Shortage of water at Gwaigwaye dam affects irrigation

Some of the farmers cultivating at the dam come from the neighbouring villages of Mairuwa and Barebari who said Gwaigwaye dam is their main source of water apart from the boreholes some of them have sunk in their farms as a result of water shortage they experience when the dam was not dispensing.A farmer in […]

Some of the farmers cultivating at the dam come from the neighbouring villages of Mairuwa and Barebari who said Gwaigwaye dam is their main source of water apart from the boreholes some of them have sunk in their farms as a result of water shortage they experience when the dam was not dispensing.
A farmer in the area and former secretary of Nasara Irrigation Farmers Association, Saminu Alhaji Sama’ila said some years ago they encountered the problem of water shortage as the officials of the dam were not releasing water to them for irrigation activities, but after persistent complaints to the relevant authorities the situation improved greatly last year.
“Unlike last year when farmers enjoyed adequate supply of water to their irrigation farmlands, we are again suffering shortage of water especially at farms that are farther away from the dam. Crops such as carrots and cabbage that require abundant water were not cultivated this year to avoid losses. Many of the farmers rely on the boreholes they personally sunk in their farms at the cost of between N75,000 to N120,000,” Saminu said.
He further explained that the dam needs to be dredged to contain the large irrigation area that is approximately 3,000 hectares being cultivated by farmers from about 10 villages neighbouring the dam in both Funtua and Faskari local government areas.
When this reporter went round the irrigation area, it was noticed that the farmers have in this year concentrated more on crops such as maize, sugar cane, water melon, Okra and tomato.
One of the farmers, Tasi’u Gambo, 42, said the irrigated maize was giving them more profit than the one of rainy season, adding that hundreds of metric tonnes of assorted crops that include maize, wheat, tomatoes and watermelon are being produced at the site every year.
“Now the cost of maize per 100 kilogramme bag in the market is at best N4,000 but the same 100 kilogramme bag of the irrigated fresh one cost N5,000.
As we are selling five pieces of the maize at the rate of N40 therefore, only 125 pieces will make up a bag if the farmer knows well how to stuck them,” he said.
Women and young girls that are into the business of roasting or cooking maize for sale were seen busy buying the commodity from the farmers.
Youths from the neighbouring villages are daily securing menial jobs in the farms ranging from watering, tilling of soil, planting and weeding the crops.
According to one of them, Ashiru Sada, 20, he earns about N500 daily from the irrigation sites, which is making him become self-reliant and settle his educational expenses.