Farmers in the Sissala enclave are crying over delayed and irregular rainfall patterns, which is adversely affecting the healthy growth of their crops. They expressed fears of imminent hunger if the situation does not change to improve plant growth. The Ghana News Agency (GNA) went to some communities in the Sissala East, Sissala West and Wa East districts, which are the granary for maize production to interact with farmers over the inadequate rainfall that had characterised this year's farming season. The prolonged dry spell, which almost caused a drought, has left crops, especially maize fields, drying up, withering and wilting away. Overall, these irregular rainfall patterns have caused real agony for many farmers, especially smallholder farmers, as they tried to recover from the huge cost of the farm inputs associated with maize and soya production. The cultivation of these crops has become the livelihood of the youth, women and families of the affected areas. At Tumu, Madam Damata Issifu, a woman f armer, said the irregular rainfall patterns had damaged over 30 acres of her farm. 'The rains generally have not been heavy this year, some of my maize farms have changed colour even though I applied fertilizer, others have started tussling when they don't appear fully grown, even if the rains continue this way there may be famine,' she said. Mr Mustapha Gilbert, another farmer, complained that, 'It's so disheartening, all the planted crops have not germinated well and we are just looking on helplessly, some of the maize plants are now drying up, all the fertilizer we applied several days ago are all lying under the plants, they can't dissolve, because there's no rain'. Mr Jamakia Umar from Jawia, who planted 15- acres of maize said: 'The effect has been so much on corn, they are drying up, and it's difficult to even look at the crops.' The less rains have destroyed all the crops, they have all died so we just stay at home every day since without the rains there is virtually nothing to go to the farms and do'. At Bugubelle, Mr Ali Kanyan said: 'My maize have started tussling and the rains have stopped, I feel very pained when I go to the farm, I have stopped going to the farm since the rainfall has stopped, it begun with the time of planting, it came quite late and was irregular, we don't know what to do now'. At Welembelle, Mr Dimah Jonas, who conducted the GNA around some farms revealed a situation of several large tracts of farmlands mostly maize that had started to tussle and have waited for the rain in the last 20 days but none had come. 'Farmers have given up all hope and look stranded. Even if it rains now the earlier crops, especially maize, cannot regain strength to come back, they look weak and dry, almost burnt by the sun.' At Funsi in the Wa East District, Mr Deibini Iddrisi Barforkor, who has been farming for over 40 years, said: 'It has not rained for more than three weeks and counting . The fertilizer we applied is turning the crops yellowish and we have begun to count our losses.' Mr Shaib u Dimah Joseph, a farmer activist from Bujan advocated irrigation schemes to help farmers. Mr Mahama Salifu, the Sissala East Municipal Director of Agriculture, in an interview described the situation as worrying. He said a report had been sent to the Ministry as some communities had gone more than four weeks without rainfall, which they longer consider a dry spell. In an interview with the GNA, Madam Francisca Martey, Head of Forecasting, Ghana Meteorological Services Agency, said in the early part of the year, the Agency sensitised farmers on the forecasted long dry spell from July but did not expect it to go into August where much rainfall was expected. She appealed to farmers to consider irrigation farming with underground water in partnership with other stakeholders. Source : Ghana News Agency