By Fatima Muraina

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Nigerians risk starvation unless they embrace and invest more in agriculture, experts have warned.
An agric expert, the Director of Training and Research Institute of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Dr Jibayo Oyebade, and others who spoke with The Hope predicted that there will be hunger in the country if drastic measures are not put in place.
He regretted that farmers in the country have been experiencing dry spell which appears longer than expected.
“If the dry spell is too prolonged, we are going to lose crops like yam, maize and cocoyam or the crops will not yield bountifully.
He said government have not been able to provide rain alternative by creating dams in river sources which flow away at full batches during raining season.
“In Thailand and Holland, they constructed dams. They dam their rivers about 500 meters scattered.”
Oyebade also re-emphasised the need for an agricultural conference in the state to tap and share knowledge from experts.
Other expert who spoke on the issue, Dr Emmanuel MoyinJesu said the implication of the long dry spell is already glaring as food prices have began to be on the increase.
“The weather is not favourable to the farmers. It will lead to inflation and Nigerians must look for a way out”
He advised farmers and governments to encourage drought resistant crop varieties which will not affect their yields.
He said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment should sponsor a bill to establish Agro-Climatology Commission to address climate change as it affect farmers.
“If not addressed, the prices of foods will get higher, rainfall is no longer dependable, farmers have to spend more to produce and the Fulani herdsmen are not encouraging farmers to go to the farm.
MoyinJesu also raised the need for the private sector like the banks and politicians to create empowerment programme where irrigation equipment would be distributed to groups of farmers.
Also contributing, Head of Department of Meteorology and Climatic Science, School of Sciences, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Ahmed Balogun, urged farmers to embark on irrigation as a back-up and also encourage mulching of planted crops.
“The rain pattern is okay, but you must be prepared for back up during the long dry spell because we cannot turn the hands of nature but to take precautionary measures.”
Also, the Permanent Secretary in the Ondo state Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Sunday Akintomide, said farmers’ inability to irrigate their farms would drastically affect crops during the long dry spell.
“If you irrigate your crops, they will continue to produce seeds throughout the year and you will continue to get your money anytime any day.”
He said water is required in photosynthesis and that it is through it that one can get fruits.
“Photosynthesis is simple sugar from green plants, from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight. There must be water and sunshine for crops to yield,” he said.
He charged farmers to irrigate their farms very well, 6.0’clock in the morning and evening, stressing that they can make use of several sources of water like the stream, digging of well, borehole, draining the water, damming the river and harvesting water for irrigation through concretising the water.
” Think about irrigation, think about agriculture as a business and never practice it the way you have been doing it, the multiplying effect are too much if you become a large scale farmer,” he added.