The Niger State Government has urged farmers to adopt climate-smart farming practices as changing rainfall patterns increasingly threaten agricultural production.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Matthew Ahmed, gave the advice at a collaborative meeting involving government agencies, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) and farmers in Minna.
Ahmed said unusually heavy rainfall in recent weeks, despite expectations of reduced rainfall towards the end of the rainy season, showed that weather patterns were becoming increasingly unpredictable.
He advised farmers to use drought-resistant and early-maturing crop varieties, noting that some maize varieties can withstand dry spells of up to 40 days and recover when rainfall resumes.
He also recommended staggered planting, whereby farmers divide their fields and plant at different times to reduce losses from drought, excessive rainfall and pests.
Ahmed urged farmers to use available weather information and forecasts to guide decisions on planting and other farm activities.
The Director of Climate Change in the state Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Hashimu Garba, said climate change was affecting several sectors, with agriculture particularly vulnerable to unpredictable weather.
Garba said farmers could no longer depend solely on traditional weather patterns and called for greater awareness and adoption of climate adaptation measures.
The VCDP State Programme Coordinator, Hajiya Hadizat Isah, said its interventions included sustainable land and water management, climate-resilient planting, agroforestry, erosion control and converting agricultural waste into biochar, biogas and animal feed.
The stakeholders called for stronger climate information services and wider adoption of climate-resilient farming practices to protect farmers’ livelihoods and sustain food production in the state.
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