The Federal Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD-assisted Value Chain Development Programme, VCDP, have urged farmers to use weather forecasts to guide their farming activities and minimise crop losses in the state. .
The advice was given during a training in Bida, Niger State, on the use of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) application, smart weather readers and solar-powered bird-scaring devices.
Mrs. Aishatu Peace Ahmed, Environment and Climate Change Officer with the programme, said weather information could help farmers plan planting, chemical application and produce drying around expected weather conditions.
She identified the cost and limited availability of solar-powered bird scarers as challenges to farmers seeking to adopt the equipment.
The devices are designed to scare birds away from farms and reduce damage to rice and other crops.
Mr. Samuel Gana, Management Information System Officer of the programme in Niger State, said weekly weather advisories were sent by SMS to about 29,951 farmers.
He said poor mobile network coverage in some communities covered by the programme limited access to the messages, adding that smart weather readers and community notice boards were being used to provide weather information in some locations.
Elizabeth Oladejo and Mohammed A. Idris, who are rice and cassava farmers, commended the training and retraining of farmers, saying it had further improved their ability to make weather-informed farming decisions.
They pledged to share the knowledge with members of their cooperatives to help reduce looses.