By Esther Onah
Dry season farming is the practice of planting and cultivating crops during the dry season, usually between the months of October and March. Due to the limited amount of rainfall during this period, Farmers depend heavily on irrigation systems to water their farms.
Majority of small holder farmers in Nigeria who cannot obtain sufficient water resources to participate in large-scale production in the dry season depend on rain-fed agriculture which leads to shortage of important local crops, high market prices and lack of technology to grow them when the conditions are not favourable.
What rain-fed agriculture does is to provide a rich production platform for all farmers which allow agricultural products to be delivered almost simultaneously in abundance causing an oversupply thereby forcing prices down. It makes farm produce available almost at the same time, creating excessive supply over average demand.
Fresh dry season farm products command premium prices for various agricultural products. This is so in a free economy where forces of demand and supply play dominant roles in determining prices of products.
The law of demand and supply, according to Investopedia, is a theory that explains the interaction between the supply of a resource and the demand for that resource. It also defines the effects, availability of a particular product and demand for that product has on its price. Generally, low supply and high demand for a particular product, say fresh corn, increases the price. In contrast, the greater the supply and the lower the demand, the price tends to fall.
“Dry season farming attracts real agricultural business for individuals who understand the important role of times and seasons in product price determination”.
Fresh corn, vegetables, fruits and general agricultural products are usually scarce during the dry season presenting unusual opportunities for business farmers to create a stream of income for about six to seven months. However, what to plant in large-scale dry season farming is possible and economical where there are functional irrigation facilities.
Northern Nigeria still boasts of some viable irrigation facilities. Where they exist and in good shape, wheat, rice, water melon and tomatoes are cultivated in commercial quantities and farmers do smile to their banks.
It is advisable therefore, that where irrigation facilities are not available for large-scale commercial production, small-scale cultivation of vegetables can be done either in upland or valleys close to streams.
Dry season farming helps to improve the quality of the land used; the process helps to regulate the soil temperature. Also, having irrigation system on the farm helps to improve the moisture status of the soil; it also helps to resolve soil nutrients and make them available to plants. It can also increase the water content of plant fibres and plant size.
As Nigeria continues to experience ravages of flooding in many states, the International Fund for Agricultural Development-Value Chain Development Programme ( IFAD – VCDP), said it will begin dry season farming to mitigate the impact of flooding across the most affected states of the country. This was revealed some time ago by IFAD coordinator. Immediate commencement of dry season farming across the states would be of great priority to ensure food security for the rural farmers whose farm produce were washed away by the flood.
It is one thing to put pen to paper and make policies but when it comes to implementation of such policies, we hear, “it is receiving attention”. The federal government should do well by encouraging farmers using adequate sensitization and enlightenment programmes as well as providing the enabling environment for them to engage in dry season farming as this would result in all-year-round food sufficiency; instead of concentrating efforts during the rainy season and experiencing colossal loses.
One of the best ways to ensure food security in any country is to guarantee all-year-round food supply. The federal government should also find ways of curtailing flooding; water from dams could be released before the rainy season instead of waiting for the rains to get to its peak before doing that.