Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has been identified as the key that would unlock the full agricultural potential of the river basins in Nigeria and their capacity to create millions of jobs, stakeholders say.
According to them, the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) have failed to effectively and efficiently harness the country’s water resources to boost agricultural productivity through irrigation farming.
Most of the basins which supposed to have engendered big plantation farming are operating below their capacities, according to experts.
“There is need for public private partnership for effective use of our river basins. Government needs to collaborate with large agricultural associations to ensure that we obtain the full potentials of our river basins,” said AfricaFarmer Mogaji, chief executive officer, X-ray Farms Consulting, in a telephone response to questions.
“Nigerians have really not paid attention to river basins facilities and it is the way to go if we really want to make agriculture a profitable,” Mogaji said.
He also stressed the need for integration between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the River Basin Authorities, stating that the ministry does not identify the RBDAs as part of them.
The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), quoting report of a working document prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on the “Need and Justification of Irrigation Development,” said a projected population of 238 million was assumed for Nigeria in 2025, and 48 million hectares of potential rain-fed land and at least 2 million to 3.7 million hectares of potential irrigable land.
But recent report shows that only one million hectares of land is under irrigation in Nigeria.
The public-private partnership of the river basins, which experts are advising has the possibility of adding another one million hectares of irrigable land to attain the minimum two million hectares. Therefore, the operational 11 RBDAs with irrigation facilities could further boost the national food output.
Segun Adenigbagbe, a graduate of accounting, runs a farming business at one of the RBDAs, said: “I started farming business three years ago with N180,000. Irrigation farming is a good idea which gives opportunity to Nigerians to do off-season farming.”
“Majority farmers have stopped using river basin facility because of the challenges they face in getting their crops to be irrigated at least two to three times a week. The officials always complain about insufficient fund to buy diesel to pump the water,” Adenigbagbe said.
“For instance, the crops have not been irrigated in a week, something that should be watered daily but we understand that the scarcity of funds is not from them but the ministry of agric,” he added.
An industry watcher, who spoke anonymously, said the river basins were set up with the plan of handle them over to networks of farmers using the land.
“This has not been implemented even more than 30 years after establishment, and that this may not be unrelated to the fact that allocations are provided by the Federal Government for the running of these RBDA annually and there are government officials who will continue to oppose the handing over of the RBDAs to the private sector, he said.
The river basins in Nigeria includes upper Benue basin, Lake Chad basin, Benin-Owena basin, Sokoto-Rima Basin, Hadejia-Jema’are basin, Cross River basin, lower Benue basin, upper Niger basin, and lower Niger Basin.
Others are, Ogun-Oshun basin, Anambra-Imo basin, and Niger Delta basin.
Josephine Okojie
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