By; DAHIRU SULEIMAN, Dutse
Farmers in Jigawa State have expressed fears of low harvest in communities mostly affected by drought.
This might not be unconnected to the sudden stoppage of rainfall much earlier than expected, a situation which resulted to the drying up of many crops, including rice, millet, guinea corn and others.
Investigations revealed that most farm produce dried up due to in-sufficient rainfall this year.
Malam Yusuf Mato who is a large scale rice farmer described the situation as horrible, and pathetic, saying, “I farm and cultivate over hundred bags of rice annually, but with the situation on ground, I don’t think I will even secure what I can feed my family.”
Another farmer, Isa Kakau in Dutse Local Government Area, decried receiving any agric support, stressing that as a potential farmer for the last 25 years, there wasn’t a time he received any government support on agriculture.
Visitation carried out to some farmlands in places like Gumel, Taura, Ringim, Birnin- Kudu, Roni, Gwiwa, Yankwashi, Babura, Gagarawa, Sule- Tankarkar, Kazaure, Maigatari, Kiyawa, among other councils in Jigawa State revealed that most of the planted farm products dried- up due to shortage of rainfall, a situation which forced farmers to seek God’s intervention through holding series of congregational prayers in search of rainfall.
In metropolitan Dutse, such prayers were held at the instance of the Emir of Dutse, Alh. ( Dr.) Nuhu Muhammadu Sunusi, presided over by the Chief Imam of Dutse,. Dr. Sani Birnin-Kudu and attended by large crowds of Muslim ummah.
All efforts by our correspondent to get in touch with officials of the Jigawa State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources for further comments, proved abortive as most of their lines were not reachable.
