Irrigation: Tinubu Urge African Leaders To Embrace lnnovative Strategies

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on African countries to embrace innovative strategies to address the continent’s irrigation and water management crisis.

President Tinubu made the call while declaring open the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage ARCID in Abuja, with the theme, Tackling Irrigation Development and Water Management Crisis in Africa.

President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, emphasized the importance of the conference’s theme, describing it as a clarion call to action for sustainable agriculture and economic resilience.

The president while highlighting Nigeria’s own agricultural capacity, noted that the country boasts over 3.1 million hectares of irrigable land across major river basins such as the Niger and Benue.

He added that under his Renewed Hope Agenda, his administration has declared a National Emergency on Food Security, which includes scaling up irrigation infrastructure and promoting participatory water resource management.

In his welcome address, the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, noted that the Federal Government has completed and is implementing several landmark initiatives under the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria project.

Prof. Utsev said the next Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN) project will address critical gaps identified during the TRIMING project while optimizing the socio-economic value of stored water to support sustainable agriculture and food security.

The Minister who noted that with the rounding up of the TRIMING project, Nigeria is about to commence the implementation of its successor project referred to as the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN), in collaboration with the World Bank stressing that this initiative will build on TRIMING’s success and help close the gaps.

According to him, the TRIMING project, which ran for over seven years, delivered significant achievements, including the completion of the Dadin-Kowa and Bakolori irrigation schemes, a 90% progress level on the Middle Rima Valley irrigation project, and ongoing irrigation interventions in Ondo, Kwara, Benue, Kebbi, Edo, Adamawa, and Oyo states.

He stressed that other milestones, include establishing Water Users Associations, WUAs, farmer management centres, and facilitating market linkages for key agricultural value chains such as rice and tomato.

The Minister explained that the River Basin Development Authorities, RBDAs, have developed over 153,000 hectares of irrigable land, and are currently undergoing partial commercialization to attract private sector investment.

In his presentation, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State decried the shrinking farming seasons caused by climate change, warning that farmers are increasingly uncertain about when to plant.

“Our once-fertile land is turning to dust. Irrigation is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Innovation must not be seen as a privilege of the few. We must empower our women and youth who are on the frontlines of agriculture,” Zulum stated.

He called on development partners to be more responsive to Africa’s unique challenges, especially those affecting water access and rural farming communities.

Also President of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), Dr. Marco Arcieri, praised the conference as timely and essential.

Earlier, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Wilson Jack, called for renewed commitment across all levels of government to secure Nigeria’s food future.

The African Regional Working Group, led by Ibrahim Musa, emphasized that the issues addressed at the conference reflect Africa’s unique irrigation development challenges.

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