Lagos vegetable farmers want irrigation for improved harvest

Some vegetable farmers in Lagos on Wednesday appealed to the state government to assist them with irrigation in order to boost dry season farming in the area.

The farmers, who spoke in separate interviews in Lagos, said that vegetables and flowers often withered during dry season due to dearth of water.

Irrigation is the supplementation of precipitation by storage and transportation of water to the farms for the proper growth of crops.

According to Mallam Shehu Bako, a parsley farmer at Idi Araba, a functional irrigation system, even though expensive, will help to reverse the challenges of poor harvest.

He noted that with irrigation, the challenges faced during dry season would be over and hunger would be reduced.

“Irrigation helps to increase agricultural production because the yield for irrigated crops is often three times higher.

“The yields from irrigated farms are usually stable and reliable,’’ he said.

Similarly, Mr Abiola Adebesin, the Secretary of the Lettuce Farmers Association, Lagos Sate Chapter, said that irrigation helped to stabilise annual yields and reduced the risk of crop failure due to drought.

Mallam Yahya Salisu, a cabbage farmer, said that farmers often watered their vegetables manually, a condition described as cumbersome and time wasting.

He said with adequate irrigation systems, water gets to the roots of plants, thereby preventing crop pest and preserving plant nutrients. (NAN)