Farmers in Kwara State have expressed their worries over the delay in the commencement of this year's rainfall, saying that the development has adversely affected their farming activities.

Some of the farmers who spoke with Daily Trust in Ilorin, the state capital, said they were praying fervently for rain to fall, adding that no serious farming activity could be carried out without regular rainfall. Chairman of Cassava Growers' Association in the state, Engr. Gabriel Fashanu, said crops were affected by the delayed rainfall.

He said that the "the absence of rain is delaying our operation," adding that "we are praying that it doesn't take too much again before it falls."

Fashanu noted that the development was a lesson to farmers and government to always be prepared for unplanned events.

According to him, the government should revive the strategic grains reserve programme where grains will be stored and made available for people during scarcity.

He said that doing so would go a long way in preventing the incidence of skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs.

Also speaking, Malam Yusuf Onimago, a maize grower, stated that no farmer in the state has planted maize as a result of the delay in rainfall.

Onimago, who is the president of New Face Group, the second set of graduands from Malete Youth Integrated Training Farm Centre, noted that the shortage of rainfall can affect the growth of soya beans.

He said: "We are waiting for weather to change before we can do any meaningful thing, especially for those of us who plant maize"

Daily Trust correspondent reports that the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) has predicted that rain would commence late and cease early in 2015.

This has created a challenge for farmers who used to depend largely on the natural rainfall to aid the growth of their crops.

Based on this prediction, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has advised farmers to adjust their activities in view of the current climatic reality.

Head, Minna Operations Office of NEMA, Mr. Slaku Lugard Bijimi, said: "NIMET is saying that the rain will start late and end early. Farmers are supposed to be aware of this so that they don't plant crops that are supposed to stay for too long before they mature for harvest. Once you do that, by the time the rain ceases, you have lost almost everything.

"I know that in Niger, the rains just started, and there has been heat. That is the prediction, the rain would start late and it would cease early," he said.