Absence of dams crippling cucumber farming in Katsina

The absence of earth dam has been identified as a factor militating against cucumber and other crops farming in Danja, Katsina State. Danja Local Government Area has, for many years, served as a hub of irrigation farming, with tomatoes being the major produce.  The farmers, however, cultivate cucumber because of its high yield and turn […]

The absence of earth dam has been identified as a factor militating against cucumber and other crops farming in Danja, Katsina State.
Danja Local Government Area has, for many years, served as a hub of irrigation farming, with tomatoes being the major produce.
 The farmers, however, cultivate cucumber because of its high yield and turn over.
 One of the farmers, Alhaji Lawal Dalibi, said he cultivates cucumber in large scale, for over five years now, but he regrets that the lack of reliable source of water is affecting his farm.
 He said: “We have no dam or any reliable alternative other than the wells we dug in our farms. Those wells have been serving us for years and now they begin to dry. That is why we are reducing the acres/hectres of our farmlands and this drastically affected cucumber farming this year.’’
 He added that if government can provide them with an irrigation dam, Danja farmers can cultivate crops like pepper, carrot, lettuce, cabbage, onion and Irish potato.
 “Only an irrigation dam can take care of the many crops we desire to cultivate, wells can only water our farms for an hour or two. So in this case, we have no choice than to narrow our irrigation activities to cover only tomato. This is affecting the market supply of cucumber in the state with merchants in Funtua, Malumfashi, Kafur, Kankara and Dandume markets sourcing the produce from Hunkuyi and other parts of Kaduna State,” he said.
 Another farmer, Alhaji Isiya Adamu, said that as a result of water scarcity bedeviling irrigation farmers in the area, he now cultivates cucumber in rainy season.
“Since we have no sufficient water for irrigation farming, I choose to cultivate cucumber only in the rainy season,” he said.
 “That is why I cannot produce it in large scale as excessive rainfall is making the cucumber fruit to rot before reaching maturing stage,” he said.
 He emphasised on the need for government to provide dam for irrigation activities and job creation for the teeming youths in the area.
 “An average youth in Danja and its environs is an irrigation farmer and this water shortage is making them to go to other LGAs in the state as well as Kura in Kano State to venture into irrigation jobs. We are calling on both federal and state governments to provide a dam in our area to sustain our long business of irrigation farming,” he said.