River basins show massive job creation potentials with PPP

Public-private partnership (PPP) has been identified as the key that would unlock the full agricultural potentials of the river basins in Nigeria, with the capacity to create millions of jobs.

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 47.90 million hectares of potential rain-fed land and at least 2 million to 3.73 million hectares of potential irrigable land.

But recent report shows that only 1 million hectares of land is under irrigation in Nigeria. This public-private partnership of the river basins, which industry watchers are advising, has the possibility of adding another 1 million hectares of irrigable land to attain the minimum 2 million hectares. Therefore, the operational 11 River Basins Development Authorities (RBDAs) with irrigation facilities could further boost the national food output, create businesses and millions of jobs.

Speaking recently in Lagos on this, Akinwunmi Adesina, minister of agriculture and rural development, said the involvement of the private sector should not be the full commercialisation of the river basins, but that the investors could get involved in areas that would lead to greater efficiency with the government giving them access to the infrastructure, land and water resources of the river basins.

Adesina said: “I think the irrigation infrastructure in the country are being upgraded, not just in terms of irrigation by gravity but using a lot of tubes, drip irrigation facilities that can allow people to work. Certainly, I think young commercial farmers should be given access to land in these river basins areas so they can produce a lot of food. But they have to be organised into groups and they can be supported as well with mechanisation services.”

Segun Adenigbagbe, a graduate of accounting, runs a farming business at one of the River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs). Adenigbagbe said: “I started farming business three years ago with N180,000. Irrigation farming is a good idea, giving opportunity to Nigerians to do off-season farming without too much capital investment. The facilities belong to the government and even though we pay an amount, the government subsidises it. But sometimes the government inputs, either does not come or it is hanging somewhere.”

Speaking further, Adenigbagbe said: “So many people were here before but they did not come back because of the challenges. When planting during dry season and one has invested so much buying input to have good and bumper harvest, but there is sometimes no irrigation because there is no diesel. 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 (officials of the RBDA).”

Abdulghaniyy Alabi-Ojolowo, producer and processor of Oryza rice, speaking on irrigation investment some time ago, said: “Hardly can a private farm afford to set up the infrastructure for irrigation. No bank currently is ready to finance that for any private business. It is only the government that can set them up.”

Another industry watcher, who spoke anonymously, said these river basins were set up with the plan of handing 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 River Basin Development Authorities annually and there are government officials who will continue to oppose the handing over of the RBDAs to the private sector, he said.

OLUYINKA ALAWODE and JOSEPHINE OKOJIE