1 min
In our everyday living, water is one of the most important resources we need - whether to eat, bathe, wash our teeth, cook our meals amongst many other purposes. Every sector of the economy also requires water as a means to achieve an important milestone. So, the importance of water cannot be overemphasized for both domestic and industrial usage.
For agriculture, water is an essential resource for food production and other production activities. However, the increasing population over the years had increased the demand for water for other purposes besides food. Thus, we are left with limited water for production of food.
In most developing countries, the majority of the farmers are involved in rainfed farming, where rainwater is the main source of irrigation. Sadly, the impact of climate change has adversely affected the continuous availability of water for agricultural purposes. Therefore, early or late dry spells or irregular rainfall patterns had impacted on productivity of crops and contributed to food insecurity. Worst still, the alternative means are expensive and readily available to the farmers in most cases. In other cases, during the rainy season, there is no existing or working water storage infrastructure that helps to harvest unused rain water for an extended period of time. This is a big challenge as we are still stuck with seasonal production of food, whereas hunger is all year round reality. Thus, there is a need for urgent intervention.
We need to build adequate infrastructure that helps to manage water efficiently and effectively. Rainfed agriculture had helped us in the past to feed our population but with the growing numbers of people demanding food, we need all year round food production with optimum productivity. Therefore, in Nigeria, we need to revive unproductive dams across the country to become more functional and in use when needed. More water channels to aid distribution to various farm clusters. In addition, we need to train farmers and equip them with the right technology to harvest water at the farm level, especially rain water. In addition to the right knowledge of production and access to the all year markets for food distribution.
We must not fall into the false belief that water is more than enough for us. So, it shouldn't be managed. We need to completely change this narrative and be intentional about how resources such as water are used, managed and efficiently maximized to increase food productivity and help our journey to food security. As a song said, "water doesn't have enemies" but we can become that enemy when we willingly waste water because of the false narrative. Let us think and reflect today, how can we manage water more effectively at our farmlevel?
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
In most developing countries, the majority of the farmers are involved in rainfed farming, where rainwater is the main source of irrigation. Sadly, the impact of climate change has adversely affected the continuous availability of water for agricultural purposes. Therefore, early or late dry spells or irregular rainfall patterns had impacted on productivity of crops and contributed to food insecurity. Worst still, the alternative means are expensive and readily available to the farmers in most cases. In other cases, during the rainy season, there is no existing or working water storage infrastructure that helps to harvest unused rain water for an extended period of time. This is a big challenge as we are still stuck with seasonal production of food, whereas hunger is all year round reality. Thus, there is a need for urgent intervention.
We need to build adequate infrastructure that helps to manage water efficiently and effectively. Rainfed agriculture had helped us in the past to feed our population but with the growing numbers of people demanding food, we need all year round food production with optimum productivity. Therefore, in Nigeria, we need to revive unproductive dams across the country to become more functional and in use when needed. More water channels to aid distribution to various farm clusters. In addition, we need to train farmers and equip them with the right technology to harvest water at the farm level, especially rain water. In addition to the right knowledge of production and access to the all year markets for food distribution.
We must not fall into the false belief that water is more than enough for us. So, it shouldn't be managed. We need to completely change this narrative and be intentional about how resources such as water are used, managed and efficiently maximized to increase food productivity and help our journey to food security. As a song said, "water doesn't have enemies" but we can become that enemy when we willingly waste water because of the false narrative. Let us think and reflect today, how can we manage water more effectively at our farmlevel?
Yours-in-Service
Babatunde
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