While some crops remain either stunted or are drying off, others risk not germinating at all.

The sun is hot these days, very hot that it is affecting both people at home and crops. While some people complain of what they say is a prolonged dry season, others believe it is intermittent rainfall that is causing untold damage to man and crops.

Until now, it was like a tradition for the planting season to begin by mid March. Even agricultural engineers have been saying so. Now, engineers and farmers alike are at a loss, given the unpredictable climatic conditions. When rain repeatedly fell last month, many farmers rushed to plant their crops in the hope that it was already rainy season. Although experts took turns to caution them to hold on, it was already too late as many had gone ahead with planting. The forceful comeback of the sun and its high intensity is now a source of great worry to farmers.

During a visit to some farms at Ahala on the outskirts of Yaounde yesterday March 28, 2012, Cameroon Tribune noticed three things; stunted maize and beans that have barely started germinating, maize leaves drying off as well as very dry farms. Even cassava that is an all-year crop is not indifferent to the scorching heat. Like in Ahala, reports from other parts of the country speak of crops surviving at the mercy of dew (light moisture) that falls at night. But the intensity of the sun quickly dries off the dew, thus rendering crop growth difficult. At Ahala, we did not meet people in the farms and passers-by said the intensity of the sun is making it difficult for farmers to carry out their work.

Even those whose farms have crops that require weeding cannot go ahead for fear of opening up the roots to burning heat. Others, who had not yet hoed their farms, find it difficult to do so, given the hard nature of the soil. While those whose crops are already growing watch helplessly as they wither under the intense heat, those who had planted and are awaiting germination are much more confused, fearing that the seeds might have dried off in the soil. While farmers pray for rain to return and save their crops from drying off, fear is rife that if the current dry spell is prolonged, it would greatly jeopardise agricultural output this year.