Farmers urge Nigeria to rehabilitate river basins

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate the nation’s river basins to address irrigation challenges confronting farmers.
 
AFAN’s Chairman in Lagos State and South-West Zone, Dr Femi Oke, said  on Tuesday in Lagos that the facilities in the river basins were dilapidated.
 
Oke decried the poor state of and called for immediate rehabilitation to aid farm activities and provide irrigation system to farmers.
 
According to him, most of the facilities in the river basins are becoming dilapidated and there is no way they can function well if not rehabilitated.
 
“Even our private borehole water system in your homes need rehabilitation sometimes, so are the river basins too.
 
“The Ogun-Osun river basin is still there but need rehabilitation to make it functional. They can still refurbish it just like the Federal Institute of Research, Oshodi (FIRO), some years back.
 
“FIRO was almost abandoned when former President Olusegun Obasanjo came in, he visited the place and that is why we are hearing about FIRO today.
 
“How many of our research institute are very functional now? It is still the same problem with the river basins.
 
“Let the federal government come in there, let them see the state of the facilities and rehabilitate it, put it in shape and make the place functional again for irrigation purpose,” he said.
 
The AFAN chairman urged the government to release fund for the rehabilitation of the river basins so as to enhance and support the activities of farmers in the states where they are located..
 
He noted that irrigation system is not a thing small holder farmers can handle on their own because it is capital intensify, hence the need for intervention.
 
“The northern part of the country had already keyed  into irrigation, we urge our South-West governers’  to do same to avoid looming shortage or scarcity of food.
 
“The governors in the south-west too must embrace agriculture, collaborate with AFAN as well as increase the budgetary allocation for the sector to improve food security,” he said.