The National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has called for more investment in irrigation farming.
Prof. Emmanuel Ikani, the Executive Director, NAERLS who spoke with journalists in Zaria on Thursday said this would reduce post – harvest losses and avert food scarcity in the country.
Ikani said that Nigeria loses over 30 per cent of the food it produces as post – harvest waste and the country needs to be innovative to minimize the loss.
He said in order to avert the negative challenge; it has become imperative to abandon the idea of farming only during the rainy season which could not continue.
Ikani said that elsewhere there was nothing like farming in the rainy season alone.
“Our agriculture is still rain fed but we have the facility and water resources all over the country for irrigation,” he said.
Ikani appealed for a strong political will to move water from rivers and streams to the farms.
He noted with sadness that many field actors in North-East, parts of North-West and North-Central and some farmers could not go to their farms due to insecurity.
“The farms have to be worked before productivity; the farmers are actually endangered at the moment which is a hint to a looming scarcity of food in Nigeria,’’ Ikani said.
He urged the Federal Government to control indiscriminate exportation of food produce outside the shores of the country, just like it imposed ban on importation of some agricultural produce.
“This is very necessary since we do not produce enough to feed ourselves, there will be no reason why government will allow the exportation of what we direly need for survival.
“I suggest that similar control and ban on importation should be imposed to save the nation from looming food shortage already characterized by so many factors,” Ikani said.