HEDA Resource Centre, in partnership with NiMet, has trained over 500 farmers and extension workers in 10 states on seasonal climate predictions, according to a statement by HEDA’s Executive Secretary, Sulaimon Arigbabu, on Sunday in Lagos.
Mr. Arigbabu announced that the training for Agricultural Development Programmes (ADP) staff was supported by Oxfam through the African Activists for Climate Justice (AACJ) project. He explained that the workshop’s primary objective was to equip small-scale farmers, extension workers, and ADP staff with essential information for the upcoming farming season.
Participants were trained on using downscaled Seasonal Climate Predictions and Crop Weather Calendars.
“We are thrilled to work with NiMet and our partner Oxfam under the AACJ project to deliver this critical training,” he said. “We have engaged participants from all local governments across the 10 states to ensure widespread dissemination of this valuable information.”
He also provided information on the scheduled growing seasons for each state. “The growing seasons for each state are as follows: Nasarawa: April 30 – October 27 (203 days); Kwara: April 30 – October 25 (180 days); Oyo: April 10 – November 29 (231 days); Benue: April 24 – November 1 (189 days); Osun: April 10 – November 30 (233 days).
“The predicted growing season in Niger state is from May 9 to November 8 (184 days); Ogun state is March 31 to December 1 (249 days); for Plateau, it is from May 19 – November 9 (186 days); Adamawa state’s length of the growing season is from April 21 – November 1 (193 days); and for Ekiti state, it is between April 13 and November 27 (227 days),” Arigbabu noted.
According to him, access to climate predictions and crop weather calendars is crucial for improving agricultural practices and enhancing the well-being of farming communities nationwide.
He further shared that the recent training, a collaborative effort between HEDA and NiMet, marks their long standing partnership, which aims to empower farmers with vital climate information and resources to boost their productivity and resilience.
Arigbabu stressed that the initiative is designed to strengthen the agricultural sector and support farming communities by providing better climate prediction and planning resources. He reported that the training sessions, conducted in Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Benue, Adamawa, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Ekiti, and Osun states, delivered training on climate predictions and crop weather calendars to over 500 participants.
