FG to reduce rain-fed agriculture through irrigation
NAN-AE-5
Irrigation
By Tosin Kolade
Abuja, Sept. 28, 2016 (NAN) Mr Adeyinka Adenopo, Deputy Director, Pressurised Irrigation System, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, says the Federal Government is working toward reducing dependency on rain-fed agriculture through emphasis on irrigation.
Adenopo made this know in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said Nigeria can attain food sufficiency when it diversifies its agricultural resources, saying reducing emphasis on rain-fed agriculture would meet this target.
“For Nigeria to develop its agricultural sector she cannot continue to depend on rain-fed agriculture; we got to where we are today because we solely depended on oil, forgetting other resources.”
He said the ministry has realised that if the nation must attain food security, it must embark on deliberate measures to encourage irrigation agriculture.
He said rain water dependence would not meet the needs of agriculture in northern states, saying rainy season was usually short with little water collected.
Adenopo said embracing irrigation agriculture would also provide compensation for losses on agriculture, adding that water is constantly lost if not put into productive use.
“With irrigation agriculture, Nigeria can farm all-year round, there would be no restrictions, farming can go on, if water is readily available, all the crop needs is water and land, it will survive.”
The deputy director said Nigeria could also have repeated crop production annually with irrigation, saying this would reduce soil losses with controlled water on the soil.
He said it was saddening to note that Nigeria has 70,000 hectares of cultivated, in comparison with Brazil, Mexico, China and Senegal, which has large expanse for irrigation agriculture.
Adenopo said the country was intensifying efforts in irrigation agriculture, to boost food security and foreign exchange earnings
“As big as we are, we cannot compare ourselves with them, in Senegal, only one irrigation scheme irrigates 130,000 hectares, the whole of Nigeria is not irrigating more than 70,000 hectares.
“That is why we are intensifying efforts in irrigation scheme, so that we will be able to feed ourselves and also generate foreign earnings by exporting our crops,” he said. (NAN)
TAK/AFA
Edited by Felix Ajide
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