NIMET prediction: NEMA advises residents on disaster risk reduction

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned the public on the Nigeria Meteorological Agency’s (NIMET) 2016 Annual Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) and called for the adoption of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies against flood, drought and desertification.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ preparedness meeting, NEMA North-west Zonal Coordinator, Alhaji Musa Ilallah, said this year’s prediction which states the rain pattern and temperature outlook with late on-set of the season, lower than normal rainfall, early cessation and more frequent dry spell may lead to crop failure.
He said the implications of the SRP were predictively negative due to the extreme weather conditions which might  result in crop failure, drought, health issues and flood among others.
While calling on collaborative efforts among stakeholders to help curb the anticipated menace, he urged agricultural extension workers to embark on massive awareness campaign for farmers to embark on dry season farming.
The coordinator also implored ministries of agriculture to build more earth dams or rehabilitate existing ones for all year round farming, adding that farmers be provided with early maturing seedlings and crops for this year’s rainy season.