Dry Season Farming: The Way To Go

Once again, the dry season will soon be over and another opportunity for irrigation farming will be lost. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Water Resources have undertaken to collaborate on this system of farming in order to boost agricultural production in the country. Government has therefore earmarked 230,000 hectares of land in 10 states under a pilot scheme to commence this year.

Many years ago, dry season or irrigation farming had seen farmers boosting agricultural production greatly, providing food year round at reasonable prices. This was seen especially in states such as Kano with its then famous Kadawa Irrigation Project. However, over the years, the interest in large-scale irrigation farming seemed to have waned as state governments, especially in the northern part of the country, began to neglect the agricultural sector. Many farmers in those states now simply wait, once the rainy season is over, and there is a lull in activities until the next rainy season. This should not be so. States must realise the potential in possibly doubling agricultural production using irrigation systems. Once the farmers are able to achieve year-round production, there would expectedly be employment generation and wealth creation. The increased income they would generate would also be, for many, the beginning of the end of poverty.

Some states have, however, been making great strides towards establishing dry season farming on a large scale within their domains. While some are setting aside millions of naira for lending to farmers for this type of farming, others are spending much more on developing irrigation facilities across their states. Indeed, the proposed collaboration of the two ministries will go a long way in providing support to these states whose farmers are probably eager to undertake irrigation farming.

To ensure the success of the proposed intervention, the two ministries must work together with the state governments in whose territory the land has been earmarked. This will, apart from getting the commitment of the state governments, ensure the support of local communities.

Nevertheless, we commend the initiative of the two ministries and believe that, if pursued vigorously, irrigation farming would be the impetus needed to increase food production to appreciable levels. Only then can we genuinely begin to envisage self-reliance in feeding ourselves, record real achievement in food security, generate wealth, and reduce unemployment especially in the poverty- and strife-stricken states of northern Nigeria.

We therefore call on the various state governments to take the offer of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture beyond political rhetoric and collaborate with it to invest in this sector for the sake of the Nigerian people.

- Leadership

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