By Kingsley Samuel
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, has taken its solar-based irrigation technology to farmer clusters and cooperatives in Kano State, demonstrating how the system could help boost dry-season farming, reduce production costs and strengthen food security.
The agency, during a two-day Demand-Supply Linkage Workshop and Field Demonstration for Solar-Based Irrigation Systems, SBIS, held in Kano, showcased its solar irrigation pump system to farmers at large-scale rice farmlands in Zakirai village, Gabawasa Local Government Area, LGA, and Kwarin Kaba, Kumbotso LGA.
The initiative, organised in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute, IWMI, CGIAR, Kano State Ministry of Agriculture, Kano State Agricultural Development Authority, KNARDA, and farmers’ cooperatives, was designed to accelerate the adoption of solar irrigation among farmers.
Leading the field demonstrations, Director, Technical Services, NASENI, Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Ajani, said Nigeria has about 84 million hectares of arable land, but most of the country’s agriculture remains dependent on rainfall, leaving farmers vulnerable to climate variability.
Ajani said: “In Northern Nigeria, specifically Kano State, climate variability and rising fuel costs, exacerbated by subsidy removals, heavily threaten the profitability of dry-season farming, particularly rice, wheat and high-value vegetables.
“This is why we organised a two-day Demand-Supply Linkage Workshop and Field Demonstrations for Solar-Based Irrigation Systems in the state.”
According to him, the programme brought together farmer clusters, solar equipment vendors, financial institutions and extension agents to create an ecosystem capable of turning irrigation technology into bankable investments.
He said the demand-supply linkage was designed to bridge the gap between farmers who need irrigation equipment and suppliers and financial institutions capable of supporting its acquisition.
“This workshop brought together the demand, represented by structured farmer clusters; supply, represented by solar vendors; and enablers, including non-interest banks, conventional banks, NIRSAL and extension agents, to catalyse bankable investments and directly translate research into actionable equipment adoption,” Ajani said.
Managing Director, KNARDA, Dr. Farouk Ahmad Kurawa, commended NASENI for the initiative, saying the demonstration had provided farmers with an opportunity to see and assess certified and quality-assured solar irrigation technologies.
Kurawa said the willingness of farmers to embrace innovations would increase when they were given access to technologies that could improve productivity and reduce production costs.
A farmer at Kwarin Kaba, Kumbotso LGA, Mr. Zubairu Mohammed Inuwa, whose farmland hosted one of the demonstrations, said the solar irrigation system could transform farming in the area.
He said the technology would enable farmers to cultivate throughout the year, increase yields, reduce post-harvest losses and improve their incomes.
Also speaking, Team Lead, IWMI, Dr. Adebayo Oke, said recent CGIAR baseline studies and Discrete Choice Experiments, DCE, conducted in Kano, Kaduna and Kebbi states had identified access to finance as one of the major barriers to the adoption of solar irrigation systems.
Oke said: “While the Solar-Based Irrigation Systems technology is desired, the upfront capital cost is prohibitive for individual smallholders.
“That is why we are working with NASENI. The primary objective is to establish a functional, sustainable market linkage among smallholder farmer cooperatives, solar irrigation equipment suppliers and financial institutions to accelerate the adoption of Farmer-led Irrigation Development, FLID, and SBIS in Kano State and other parts of the country.”
Financial institutions including the Bank of Agriculture, BOA, Jaiz Bank and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL, participated in the programme.
They are expected to work with stakeholders to develop harvest-synchronised credit facilities and Islamic finance products that can enable farmers to acquire solar irrigation equipment without the burden of prohibitive upfront costs.
Representatives of the Vegetable Farmers Association of Nigeria, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, RIFAN, cooperative societies, vegetable and tomato farming clusters, as well as women and youth farming groups, participated in the workshop and field demonstrations.
The participants also expressed support for solar-based irrigation, describing it as economically viable and capable of reducing farmers’ dependence on diesel and petrol-powered irrigation systems.
NASENI said the initiative was part of its broader effort to promote locally relevant science, technology and engineering solutions capable of addressing food production challenges and improving the resilience of Nigerian farmers to climate change.
