Severe dry spell will hit northern states, especially the states of Sokoto, Zamfara, Yobe, Kebbi, Kastina, Niger and some parts of Borno, the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has said.
The NiMet Director-General, Professor Mansur Bako Matazu, also said on Tuesday that states like Oyo, Kwara, Ekiti, Plateau and the FCT will experience a mild dry spell.
He spoke in Abuja at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Meteorological Research Training and Capacity Building between NiMet and the Federal University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State.
He stated further that weather events show that for the south-east and South-south states, they will experience normal rainfall apart from Cross River State that will experience below normal rainfall.
For July and August, the NiMet DG said the dry spell would have improved and the affected states, will experience above normal rainfall.
Speaking on the implications of the predictions, Professor Matazu said farmers should plant appropriate seedlings according to the predictions in order not to incur huge losses.
He said farmers should plant the seedlings that will be able to withstand the dry spell.
He explained that the: “Dry spell is not the absence of rain but a period when the rain ceases to fall within ten days or two weeks within a period of normal rainfall.
“Farmers must apply proper planning where drought-resistant seeds are planted within the period,” he advised.
“It is also important that the farmers follow all the advice and precautionary measures that NiMet offer from time to time in order to mitigate the impact of this temporary dry spell.”.
