Nigeria loses 20 per cent of agric produce to climate change – Environmentalist

Extreme weather conditions causes Nigeria to lose some food produce.

An environmentalist, Emmanuel Oladapo, on Tuesday said the country lost between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of agriculture produce to climate change.

Mr. Oladapo said the effects of climate change had always been evident but has become more severe than in the past.

He also said that economic activities were the major cause of extreme weather conditions or the prevailing climatic change.

“Economic activities are major contributors to the frequency of the earth’s adjustment and agriculture is not left out on its effect.

“The country loses between 10 to 20 per cent of its agricultural production to climate change because we now experience changes in rainfall and dry periods,” he said.

Mr. Oladapo said the weather conditions of some states dictated the kinds of crops produced in those areas.

He described as untrue reports that wars and bombing around the world was the cause of climate change.

He said there was no scientific claim to identify bombing as the cause of global warming, adding that the environment was large enough to accommodate the impact of bombs.

Mr. Oladapo said that climate change was as a result of natural causes but the earth had experienced harsh events as scientific misnomer.

Contributing, Olusola Longe, an Agriculture lecturer at the Ekiti State University, said that government had to be more proactive in tackling flooding as a result of climate change.

Mr. Longe said that plants and animals alike were affected mostly by the changes in weather conditions, adding that crops could die as a result of flooding.

“There are two areas that climate can affect agriculture and they are the soil (in terms of the temperature) and crops (in terms of humidity).

“When the weather is too hot, animals like cattle, sheep and goats will be exposed to stress and possibly abortions.

“Then, when the rainfall is too much, it may result in flooding and killing the crops and plants because the temperature and humidity conditions have suitable levels for plants and animals,” he said.

Mr. Longe said that government funds should be drafted and disbursed on time to ensure effective use of the funds during planting seasons.

He also urged government to ensure proper implementation of its Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) and the Dry Season Support Fund.

According to him, the timely implementation of agricultural business policy will enable farmers to develop agriculture.

(NAN)