News Investigators/ Some farmers in Bauchi have expressed dismay over the poor harvest and low yield recorded due to rice blast outbreak this cropping season.
The farmers said that the situation had exposed them to losses, and made the trade less attractive.
A cross section of the farmers stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Bauchi.
Mr Kabiru Abdullahi, a rice grower, said that the blast outbreak ravaged his plantation and resulted in low yields at harvest.
He said that the blast outbreak largely infested the plants following low levels of rainfall.
Abdullahi said that the low and irregular rain pattern was a major obstacle to rice cultivation in the area.
“We faced a series of challenges due to the irregular rainfall. The rain sometimes stopped for several days, and when it rained, it’s insufficient to nourish the plants.
“I harvested 15 bags of paddy as opposed to 22 bags in the past,” he said.
Another farmer, Suleiman Khalid, who corroborated earlier opinion, said that inadequate rain severely affected his farm.
He said that the plantation wilted due to prolonged dryspell resulting in low yields.
“I normally harvested about 30 bags of paddy in the previous years, but that dropped to less than 10 bags this season,” he said.
Commenting, Mr Ya’u Mohammed, Programme Manager, Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme (BSAPD), attributed the situation to climate change.
He said that rice blast disease manifested due to dry spell and low volume of rainfall.
Mohammed said that farmers were confronted with drought, rice blast and other crop diseases this season.
“The disease becomes more pronounced when the rainfall is inadequate, contributing to poor harvests in some rice farms,” he said.
He therefore urged farmers to adhere to advice by extension workers and weather advisory issued by relevant government’s agencies to guard against losses.
NAN