between the meteorological agency and the Ministry of Agriculture. The provision of extension services for the farmers to thrive is necessary,” Mr Osuji said.

Also, Nathaniel Ellem, the chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Cross River chapter, said the rainfall pattern was affecting bumper harvest.

“I think the meteorological agency should tell us why the rains are still persistent when we are approaching the middle of November,” Mr Ellem said.

For the permanent secretary, Edo Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Peter Aikhuomobhogbe, increasing rainfall was a blessing to farmers in the state.

Mr Aikhuomobhogbe said that that the 2021 yield in Benin would be very good as a result of rainfall.

“The rain pattern has been unprecedented. We have had rain every month beginning from March this year.

“For me, it is a blessing. In oil palm, the difference between here and Malaysia is that they have rainfall all over the year and that increases their yield.

“For us, our yield is not comparable to theirs but this year our yield will be high because of the rain that is well distributed all over the year.

“Those of us that planted maize in August will also have good yield because there is enough rain and the yield will be very high for maize, ditto for beans, cowpea and cassava,” he said.

Mr Aikhuomobhogbe explained that the rainfall was an advantage to dry season farming because farmers would have to pump less water.

For the chairman of Grassroots Farmers Association of Niger-Delta, Edo chapter, Emmanuel Odigie, Edo would be the hub of agricultural produce in Nigeria by 2022.

“The rain has not badly affected any crop. Many planted early and right now some are already harvesting and recording high yield,” Mr Odigie said. 

Meanwhile, farmers in the North-East lamented the dry spell recorded during the 2021 season in parts of the region and called for early distribution of farm inputs for the commencement of dry season activities.