No rain for harvest: Dry spell traps groundnut farmers in Nabdam

Groundnut farmers in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region are facing the prospect of losing substantial quantities of their produce as a prolonged dry spell hardens the soil, making it increasingly difficult and expensive to harvest their crops.

The situation has left many farmers stranded on their farmlands, with some resorting to the use of water to soften the soil to enable them to uproot their mature groundnuts buried beneath the hardened earth.

Although the farmers say this year’s farming season has produced encouraging yields, they fear that the absence of rainfall at the critical harvesting stage could turn what promised to be a rewarding season into a financial nightmare.

A visit by the Daily Graphic to some farming communities, including Zanlerigu, Gane, Kusalilaboug, Gane-Zoore and Dagliga in the district, revealed the extent of the difficulties confronting the farmers, with several farmlands appearing parched.

At Zanlerigu, farmers were seen repeatedly striking the hardened ground with hoes to loosen the soil before attempting to uproot the groundnuts.

The exercise was laborious and time-consuming, as the dry soil resisted the traditional harvesting process, which requires some moisture to make the ground sufficiently soft for easy uprooting.

At Gane and other communities, the situation was no different, as some farmers had resorted to using water to irrigate portions of their farms to make it easier to harvest their produce.

The farmers said the situation was particularly worrying because the groundnuts were mature and ready for harvesting, but the prevailing soil conditions were making it difficult to retrieve them from the ground.

A groundnut farmer at Zanlerigu, Goubagre Sampana, said the major challenge confronting groundnut farmers this year was not production but the difficulty of harvesting their crops.

“In this particular year, almost all those who went in for groundnut farming will agree with me that there is a high yield, but how to harvest it is the big problem we are all facing.

I don’t think it will be possible for all of us to harvest our produce if there is no rain at this immediate moment,” he said.

Mr Sampana explained that irregular rainfall patterns at the beginning of the season had delayed planting, resulting in the crops maturing at a time when the rains had ceased.

“The rain patterns this year were unpredictable and so we sowed late.

That is why we could not harvest early, and now that the groundnuts are ready for harvest, there is no rain.

This is really difficult for us because it is not possible to pay labourers throughout, say, on a 15-acre farm, and make a profit in the end,” he added.

Another 71-year-old woman farmer, Awumgaat Atidoug, said she was already battling animals destroying her crops and that it was not possible for her to harvest all the groundnuts on her four-acre farm.

“People have released their animals, and they are all over my farm at night.

Pigs are destroying my groundnuts, and there is little I can do.

For now, I don’t think the rain will come, and I don’t have money to hire labourers.

So, when I harvest and i am tired, I will leave the rest,” she stated.

For many farmers, the problem has been compounded by the cost of hiring labourers, with the hardened soil significantly reducing the quantity of groundnuts that can be harvested in a day.

Awumgaat Atidoug, a 71-year–old groundnut farmer, at her farm in Zanlerigu

Mr Gideon Kurug, a groundnut farmer at Gane, said it cost GH¢70 to hire a labourer for a day, but the prevailing soil conditions made the investment uneconomical.

“Even if you engage 10 labourers, there is no guarantee that they will be able to harvest one bag of groundnuts in a day because of the difficulty in uprooting the crops.

Given that a labourer at this time is paid GH¢70 a day, it is not economically wise to engage labourers because a bag costs less than GH¢700 at the moment,” he explained.

He said the situation had placed farmers in a dilemma, as abandoning the crops could result in losses, while spending more money on labour without corresponding output could erode their expected profits.

“It is even more challenging for those of us who have invested our limited resources in cultivating several acres of groundnuts, expecting to recoup our investments through the sale of the produce,” he said.

A groundnut farmer in the Kugsablabuk community, George Naoh, said he was uncertain whether he could harvest all his produce without rainfall, given the financial difficulties associated with purchasing water and engaging labourers.

“If I say I can harvest all my produce without rain, I will be lying. It is not possible because I do not have funds to employ labourers, and a 200-litre drum of water costs GH¢25. My family and I can only do a little without rain,” he said.

He expressed concern that continued delays in harvesting could expose the mature groundnuts to destruction by free-ranging pigs, which farmers said had been released into the farms.

The situation has heightened concerns among farmers who depend on groundnut cultivation as an important source of household income and livelihood.

For the farmers, the concern goes beyond the immediate harvesting difficulties.

Failure to recover their produce could translate into reduced household incomes, financial losses and difficulties in preparing for the next farming season.

As the dry spell persists, anxiety continues to mount among the farmers, many of whom fear that their investments could go to waste if the rains do not return soon.