The abandoned irrigation farmers of Goronyo

A number of crops are grown in the area including rice, beans, maize, onions, tomatoes, and wheat. Animals such as cows and goats are also bred there.Daily Trust learnt that the crops they grow for irrigation are not different from those they grow for wet season farming but many of the farmers say some of […]

A number of crops are grown in the area including rice, beans, maize, onions, tomatoes, and wheat. Animals such as cows and goats are also bred there.
Daily Trust learnt that the crops they grow for irrigation are not different from those they grow for wet season farming but many of the farmers say some of the crops such as rice have better yield when planted during the rainy season.
A key problem they face is the quelea birds that cause serious destruction to crops. The farmers admit that government assists with aerial spray but they said they still have to constantly use traditional ways of addressing the problem which is beating of drums to chase the birds away.
Muhammad Ali has been farming act around the Goronyo irrigation site for over 10 years now and said sometimes they sell the crops very well in the market and that at other times it may not be.
On how they get their fertilizers and other farming implements, he said: “We hear that government gives people fertilizer but I have never got any. We don’t get support, what we plant during rainy season, we sell and get money to buy fertilizers, settle workers for the dry season. Some of us work with other people on their farms to get money to settle our farming needs. We buy all we need,” he said.
Muhammad’s position was shared by a number of those who spoke with Daily Trust at the irrigation site as Ibrahim Maigwanjo, a farmer at Goronyo said farmers in the area have not been enjoying any special consideration. “Only God knows if they will give us the loan they promised us. We call on government to assist us. Without godfather, one cannot get fertilizer. Most of us have no godfather, so we don’t get fertilizer. If we have money we go to the market and get it,” he said.
Sokoto State Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Arzika Tureta had in an interview with Daily Trust confirmed that the irrigation farmers is helping the economy of the state, therefore the state government gives special treatment to such areas as Goronyo, Wurno and Silame even as majority of the people there are full-time farmers.
According to the commissioner, “We have assured them of constant supply of fertilizers, giving them soft loans, loans without interest.”
The government of Sokoto State recently announced that about N2 billion had been disbursed as loan to large and small scale farmers in the state, but the farmers said government needs to do more. “Government is doing its best but more efforts should be made towards assisting the poor farmers and it should make sure anything meant for us are released to us directly. If we don’t have anything, we will not be able to do much during the dry season.”
One of the farmers, Sanusi Musa, particularly stressed that, “Government sends many things but we don’t get it. It should therefore enhance monitoring of those things and ensure they get to the targeted beneficiaries.”