The effect of climate change is not only on the environment.
Presently, Nigeria's quest for self sufficiency in food production may have the negative effects of climate change on agriculture.
Every year, expectations of farmers remain dashed due to either late arrival of rainfall or excessive rainfall that results in flooding.
Already, some farm crops have been destroyed due to flooding in some states like Bayelsa and Enugu. This is happening when farmers in particular and Nigerians at large are yet to recover from the devastating effect of 2012 floods that led to loss of many lives and in the high cost of food production.
That is why the recent pronouncement of the present minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina that the federal government is considering the introduction national crop insurance for farmers deserves commendation. Adesina who made the statement in Abuja, during a workshop on water management solutions for flood recession and dry season agriculture in Nigeria stated that the programme, which would start from 2015 and targeted at 10 million farmers, would insure farmers against shocks and losses from weather-related events."Our goal is to insure no fewer than 10 million farmers. We will also design and implement a flood disaster payment policy that will protect farmers, communities and states from economic losses due to flood," Adesina said.
He promised that the federal government would ensure that water is managed efficiently to improve production, stressing that water would be the most limiting factor affecting food production. "We must improve the efficiency with which we use water and get more grains per drop of water. To achieve this goal, he stated that stakeholders must focus on small scale water management system, not just the large scale irrigation schemes. it is in the interest of farmers and the entire country that the federal government introduce insurance schemes for farmers in order to safe guide the 2012 experience that threw farmers across 22 states into untold hardship.
Source - http://allafrica.com/
