Nigeria’s plans to expand agricultural investments to reduce importation may be threatened with the increasing rainfall and floods across the country. The country’s cocoa crop is in danger following more predictions of the raining season.
Recent weather forecast has shown that at least 32 out of 36 Nigerian states might experience a continuous heavy down pour of rain throughout the rainy season, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), said in its weather outlook for this year.
“When you have serious cases of flooding, the tree crops will be forced to accommodate more water than they can absorb,” Sani Mashi, the director general of NiMet said.
“Unlike a cereal crop like rice that can be submerged, cocoa will be seriously hampered,” He added.
The country’s cocoa farmers have lamented over the rains stating that they have found no means of getting chemical sprays to fight the fungal diseases that usually comes with this rainy seasons. Flooding leaves the crops at a risk of fungal diseases such as black pod that causes low cocoa output and quality.
This tragedy will cripple the country’s decision to expand agricultural investments to reduce importation of food that covered about $3.2 billion in 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
