Inadequate Irrigation Facilities Threatening Nigeria’s Food Security Efforts.
Inadequate irrigation to boost agricultural production in Nigeria is now a challenge to the attainment of food security as highlighted by farmers who are pushing for increased investment in the facilities to improve their produce all-year-round.
Nigeria’s total landmass is 923,768 km² and a 2016 World Bank report on development indicators notes that 718,137 square km, representing 77.74 percent is cultivable.
Regrettably, only one percent of this huge cropland is currently irrigated and this is limiting farmers to cultivating their fields only during the rainy season. This also leaves the farmers and the food-insecure populations vulnerable to the changing and unpredictable climate.
The federal government in the 2021 budget estimates proposed N153 billion for the Ministry of Water Resources for the construction of irrigation and dams across the country. This amount, if it is not reduced by the National Assembly, can only produce 80,314 professionally-installed lawn irrigation systems which cost N1.9 million for a typical half an acre lot. This is inadequate to service 718,137 square km and over 200 million population.
This deficiency in the country’s agricultural system is brought to the fore by the current ban on importation of food into the country, coupled with Climate Change that now has shown that the current system of farming cannot produce enough to meet the needs of man and livestock.
Nigerian farming system is largely dependent on rain-fed cultivation and this has made the country’s agriculture sector incapable of meeting the demands of the over 200 million Nigerian population owing to chronic under-investment in agriculture.
Farming with Irrigated systems double crop yields or more than rain-fed yields and tapping into the irrigation potential is essential for boosting the continent’s agricultural productivity which currently ranks the lowest in the world according to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute, (IFRRI) on Irrigated Africa.
Not surprisingly, Nigeria is not alone in this challenge, according to a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) study, which noted that Irrigation is a challenge in the continent and that 60 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s rural population require increased water investment.
In contrast, however, not all countries of Africa under-utilise irrigation. The continent boasts of 13,400 hectares of irrigation-equipped land and Two-thirds of this is concentrated in just five countries, namely Egypt, Morocco, and Sudan in the Northern part and, also Madagascar and South Africa.
Unlike Sub-Saharan Africa where only 4 percent of the land is irrigated, 28 percent of northern Africa’s cultivated land is irrigated.
To drive home the economic implication of irrigation and its impact on food production in the Agriculture System, a truck of maize which hitherto cost Local Feed producers N12 million now go for N15 million. Currently, in the market, a sachet of tomato has increased from N50 to N100. while a bundle of vegetables that was N50 now go for N100
“To achieve food security, there is a need for interventions across the various sector, and also an increased investment in water supply which is currently an issue, especially as the world is experiencing Climate Change”, said Bola Oyeleke, the Founder, Tomatoes and Orchard Association of Nigeria, (TOPAN).
He explained that the ban on importation including food items by the Federal Government has exposed the low capacity of the country at producing foods to feed its citizen.
“In the past, we used to import tomatoes, among other food products from Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon to augment our food needs, now those markets are inaccessible and we are faced with food inflation “, Oyeleke noted.
Corroborating him, a Poultry Feed distributor, Bolaji Ogundele said the crisis in the poultry sector is traceable to the low food production in the country.
” We do not produce enough for consumption let alone value-addition. We rely on maize from neighboring countries, and the current import restrictions are huge effect on consumers”.
Complaints by both Oyeleke and Ogundele show the need to expand the country’s irrigation systems to reduce the impact of droughts that have contributed to widespread famine in the past and extending the productive planting season.
By 2030, World crop production is estimated to rise annually by about 1.3 percent and 0.8 percent from 2030 to 2050. Regionally, food production in developing countries is expected to rise slightly faster compared to developed countries at 1.5 percent a year from 2005 to 2030, and 0.9 percent a year over 2030 to 50. However, these estimates are based on an assessment of increased production capacity to respond to effective demand.
Oyeleke explained that immediate intervention is generally required for farmers’ productivity in the country, and Irrigation is a crucial segment. ” Many farmers have suffered losses during the lockdown, inflation has also set in on seeds. All these have affected the finances of the farm and farmers as our production capacity has reduced. The typical embattled yam farmer is harvesting stunted yam produce due to a shortage of water. To top it all, we are experiencing dry spells during the rainy season due to Climate Change. Investment in this sector will boost the farmers’ yield, availability of food products, and ultimately food security in the country. “”
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