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ANALYSIS: Preserving rainwater for all-season farming

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Farming activities resume in Jigawa

Agriculturalists note that water remains cardinal to farming but they observe that farming somewhat relies on rainwater in Nigeria, especially among subsistent farmers.

According to them, rain then remains a crucial factor for improving agricultural productivity in the country in that regard, thriving only in rainy seasons.

To achieve all season farming in the country and fight hunger, agricultural scientists therefore, solicit technology for preserving rain water for the purpose of using it for irrigation in dry season.

They note that rain water harvesting technology will improve agricultural sector and boost the public interest in farming.

“As the country is looking forward to diversifying the nation’s economy from oil to agriculture, this approach will not be out of place.

“It will provide the needed water for agriculture and develop new knowledge and skills among Nigerians,’’ Mr Moses Beckley, the Director-General, Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) said.

He advised Nigerians to take advantage of the rainy season to harvest rain water and store for future to boost agriculture.

“Water is vital to sustainable development, socio-economic development, healthy ecosystems, green economy development, as well as for human survival; the preservation of water is a renewable source of livelihood if well managed,’’ he said.

Beckley, who observed that Nigeria depended on rain-fed agriculture practice, advised that harvesting rain water and retaining it in the artificial lakes would encourage all-year-round farming activities.

“I think we should take the advantage of rainy season to harvest water rather than having negative perception that it causes flooding.

“I am appealing to relevant authorities, both federal and state governments, to identify locations where they could have some artificial lakes whereby this water could be routed into for storage.

“Rain is like food; and we need the water, we know that the rain does not fall throughout the whole year; it’s seasonal and it is the same with cropping.

“When you plant crops and you have so much harvest, the first thing that comes to your mind is how do to keep or preserve some till the next season, we can also do with rainwater,’’ Beckley said.

Corroborating this viewpoint, Dr Eduno Eduno, a geologist, observed that effect of climate change in a global weather system had disrupted the rainfall patterns and there must be a method of preserving the rain water.

“Rain water harvesting approach as it falls and retaining it in the artificial lakes, dams, wetlands, soil or tanks below ground could serve as a solution to recharge underground water aquifer for farming system,’’ Eduno said.

In apparent reaction to this, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the Federal Government would develop more than 10 earth dams in every state of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to preserve rain water.

At a recent event in Abuja where he presented a roadmap to promote agriculture policy (2016-2020), he said the aim of the project was to sustain water so that whether rain or not, the country would be able to produce food.

“For the nation to be able to feed itself, all hands must be on deck to ensure all-round season farming through irrigation,’’ Ogbe said.

Speaking at the same event, Mr Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Federal Ministry of Water Resources, said the ministry, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, would develop dams across the country to store rain water.

Similarly, Mr Emmanuel Ikon, a former official in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Akwa Ibom, observed that preserved rain water was one of the promising ways of supplementing the surface and underground scarce water resources.

He added that the method was fundamental in areas where existing water supply system was inadequate to meet agricultural demand.

“For a sustainable agriculture, especially in the northern part of Nigeria, rain water harvesting is an option for dry land agriculture in arid and semi-arid areas.

“Water is essential to life and a foundation for social economic development of any country; rain water harvesting is not a new concept in water resources management.

“It has been in existence for a long period of time before the advent of large scale public water systems.

“Rain water harvesting is being encouraged and promoted in China, Brazil, Australia, India and even Zimbabwe, among others,’’ he said.

He recalled that the potential of rain water harvesting for improved crop production received great attention in the sub-Sahara Africa in 1970s and 1980s.

Ikon explained that this was due to the widespread droughts in Africa which left a trail of crop failures and a serious threat to human and livestock life.

“Domestic rain water harvesting activities, using above and below ground storage, has been promoted in Botswana since the late 1960s.

“In Zimbabwe, a few non-governmental organisations have successfully introduced rain water harvesting for crop production with small farmers in a few pilot areas,’’ he said.

Ikon expressed optimism that harvesting rain water at the period of rain for storage could complement available water source for sustainable agricultural practices in the country if effectively harnessed.

In the same vein, Mrs Esther Andrew, an agriculturalist, said if Nigerians engaged in this technology and if adequate sensitisation was carried out to educate Nigerians on it, the country would a great harvest.

According to her, high water loss on ground through discharge can be recharged with the presence of water reservoir through harvesting and storing of rain water during rainy season, especially in drought-prone areas of the country.

Soliciting the reality of the technology, a farmer, Mr Adamu Mamud, said: “I find it difficult to farm in my locality during dry season due to dryness of the grounds at that period because there is nothing like dams there.’’

He said the use of preserved rain water would serve as a supplementary source of water for the local farmers during dry season farming.

All in all, stakeholders advise the Federal Government, state governments and local governments to develop a mean of channelling the preserved rain water to various parts of the country, especially the northern part of the country, to sustain farming activities during dry season.

 

NAN

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