Osun Farmers Lament Irregular Rainfall

By Solomon Odeniyi

A cross session of farmers in the State of Osun
have said that irregular rainfall in the state
is posing serious threats to their farming activities and food crop production.

The farmers, in an interview with OSUN DEFENDER, lamented that the unbalanced rainfall has disrupted the usual planting season for farmers, noting that rain had stopped falling since the end of May this year.

One of the farmers, Mr. Ayelabola Lawal said the shortage of rainfall resulted in low yield of food crops, particularly maize and yam.

Lawal explained that by now, another set of yam should have been planted for harvest in November, but the irregular rainfall had frustrated that.

He stated that some farmers who embarked on yam plantation in July had their tuber burnt in the ground because of the irregular pattern of rainfall.

Lawal said: “By now, another set of yam should have been planted, which is the gain of farmers. But we cannot do that because the rain has stopped falling. The maize seeds are also very small because of shortage of water. Only cash crop farmers are safe from the present situation.”

Another farmer, Mr. Surajudeen Akanji lamented that the spate of irregular rainfall has badly affected maize plantation, saying that the seeds are smaller than expected because there is no enough water for their growth.

Akanji stated that maize farmers might run at a loss because of the low yield seed occasioned by the irregular rainfall.

Speaking with OSUN DEFENDER, the Coordinating Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mrs. Adegbemisola Fayoyin, said the poor and scanty rainfall had affected farming activities adversely, not only in Osun but in the entire South-West states.

Fayoyin said: “The rains this year have been scanty, and as a result, not many farmers have been able to do the wet season planting. In this part of the country, we always rely on seasons’ rainfalls: that of March for wet season planting and the August rainfall for dry season planting.

“At present, many farmers are not getting expected crop yield due to the pattern of rainfall we are experiencing this year. Most of our staple foods are being affected. Maize and yam are the most affected.

“Maize plants get dried up before their cubs come out. When you visit the farm now, you will discover that most of the maize stems are now like onions. We are praying to God for the rain to start on time and that we should have it for the rest of the year, maybe we can recover a bit.”