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In one of his farms in Yanhoho, Mr Umar showed PREMIUM TIMES how arid sand is replacing the original land that’s suitable for farming, a development he described as “a sign of the sand from the Sahara and it’s not good for our crops.”Located in the North-western part of Nigeria, Katsina State faces climate change concerns such as desertification, drought, floods, unpredictable rain patterns, and extreme weather.
“Sometimes the rain will become too much and we will have floods, and sometimes we end up with drought when there is no rain. During the season, we may have too much dryness, which can affect the ecosystem,” he said.An analysis of the climate between 2020 and 2023 showed that the length of the rainy season in the state decreased.
“Generally, the 2020 annual rainfall is predicted to be normal except for places around Katsina which are likely to have below normal rainfall amount,” the predictions captured.In multiple interviews with farmers and elderly people in Katsina, Mashi, Kaita, Rimi, and Batagarawa local government areas of Katsina State, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the quantity of food produced on a yearly basis has substantially reduced.
“The most noticeable issue for us is the rainfall pattern. When there is rain in a season, we have more farm produce but when there is an on and off rainfall pattern, we hardly realise anything meaningful,” Mr Idris, a traditional title holder in the community, told PREMIUM TIMES in March. “On the same farm that I have used for over 17 years, I have been witnessing a reduction in farm yields,” Mr Abdullahi, who is also a veterinary nurse, told PREMIUM TIMES during a visit to his farm.
The prices of rice also rose from N84,000 to N96,000 and higher, while the prices of beans rose from N54,000 to between N68,000 and N94,000. “Sometimes, there is no rain during the rainy season. I remember in 2021, the rainfall suddenly stopped and many crops were lost. Lack of rain in months like August affects some crops like beans and rice.