Climate change responsible for decline in crop production – expert
Crop
Maureen Ojinaka
Enugu, Oct. 15, 2019 (NAN) An Environmentalist, Mr Nnamdi Arun on Tuesday said climate change had led to a considerable decline in crop production.
Arun, who is the Director of Climate Change, Enugu State Ministry of Environment, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu.
He said that climate change, which was the result of increased harsh weather conditions and high gas emission into the environment were reasons for the decline of crop production.
According to him, some local fruits have gone into extinction due to the effect of climate change and emission of gas into the environment.
“Many local fruits which we ate in the early 70s had gone into extinction while some are now grown in small quantities.
“This is as a result of harsh weather and man-made problem such as emission of gas into the air.
“These days, you hardly perceive the aroma of fruits such as oranges, mangoes, cashew and pear among others when someone is eating them close by.
“But in those days, the aroma of any kind of fruits was usually perceived while being eaten,’’ he said.
To minimise the adverse effect of the climate change on crop production, the director said there should be an improvement in water conservation and the use of an efficient irrigation system in addition to application of fertiliser.
Arun said that the diversification of crops and improved pest management should help to reduce the impacts of climatic threat in crop production.
He said that reliable local weather information and early warning systems for farmers could be useful in minimising risks of climatic threats to crop production. (NAN)
OJI/AIB/GY
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Edited by Abdulfatah Babatunde/Grace Yussuf