Plateau South Farmers Raise Alarm, As Drought Hits Them, Ravaging Their Farmlands

……Calls On Gov Mutfwang, Lalong & Reps Members should come to their rescue as farmers are crying for intervention.

Yakubu Busari

Farmers in Plateau Southern Senatorial District of Plateau state are appealing to the federal and state governments to come to their rescue as drought is ravaging crops creating hunger and starvation.

At least no fewer than 2 million farmers are going to lose millions of dollars as their Plants are subjected to drought conditions as the water supply to the roots of their crops is limited and the loss of water through transpiration is very high in the 2024 farming season.

The lack of rainfalls had affected families of poor vulnerable farmers with the government yet to come.

However, this is one of the major constraints to crop production and food security worldwide, as they called on Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfwang to take decisive measures to address the plight of farmers to cushion their suffering.

The situation has aggravated due to the drastic and rapid changes in global climate. Heat and drought are undoubtedly the two most important stresses having a huge impact on the growth and productivity of the crops that spent months without rainfalls.

It is very important to understand the physiological, biochemical, and ecological interventions related to these stresses for better management Plateau Southern Senatorial District are agrarian Community seeking help.

A wide range of farmland responses to these stresses could be generalized into morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses to create hardship in the coming year with the present food insecurity experience.

According to the farmers, their crop growth and yields are negatively affected by sub-optimal water supply and abnormal temperatures due to physical damages, physiological disruptions, and biochemical changes we are helpless.

The crops are drying up due to these stresses and multi-lateral impacts and therefore, complex mechanistic action is to be taken. Appealing for a better understanding of plant responses to these stresses has pragmatic implications for remedies and management.

A comprehensive account of conventional as well as modern approaches to dealing with heat and drought stresses has also been presented here.

 A side-by-side critical discussion on salient responses and management strategies for these two important abiotic stresses provides a unique insight into the phenomena.

A holistic approach taking into account the different management options to deal with heat and drought stress simultaneously could be a win-win approach in the future.

Global food security is being haunted by the rapid increase in population and drastic changes in the climate 

In the wake of the changing climate, drought, and heat stress have become the most important limiting factors to crop productivity and ultimately food security.

 The reduced precipitation and changed rainfall patterns are causing the frequent onset of droughts around the world 

Severe droughts cause substantial decline in crop yields through negative impacts on plant growth, physiology, and reproduction.

Efforts to speak to the member Representing Langtang North/South, Hon. Bulus Vincent Venmak proved abortive as he was not picking up his calls. including Senator Simon Lalong and other key elected members from the zone.