COPING WITH DROUGHT

Drought is a word that invokes strong emotions, principal among which are fear and panic. This is not surprising as the phenomenon is usually accompanied by a number of unpleasant developments such as famine, massive population movement, misery and, in extreme cases, death. These developments have implications for all Africans, starting from the peasant farmers, who stand to be transformed from subsistence agricultural producers into resourcesless consumers,to the state and federal governments which may be plunged into emergency and crisis situations which, if not successfully managed, could result in social unrest.
Since large areas of the country are drought prone, the consequences of these inevitable dry spells could be very severe. Because the effects of drought usually linger on, the impact of a drought on national development would be felt for years. One has to do with emergency measures and the other with routine measures. The emergency measures will involve mechanism designed to manage the immediate consequences of the drought when it occurs. An immediate consequences of any drought would be famine. In addition where whole population are forced to abandon their lands or pastures in search of food, there are bound to be other lasting and parallel consequences such as distress, sale of cattle by livestock owners in order to buy food, and abandonment of farming tools, and other farm equipment. Even if they do not move, farmers who are in distress are likely to consume the seed they should have set aside for the next sowing and sell their valuables in order to purchase consumption goods.
But the fact is that these emergency measures will be much more effective if a mechanism is also established to ensure adequate preparedness and defense against the occurrence of drought. The government should, therefore, be able to handle routine matters concerning preparation and defense against the occurrence of drought. In this regard, there should be a checklist of action plans against drought outcomes drawn up in advance and a permanent national drought relief fund for use whenever a drought occurs. In addition, measures should be taken to establish and maintain staple food stocks against emergencies. Similarly, emergency stocks of seed and farm tools would need to be organized for each of the zones.

Comments

Natural soil

Natural soils are influenced by rainfall and temperature,heavy rain causes the soil to become leached. High temperatures increase the rate of decomposition of organic matter in the soil, thereby lowering its humus content. Thus, climatic conditions tend to produce poor soils in the tropics and rich soils in the temperate regions. Besides climate and vegetation, the parent rock material also contributes to the quality of the soil. For example volcanic rocks tend to produce fertile soils. Laterite, a red soil which is a product of leaching, is commonly found in the tropics. It is composed mainly of iron and aluminium compounds,and poor in humus and essential plant nutrients, such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The black and brown soil of the temperate grasslands are the world's richest soils, with a high mineral and humus content. The light coloured desert soils tend to be very rich in minerals but have a low humus content. Mainly the soils ar...

Rock Formation

A rock may be defined as a hard compact mass made up of cluster of primary or secondary minerals. The primary minerals are those that are as they were made in nature. Some of them are Quartz, Olivine, Pyroxene, Hornblende, Biotite, Muscovite and feldspar. On the other hand, secondary minerals consists of particles worn out from original minerals which have combined with other elements. They exist in form of: (i) Oxide such as those of magnesium, Iron and Aluminum. (ii) Sulphates and carbonates of Iron, Magnesium and Calcium. (iii) Clay minerals such as the silicate clays and the hydrous Oxide. TYPES OF ROCKS (i) Igneous rock (ii) sedimentary rock (iii) Metamorphic rock. Based on their chemical composition, we have basic and acidic rocks. Granite is a very good example of an acid rock. PROCESSES OF ROCK FORMATION IGNEOUS ROCK :This is formed through the process of cooling and hardening of the molten magma. This molten magna is confined deep down below the earth crust und...

Tin ore

Tin ore and columbite are two minerals that co-occur in the form of heavy black grains like gunpowder, mixed with sand and gravel. They are deposited in alluvial beds of old river valleys and subsequently buried under layers of soil overburden. The ore is mined by the open cast method. To do this, a powerful machine called a dragline is used to first remove the overburden, and then to scoop out the tin ore which it piles in heaps called a monitor is used to direct a powerful jet of water to this tin wash, which washes it down through a series of sluice boxes. Here, the black, heavy tin grains together with other minerals like columbite, now called tin concentrates, sink to the bottom of the boxes, while the water carries the dirt and sand away. At this stage, the columbite grains are separated from the pure tin concentrates. The concentrates are then sent to factories to be smelted refined and moulded in bars called tin ingots. It is in the form of either ...

Newsflashtalk.com Lifestyle, learning, health and food.

Search This Blog