Dry season farming in northern nigeria

Maimuna abdullahi was accustomed to cultivating rice only during the wet season, when frequent rains and low temperatures create an ideal climate for the crop. Challenges and information needs assessment of dry season. The start of the growing season in northern nigeria may be defined as the date when accumulated rainfall exceeds and remains greater than one half of potential evapotranspiration for the remainder of the growing season, provided that no dry spell longer than five days occurs immediately after this date. North africa is part of the northern hemisphere and its seasons follow the same pattern as europe or north america. Borgus area of plains and wooded savanna is drained by several small streams that flow eastward to the niger river, the areas eastern boundary. Thus, this dry season rice farming was designed to work in tandem with the natural in the ecological areas such as topography, nearness to water bodies for irrigation and so on. Nigeria is a nation abundantly blessed with agricultural resources and vast agricultural products. Residents of the country would describe the weather conditions in nigeria as violent and apologetic. Kajuru is a local government area in kaduna state, nigeria.

How to successfuly start onion farming in southern nigeria. Dry season farming kebbi state has over 600,000 hectares of fadama land that stretches across 14 local government areas of the state. Artifacts archaeologists studying early humans are. However, the probability of dry spells during the early rainy season apriljune in northern nigeria is considerably greater than in julyaugust. Farmers in northern nigeria are switching over to groundnut production in the hottest months of the year. In this post, we will tell you about the months of the rainy season in nigeria. Most nigerians live on farms, but today many, like the extended usman family, can barely provide for themselves.

Cultivation usually commences during the rainy season to take advantage of the relatively low humidity associated with rainy season. Groundnut farming in nigeria is one of the most lucrative businesses in the country because of the demand for its highly nutritious seed and most importantly the edible oil derived from the seed. Located in northern nigeria, katsina state occupies 24,192 square kilometres. Maize farming is inarguably the most popular type of crop cultivation or farming in nigeria. The sahara is a desert whereas nigeria contains land suitable for farming. The planting season coincides with the beginning of harmattan. There was no difference between the dry season and the rainy season, he said. Rainy season in nigeria is planting season and with the dry season comes the harvest. A lot of fish farmers, mostly in the northern part of nigeria face serious challenges in regards to fish growth du. The dry season favours the local varieties because the nights are cooler as a result of lower mist in the air whereas growing the fruit in the wet season becomes difficult because heat is trapped.

Why shortage of tomato persists in rainy season daily trust. Go to any town, village or city in nigeria, you are likely to see a lot of maize farmers. A land of little water much of northern nigeria consists of high, flat plains. Agricultural sustainability in northern nigeria wikipedia. The sahara has a tropical wet climate whereas nigeria is mostly desert. Strengthening resilience of rural women through dry season. The sahara is densely populated whereas very few people live in nigeria. After losing millions years past, nigeria tomato farmers. The main crops grown in the region are millet, sorghum, and cowpea, while groundnut and sesame are significant minor crops.

Planting begins in northern nigeria in may for the early season or july for the late season. The planting season is usually in novemberdecember and it takes about 3 to 4 months for the plant to mature and be ready for harvest. Groundnut is a good source of cheap protein both to animals and human beings. In the 20192020 dry season, the farmers, aided by a n723, 488. For instance, rice is a crop that is cultivated in the country yet a major portion of the rice consumed in the country is imported from china and taiwan. The literature reveals that the length of the growing season can be determined in a variety of ways. Rainfall occurs only seasonally and there is a pronounced dry season however, rainfall is often intensive when it does come, making it necessary for farmers to employ soil moisture conservation techniques.

If government helps to clear such wetland in ndokwa area and some other parts of the state, it will support dry season farming and boost rice. We are very very happy, says rose azumah, a dry season gardener at walembelle in the upper west region of ghana like many people in rural communities in ghana, roses main economic activity is farming. Countries like morocco, egypt, tunisia and algeria have an arid desert climate and as such, dont have a specific rainy season. Landscape of scattered trees and savannah near zaria, nigeria. I have repeatedly charged my farm associates to sow. However, within nigeria as a whole rice is not a traditional cropfood. At a stateoftheart plant in northern nigeria, shiny machines stand next to a conveyor belt ready to crush tomatoes to satisfy the countrys insatiable demand for tomato paste. Chad, one of nigerias most important water sources, is much smaller than it once was. Everything from rolling hills, to plateaus, to mountains, to river valleys, to flat farming land can be found in the country of nigeria. Ogun state begins dry season harvest in youth rice.

Apart from farming during the rainy season, dry season farming is done along river banks and along. Grasses and thorn trees covered these plains before people cleared the land in order to start farming. Some people, notably thornthwaite 1948, thornthwaite and mather 1955, cocheme and fraquin 1967 and benoit 1977, have employed a rainfallevapotranspiration relation model to determine the onset and cessation of the growing season. The onset of the rains and the start of the growing season have been taken here as. Like most nigerian rice farmers, this mother and rice farmer of seven years thought that tending her paddies in the dry season, under the rainless harmattan a dry, dusty air. Assessing the sustainability of vegetable production practices in northern ghana. The rapid growth in the poultry sector in the past five years has also increased demand for soybean meal in nigeria. The start of the growing season in northern nigeria. Onions are in high demand in nigeria and the price soars during dry season. Nigeria can similarly mobilize its population of twice that number to plant billions of cash crops through the planting season. Maize farming in nigeria is practiced in all the geopolitical zones of the country. Over 80% of the residents in her region and in northern ghana as a whole, depends on rainfed agriculture for their food, income and livelihoods. Thus, the rainless season begins in the north, moves slightly to the east and then rolls down south.

This new technology has allowed substantial increases in dryseason agricultural production. Constraints, opportunities and strategic choices rice production systems in nigeria. Conduct field visits to verify activities done in the field partnership with northern state governments as regards dry season farming and pasture establishment. After the rainy season comes the dry season which is accompanied by a dustladen airmass from the sahara desert, locally known as harmattan season in nigeria.

Soybean seeds also contain about 20% oil on a dry matter basis, and this is 85% unsaturated and cholesterolfree. Also, dry season farmers can contribute significantly to the countrys gdp through food exportation. It can also be baked, boiled or eaten with stew or fried eggs. Generally, watermelon can be planted all year round in the north as long as their adequate water supply through irrigation. Introduction to crop production agriculture nigeria. Nomads and farmers in fight for nigerias heartland reuters. Floodrecession cultivation was possible in the lake chad region, although it has never. Faos 201819 dry season programme aims to boost income.

Dorcas abimbola omole semi autotrophic and hydroponics. One major advantage of dry season farming is that it helps to reduce the countrys reliance on importation as a way of ensuring food security. Drought worsens deadly battle between fulani herdsmen and. In nigeria, some farmers who locally construct their greenhouses cover it with transparent or white polyethylene while wrapping the sides with nets, others use only nets for dry season while. However, while many inland destinations remain dry yearround due to their proximity to the sahara desert, coastal areas see the most rain in winter. The report goes on to say that in californias central valley often referred to as americas fruit and vegetable basket 410,000 acres may. The raining season in nigeria does not start in the same months in different parts of nigeria.

Also, rainfall distribution in nigeria differs from the south to the north. Also, alhaji muazu auwa,50, with 30 years experience in onion farming, stated that he invested n650,000 in the rainy season farming but lost about n300,000 due to the zazzalau attack. Farmers guide to soybean production in northern nigeria. One can make a lot of money growing onions commercially. Groundnut can be processed in various ways depending on the product one wants to derive from it. This is because a farmer has to calculate the input costs and. Fao flags off dry season farming in north east the guardian nigeria. Work closely with government, multilateral organizations and local partners staff at the field level to identify product users for all season farming. Profitability of vegetable farming under rainy and dryseason. Crop production is the process of farming or producing crops.

From the north to the south, east to the west of nigeria, there are abundant varieties of agricultural products and resources that are found to grow and suitable for cultivation in the soils in the regions and states. Maize farming is n10 million profit possible in nigeria. However, access to this technology is uneven, and there are. It is believed that soybean production will increase as more farmers become aware of. The traditional dry season farming in northern nigeria was practiced in the valley of the komadougou yobe along the border with niger and on the swampy area of lake chad and was dominated by simple lift systems shadufs replaced by pumps in the 1970s. In northern nigeria, the dry season extends from november to may. All the northern states and many southern states benefited. But if the state government encourages the 25 local government areas to provide land for rice cultivation, delta will produce more rice. Agricultural sustainability in northern nigeria requires flexibility in both ecological management as well as economic activity. Smallscale farmermanaged irrigation in northern nigeria. Katsina state is bounded in the east by kano and jigawa states, in the west by zamfara state, in the south by kaduna state and in the north by the niger republic.

Rainfall occurs only seasonally and there is a pronounced dry season however, rainfall is often intensive when it does come, making it necessary for farmers. Traditional agriculture and water use in the sokoto valley, nigeria. The organization has distributed a total of 247 tonnes of crop seeds maize and rice and 429 tonnes of nutritious vegetable seeds amaranth, cabbage, carrot, okra, onion and tomato to 78 000 households. Potato is the 4 th most popular food crop in the world and it has a variety of uses. Early planting during the dry season helps to lower weed growth and by the time the weeds begins to sprout the wheat is already matured enough to. But even as the ladies sing to celebrate a good crop, ramatu usman and aisha yusuf say each new year brings new uncertainty. As the population increased, the food supply was not always sufficiently stable or plentiful to supply mans needs. To fully exploit their lands during the dry season, vegetable farmers. Tearfund, an ngo working in nigeria, has been helping internally displaced people in adamawa, supplying farming tools and providing training on. Faos 201819 dry season programme aims to boost income generation, and enhance food security and nutrition among crisisaffected households across northeastern nigeria. However, the production of rice can be increased by several million of tonnes through dry. Majority of peasant people in nigeria rely on fuel wood as source of energy. However, the best way to prepare potatoes in order to enjoy its nutritional benefits is by baking. However low temperatures during the early part of the season november to january implies most tropical crops will not perform well during this period.

From augie to argungu, birnin kebbi, kalgo, bunza, dandi, suru, bagudo, shanga, ngaski, zuru and other areas until it reaches its border with kwara state. It is an important aspect of agriculture and is probably the most practiced area of agriculture. The rains provided a good crop of sorghum and maize this season, maybe enough to get through the dry season. Era of crude oil is gone, nigeria must face the reality. Food and agriculture organisation fao has flagged off the 2019 dry season farming to support 35000 smallscale farming households in the. Must farming only start and end in the wet season planning for irrigation precedes farmland acquisition but here the reverse is the case. Faos dry season programme is building household resilience in.

Nigerian farmers beat high temperatures with dryseason groundnut. We targeted 500,000 farmers and we were able to reach 458,498 farmers in 30 states. This probably led to the practice of crop production. Niae advocates proper dry season farming to boost nigerias economy. Ghost tomato factory showcase for nigerias farming problems. Poor soils, low rainfall especially in the dry season, and fulani slave raids in the 19th century have made borgu one of nigerias leastpopulated regions.

The jos plateau rises above them and is cooler and wetter. It can be used to make french fries which is a popular snack. The choice of onion variety matters a lot when it comes to commercial farming agribusiness. The sahara is mainly rainforest whereas nigeria doesnt contain many.

From april to september, the rain belt lies in the northern hemisphere, and the southern tropics have their dry season. By now you must have been aware that the richest man in nigeria is into rice farming. Photo from africa focus database, university of wisconsin farmlands during dry season in zaria city, nigeria. Periods of rainfall in the early rainy season are frequently followed by dry spells which may last a week or longer. Udo 1981 asserts that major areas of irrigation farming in nigeria include lake chad, yobe river, kanji dam, sokoto river basin. So, engaging in dry season farming here is just trial. Yes, dangote rice is coming to dominate the market. It was carved out of chikun local government area in march 1997 by the military administration of gen. When the well runs dry, try dry farming modern farmer.