The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has begun a farmer-led irrigation development programme for small scale farmers to boost food production in Nigeria.
The Director General, IWMI, Mr. Marks Smith, who disclosed this on the sideline of 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage (ACRID), said the research institute has been working in Asia and African countries on water management and also supporting development of irrigation for small scale farmers.
He said so many stakeholders are of the opinion that for farmer-led irrigation programme to be successful, it is important to put farmers at the centre by making sure they have access to the best possible support services.
Smith harped on the need for farmers to be linked to provision of information and technology, access to equipment, financing that are needed to help them make the investments they need, as well as provide them with irrigation facilities that would increase their productivity, while guaranteeing markets for their produce.
While emphasizing the need for improved flood water management in the country, the IWMI DG said flood could be a blessing, as well as a disaster if not well prepared for.
According to him, there are different means farmers can adopt to effectively manage flood water, like putting in place small scale structures to capture rain water, adding flood water could also be maximised to recharge the ground water fo r later irrigation.
While saying another aspect is the development of large scale infrastructure for water storage, Smith said there is also the wetlands natural storage of water, which could be released during the course of the year through natural process.
The President of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), Dr Marco Acieri, said the conference organised by ICID is important as it highlights some of the challenges faced in Africa, saying the main issue is how to cope with the increasing demand for food, water availability or scarcity among others.
He said the conference, which had in attendance other countries like Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Niger, among others, needs to be more proactive and collaborative to tackle some of the challenges.
He said: “There has been the challenge of water scarcity and there is now a bigger challenge of food scarcity and that is why we are here to pave the way for finding lasting solutions to these challenges.”
Acieri who pointed out that Nigeria, for instance, is faced with water scarcity, said though there are several water dams, most of them have not been put in good use, adding that governance is also a big challenge.
He harped on the need for desalination of the rivers, to increase access to fresh water, saying green hydrogen can be introduced to enhance desalination.
Acieri further harped on the need to establish a strong leadership for water governance, saying this will aid proper management and maintenance and also plan for irrigation as irrigable land can be sacked up to 3.2 million hectares.
