Reducing the cost of irrigation farming By Vincent A. Yusuf & Safina Buhari | Publish Date: Mar 30 2017 2:00AM

Motorised pivot distributing water to the crops at the Gurara irrigation farm in Kaduna State


Irrigation farming allows a nation to produce food all year round thereby doubling the amount of food produced.


However, despite the enormous available potential, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said 80 percent of farmland worldwide is not irrigated.


High cost of irrigation equipment, ineffective and wasteful irrigation techniques have made efficient irrigation difficult for many farmers across sub-Saharan Africa.


The state of Nigeria irrigation schemes


Nigeria has huge potentials for irrigation with dam projects spread all over the country. However, most of the dams - the ones that government has invested on - are either abandoned for years or are less than 50% utilised.


Professor Ibrahim Umar Abubakar, Director, Institute for Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, who is also an irrigation expert, shared his thoughts in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust.


“Go to any irrigation scheme like the Hadeja-Jama’are river project, the utilisation of the project is just about 50% and this is an irrigation project that is driven by gravity -you don’t have to buy any fuel to pump in water,” he said.





The Zobe dam in Dutsin-Ma in Katsina, which was constructed 40 years ago has very little irrigation activities going on there - the dam, water, everything is there unutilised. At the Jibiya dam also in Katsina State, the utilisation is no more than 40%.









Also, at the Bakolori Irrigation dam at Talata Mafara in Zamfara State, under the Sokoto Rima Water Project established during the Shagari regime, the area cultivated is not commensurate with the amount of water in the dam.


The Doma dam in Nasarawa State under the Lower Benue River Basin Authority is similarly underutilized.




Cost of Irrigation





Professor Abubakar stressed that the cost of irrigation is high if dams are driven by pumps. The Jibiya dam for example is not gravity based irrigation, it is pump-based, water has to be pumped by


big diesel-driven pumps such that every day the irrigation managers have to buy diesel to be able to pump water to farmers.


“This pump-based irrigation requires a lot of money to buy diesel and you know diesel in this country is very expensive,” the expert noted.


How government can design cost effective irrigation scheme


The IAR director, who has worked as expert on irrigation for many years, suggested that to reduce the cost of irrigation, the design of irrigation dams should be gravity-based so that water can flow by gravity, adding that “you don’t have to buy pumps and diesel to pump the water.”


The other way to reduce the cost of irrigation is to reduce the cost of diesel itself.


“In other countries where development is the goal of government, where government is thinking of agriculture, diesel is always half the cost of petrol. In Saudi Arabia for example, diesel is half the cost of petrol. In many other countries, the cost of diesel is always lower than the cost of petrol – do you know why - diesel is used in transporting goods and if the cost of goods is low, the economy will be better.


“Diesel is used in all agricultural heavy machinery - tractors, caterpillars - all heavy machinery. So if the cost of diesel is improved, the economy will improve,” he said.


He noted that farmers using irrigation will fare better because the cost of diesel is low and the cost of irrigation will naturally come down.


How farmers can reduce costs in their farms


Professor Abubakar, advised that another way farmers can reduce the cost of irrigation is to adopt ‘Deficit Irrigation,’ which ensures that you irrigate only at the time the crop needs water. “You just timed the critical period of water needs and irrigate only on those times. In this case, you minimize the number of irrigation you give to your crops and still achieve high yield.”


He stressed that the concept of deficit irrigation needs to be propagated to farmers because “our farmers have the tendencies to irrigate all the time. They believed that more water means more yield, which is not correct.


“The concept of more water, more yield is not correct, because if you over irrigate, it will even bring about reduction in the yield. Irrigation scheduling concept should be propagated to the farmers so that a farm should be irrigated only when the crop needs it.”


The researcher worried that most times when farmers see water, they irrigate, pointing out that the high frequency of irrigation also contributes to the high cost of irrigation.

Olam Farms engages locals as rice harvest begins

Rice Combined Harvester at work in the farm at Ondorie, Rukubi, Nasarawa State

Olams Rice Farms, producers of Mama’s Pride and Chef’s Choice Rice, has commenced harvest in its dry season rice farming circle.


A total number of 11 combined harvesters and one splitter harvest machine were deployed for the harvest.


The number of hi-tech machines deployed did not, however, stop the farm from engaging over 600 seasonal workers from the host communities to participate in the exercise, General Manager of the farm, Mr. Pieter Nel, said.


Out of the 12,920 hectares, being the total area of the farm, the dry season rice farm, according to the farm officers, sits on 3,000 hectares with each yielding an unprecedented 4.2 to 4.5 tonnes.


This is far above the national yield per hectare which is currently put at between 1.3 and 1.8 tonnes.


Mr. Pieter Nel told newspaper editors, who were at the farm to witness the harvest, that the high yield per hectare recorded in the farm was due to some best farming practices used in them.


Some of the practices, he said, were the raising of the soil standard to meet the rice varieties, which he stated, was done after series of soil tests in different laboratories.


The practices, he said, also included using appropriate technology, including aircraft for the seedlings, application of fertilizers as well as spraying of insecticides on the farm, when necessary.


The farm manager, Mr. Mark Mclean, who conducted the editors round the farm, said 1400 hectares would be added to the 3,000 already in use for the forthcoming rain-fed season, which would increase the hectarage to 4,400.


The farm manager said four varieties of rice – Faro 44, C90, C20 and L34 were planted and that they all gave the expected high yields, adding that the farm is currently studying over 100 other varieties with a view to adopt some.


Speaking on the irrigation activities in the farm, the Farm Manager, said water is channeled from River Benue using five submersible pumps with each capable of pumping 5,000 cubic metres per second to the farm for its dry season farming.


“Because of this, we have the capacity to farm two times in a year, producing 4.2 tons per hectares and we have 3,000 hectares for the dry season and planning 4,400 hectares for this coming wet season,” he said.


He, however, said the farm could not still produce the needed paddy for its milling plant, also located within the farm.


“We have about 6,000 out growers from where we buy paddy but they are still not enough and we have to augment from the open markets,’’ he said.


At the milling plant, the Director Quality Assurance, Madan Sigh, said the company attached much importance to the quality and safety of its rice and therefore do not use chemical indiscriminately during production.


“We conduct relevant analysis to ensure that our rice is safe and meet the nutritional values,’’ he added.


The General Manager had earlier told the journalists that their milling plant has 105,000 milling capacity.


On their social responsibilities to the host communities, the Farm’s Community Relations Manager, Abubakar Ogashuwa, said the farm created access roads to link up the six host communities around the farm, provide the communities with solar power, built boreholes in each of the communities, construct block of six classrooms for their school as well as introduced scholarship for their children in the school


He said the farm was also in constant meeting with herders to avoid crises that could come up through invasion of the farm by their animals.


Some of the locals, who spoke with Daily Trust, said the farm had been relating well with its host communities.


“Apart from providing us with some facilities, they also allow us to fish inside their farm. However, we will continue to demand for more but for now, they are doing well with us,” one of the residents told Daily Trust.


Olam’s Vice President, Corporate and Government

Edo clears 1000 hectares land for maize farming

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State


Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has inaugurated 1,000 hectares of cleared field for maize production in Sobe Farm Settlement of Owan West Local Government of the state.


Speaking during the inauguration, Obaseki said the maize cultivation, which could directly empower 200 agripreneurs, was part of his administration’s accelerated agriculture initiative to create jobs in the state.


He explained that the first phase of the initiative would target job creation for 1,000 farmers through the cultivation of 5,000 hectares of maize farms across the councils in the state.


“Today is the first step towards actualising the 200,000 jobs promised by my administration. If we invest in agriculture, we can do more than 200,000 jobs in Edo and Nigeria as a whole,” he said.


He observed that land preparation was a major challenge in the state, adding that the initiative was to make land preparation easy for farmers.


He added that the initiative was in partnership with Saro AgroSciences ltd, which would provide technical support for the programme.


On his part, the Group Managing Director of Saro AgroSciences, Mr Oluwole Adeyegbe, said the scheme targeted a minimum of four metric tonnes of maize yield per hectare, which would be bought directly from the farmers.


He said the company was also collaborating with the state government for the second phase of the initiative, which would feature the use of green house and Cocoa Yield Enhancement Programme.

RMRDC revives Kenaf production, gives seeds to farmers

From left: Dr. J. A. Adetumbi of IAR&T, Ibadan; Malam Musa Labaran, Vice President, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Association of Nigeria (FACAN), Hassan Abubakar, National President, Kenaf Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (KEPPMAN); Dr. Dan’Azumi Ibrahim, Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Christine Sunkur, National Women Leader, KEPPMAN and Dr. A. A. Ogunwusi, Director, Agro and Agro Allied Department, RMRDC.

The Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC)-an agency of the Federal Government, which promotes the production of crops of strategic importance to the economy, is now reviving kenaf production.

Last week, the agency gathered kenaf farmers, processors and marketers and gave them improved seeds for the 2017 planting season, in a ceremony held in Abuja.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the council, Dr Hussain Doko Ibrahim, said kenaf was capable of revolutionizing the Nigerian agricultural and industrial landscape if its potentials were well harnessed.

“One of the major industrial uses of kenaf, which Nigeria is presently most concerned, is the production of jute sacks for packaging agro raw materials for exports. In view of the collapse of the national initiative on the jute sacks production locally, the current jute sacks requirement in the country is estimated at about 5 million pieces,” he said.

Represented by Dr A A. Ogunwusi, the Director, Agriculture & Agro Allied Department of the council, he said the import costs about N2.75 billion in foreign exchange on annual basis, adding that the situation has forced commodity exporters to import second hand jute sacks from Ghana.

This, he said, necessitated the council’s intervention in growing kenaf, which is a raw material for the jute bags industries in the country.

“To promote sustainability of improved planting materials, the council in collaboration with the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training IAR&T, Ibadan, this year produced improved kenaf seeds, which are being distributed today to the members of Kenaf Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (KEPPMAN) for further multiplication,” he stated.

Currently, Nigeria has over one million hectares of land for the cultivation of kenaf in about 18 states of the federation-Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, Plateau, Kwara, Kaduna, Benue, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and the FCT.

Other areas of intervention by the council include establishment of a pilot kenaf farms and processing centres in Oyo and Niger states in 2012 and 2014 respectively; multi-locational-field trials of improved kenaf seeds through IAR&T Ibadan; design and fabrication of kenaf decorticating machines at Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, among other areas.

Reacting to the development, National President of Kenaf Producers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (KEPPMAN), Hassan Abubakar, in an exclusive interview with Daily Trust, said the gesture was a welcome development, adding that the association now had improved seed for multiplication and distribution to other farmers.

Apostle Kunle Amosu, the National Secretary of the association, however, worried that kenaf could be cultivated in commercial quantity without mechanizing the process.

He puts the jute bags needs of Nigeria at 28 million, adding that “to produce just 2 million bags, you need 3,000 tonnes of kenaf fibre.”

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) is an annual fibre cordage crop ( for making rope, thread, and sack cloth) now has new applications including paper products, building materials, absorbents, and livestock feed.

HISTORIC WATER SCARCITY AND DROUGHT SUMMIT.

Australia will host 200 leaders from the public and private sector, including government ministers, business and civil society leaders and leading scientists at a historic summit on water scarcity and drought on 10 October this year .


The summit will be a part of the World Water Congress and Exhibition taking place from 9-14 October in Brisbane. Hosting keynotes, roundtables and plenary discussions, it will debate effective policy and institutions, best approaches, effective technologies to reduce water demand and losses, reuse of water, desalination, replenishment and refilling reservoirs.


According to the event organisers, droughts have become more frequent and water scarcity has grown in severity in all regions of the world. This is driven both by climate change and poor water management. The World Economic Forum ranks water security as the top global risk facing societies, economies and businesses over the next decade.


International Water Association (IWA) executive director Dr. Ger Bergkamp said, “The effects of water scarcity and drought will only intensify if we do not act. The summit will launch the world’s first public-private action-agenda solely dedicated to water scarcity and drought: DroughtAction. It will enable participating countries, organisations and water-dependent companies to discuss and agree what needs to be done in order to meet key elements of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals.”


“There are many strengthening mechanisms that need to be put into place to ensure lasting change. These mechanisms include: sharing information and knowledge, spreading best practices and mobilising public and private investments. All together these initiatives will generate the momentum necessary to address water scarcity and drought,” he added. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

THE FIGHT AGAINST SOIL DEGRADATION.

A University of Bologna coordinated scheme, co-funded by the LIFE program 2014-2020 aims to provide proper irrigation management to fight against soil degradation.

The programme coordinated by the University of Bologna, co-funded by the LIFE program 2014-2020 aims to create a user friendly system for a proper irrigation management in agro-ecosystems of Mediterranean wetlands, which are often threatened by the soil salinization. While the technology is not yet planned to go into Africa, if the programme is successful, there is no doubt that the rest of the world, particularly where soil salinization is a major issue, it will be rolled out further.

The University of Bologna press office said that "the salts present in the water accumulate in the upper layers of the soil, undermining the growth of most plants: a serious problem of soil degradation that can lead, in extreme cases, even to the desertification.

"To cope this phenomenon, Agrowetlands II relies on precision agriculture, through an innovative system of irrigation management that guarantees the preservation of the quality of soil and water, maintains productivity, as well as the biodiversity, in accordance with the objectives of the EU Soil Thematic Strategy, the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change.

"To test the new technology will be some farms of the cooperative Agrisfera, in Ravenna, few kilometers from the Adriatic coast, between the mouths of the Reno and Lamone: lands reclaimed during the 60s, where soil salinization, originated from various concomitant causes, is quite frequent.

Using information captured by a network of wireless sensors monitoring soil moisture and salinity, a Decision Support System will provide indications for proper and effective management of irrigation. The same system will be replicated at the Comunidad de Carrizales, another Mediterranean agricultural area at Elche-Alicante, in southern Spain with salinized soils." NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

US TRADE MISSION SEEKS TO EXPAND AFRICAN AGRIBUSINESS COOPERATION.

Over 40 U.S. business representatives plan to meet with senior Egyptian government and private sector officials to discuss ways to expand agricultural trade between the United States and Egypt.


A trade mission led by the Foreign Agricultural Service Deputy Administrator Mark Slupek arrived in Cairo on 2 April with over 40 U.S. business representatives who are planing to meet with senior Egyptian government and private sector officials to discuss ways to expand agricultural trade between the United States and Egypt. Coordinated by the Embassy’s Office of Agricultural Affairs, the visit will include briefings, one-on-one meetings, and site visits.


“The potential for market expansion in Egypt is great,” said Deputy Administrator Slupek. “This is the first time we’ve led a trade mission to North Africa, we’re hoping that we’re going to create some great business opportunities for the people who join us on this mission.”


The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has an international network of 93 offices covering 171 countries. FAS helps identify opportunities for U.S. exporters and builds relations with a broad range of government officials and private sector stakeholders in other countries to promote agricultural sector trade and cooperation.  NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

MOODY'S : COTE D'IVOIRE AND GHANA ARE REMAINING RESILIENT TO CREDIT PRESSURES FROM COCOA PRICE FALL.

Moody's Investors Service have produced a report on Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, stating that the nations are remaining resilient against credit pressures bought upon by the drastic fall in cocoa price .
The report states that 'the price of cocoa futures fell to a low of US$1,889/ton in mid-February 2017, the lowest price in 10 years. The current average cocoa prices reflect a drop of around 30 per cent compared to mid-2016.'


'Such a large drop will place pressures on all stakeholders in the cocoa sector, but particularly on leading global producers Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana via the current account, fiscal and economic channels.


That said, we [Moody's] expect support for the cocoa sector from the government, and minimum farm gate prices have protected farmers in Côte d’Ivoire's from the short-term fluctuation in prices, whilst Ghana's burgeoning oil sector will help to offset the impact on its credit profile.'


Moody's state four key findings from their study. First, the recent sharp drop in cocoa prices is significant but it is underpinning historically volatilities. The second is that farmers and producers are more exposed in the supply chain. Third, the credit impact on Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana will be felt via deteriorating current account deficits, fall in government revenue that could inflate budget deficits, and slowing growth via falling household incomes and finally, Credit strengths and government development strategies underpin credit profiles. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

BIOCONTROL PRODUCT TO COMBAT AFLATOXIN IN THE GAMBIA.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has launched Aflasafe, an all-natural biocontrol product, to combat the dangers posed by afltoxin in The Gambia .

Aflatoxin is poses a big threat to Africa’s food, affecting key staples such as maize and groundnuts, which are common foods across sub-Saharan Africa. To combat the dangers posed by Aflatoxin, AflasafeSN01 has been launched in Banjul, The Gambia. Aflasafe is an all-natural biocontrol product, developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), in collaboration with national and international partners.

“The Gambia is amongst the first countries to benefit from Aflasafe registration and commercialisation strategy that will guide local manufacturing and distribution and strategic interventions to enable Aflasafe’s uptake,” said Matiéyédou Konlambigue, managing director of IITA’s Aflasafe Technology Transfer and Commercialisation Project (ATTC). Apart from The Gambia, the product is currently registered in three other countries – Senegal, Nigeria and Kenya.
A situational analysis conducted in The Gambia by the African Union’s Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) in 2015 revealed low awareness on aflatoxin and its dangers on human and animal health. The assessment showed that the most significant impact of the toxin is on human health.

Speaking on behalf of the minister of agriculture, Omar A Jallow , the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Sait Drammeh, said, “The government is aware of the multidimensional negative impacts of aflatoxin. We are deeply concerned with the findings of this study and are committed to ensure the implementation of the recommendations, and the action plan informed by the PACA country assessment. We note with concern our inability to enhance our foreign exchange earnings from groundnut exports due to aflatoxin contamination,” he said.

He added that computations based on international and actual prices from 2008 to 2014 indicate a cumulative economic loss of about US$22.8mn, which translates to a loss of US$1.5mn as an annual average. “Tests conducted in Senegal and The Gambia over the past five years and two years, respectively, have resulted in an aflatoxin reduction level of more than 95 per cent, which is very encouraging. This launch comes at a time when The Gambia is ready to address the issue of aflatoxin as a whole,” he said. NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

NORFUND TO INVEST IN ETHIOPIAN BEEF EXPORTER.

The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, Norfund, announced an investment of US$7.4mn in Verde Beef Processing, an Ethiopian beef producer

Verde Beef Processing (VBP) is an integrated beef producer that undertakes feed production and feed lotting activities. The company produces premium beef and aims to become the largest cattle processing operation in Eastern Africa. It has a target output of more than 130,000 carcasses per year.

The capital provided by Norfund will help VBP become the largest cattle processing operation in Eastern Africa by enabling the construction of a state of the art abattoir and meat processing facility, which is currently underway, and also fund working capital for the business. Norfund will work alongside 8 Miles who made an initial investment into VBP in November 2015.

The farm is located in the Adami Tulu district, Oromia regional state, Ziway Ethiopia, close to the new railway line to Djibouti. The company is part of the agricultural transformation in Ethiopia and has been instrumental in the development of the surrounding community through the purchase of bull calves and inputs for feed. The company has today created over 400 jobs directly on the farm with the upgraded skills needed for competing in the global beef market. In addition, more than 3500 jobs have been created indirectly through local sourcing of calves and feed inputs. As the company expands, these numbers will grow and is anticipated to reach 2000 employees and supporting over 50,000 livelihoods when the company reaches full operation.

Scott Friesen, Chairman and Co-founder of VBP said, "We're excited about the partnership with Norfund which will enable us to provide incomes to thousands more families annually, generate US$18mn of revenues in 2018, reach an export value of US$100mn annually by 2021, and further develop the important meat sector in Ethiopia. Verde Beef is a critical project that is aligned with the Ethiopian government's focus on job creation, increasing exports and introducing improvements to the agricultural sector."

Managing Director of Norfund Mr. Kjell Roland added, "This is our first direct investment in Ethiopia, and Norfund is delighted to contribute to Ethiopia's growth and export through Verde Beef" adding that "this investment is focused on employment creation and export and fits very well with our strategy to contribute to sustainable enterprises and economic development in Africa." NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD.