Farmers groan over high cost of irrigation

He plants okra, garden egg and sugar cane on a five hectares of land using available farming facilities to grow his dry season crops in commercial quantity.Each year, Adum borrows as much as N150,000 to finance his farm project by mainly buying fuel for his generator to derive enough water from the river and to […]

He plants okra, garden egg and sugar cane on a five hectares of land using available farming facilities to grow his dry season crops in commercial quantity.
Each year, Adum borrows as much as N150,000 to finance his farm project by mainly buying fuel for his generator to derive enough water from the river and to also buy fertiliser, herbicides, seeds and other chemicals.
But at the beginning of this year’s irrigation faming season which started in December, he decided to cut down on his loan facility by using only half of the five hectares field to do his farm.
This decision, he said acquired him a loan of N85,000 which he invested into buying necessary requirements to effectively nurse the young crops to its adult stage expected to be harvested between March and April.
He complained that he currently uses one generating set to power water from the river instead of putting four of such plant to use simultaneously to gain proper results.
Interestingly, Adom expressed satisfaction with how much profit he makes at the end of each year despite government’s inability to support him, saying he make over 300,000 as gain each year.
Similarly, Tsenogno Barnabas, another irrigation farmer at the bank of Buruku River who grows okro and sugar cane each year lamented the lack of government’s input to improve on their activities.
He said he makes as much as N200, 000 gain or more depending on the availability of farming implements to cultivate and water his crops for bumper harvest.
He lamented that he hires water pumping machine thrice a week at the cost of N500 per day because he cannot afford to buy one, adding, “I spend most of what suppose to be my gain in hiring pumping machine.”
Barnabas expressed optimism that if government supports irrigation in his locality, he would produce more food that will be marketed beyond the shores of the state.