By George George Idowu
As dry season farming commences, farmers in Katsina State particularly those who are close to Jibia dam laments non- availability of water for proper cultivation during the on-going season.
In a monitored report in the media, the farmers explained that lateness by the authority in charge of Jibia dam in releasing water for the irrigation farming as it they have been doing in the past will disrupt their dry season farming procedure.
Reacting to refusal of the authority controlling Jibia dam affairs, one among the irrigation farmers, Mustapha Lawal, explained that majority of the farmers in the area are worried that their energy, time and money spent on procurement of seeds for the dry season farming will amount to waste with the mo water situation the fond themselves.
He said: “We have waited for over a month now for the water but as you can see, there is nothing. If they don’t give us water in the next few days, we will not be participating in this year’s dry season farming because it will be late by then.”
Ibrahim Abdullahi is another irrigation farmer on the state. He said apart from scarcity of water which they were experiencing at the moment, increase in the cost of fuel is another challenge confronting the farmers.
He said the escalating fuel prices make it extremely difficult for farmers in the area render to power water pumping machines, leading to inadequate irrigation of crops.
According to Abdullahi, “Fuel is N680 per litre and there is no single filling station in Ajiwa or its environ. We come with fuel from Katsina the nearest town to us. I was in this system of farming when we used to buy fuel at N90. It is difficult; sometimes we cannot access the fuel even at that high rate,” he lamented.
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Muhammad Bashar echoed similar sentiments, citing the soaring prices of fertilizers and pesticides as additional burdens on farmers.
“Just like fuel, prices of fertiliser and pesticides are also high. Farming is not conducive in situations like ours but we don’t have options,” he said.
The farmers collectively plea for the state government intervention through subsidies on essential farming inputs and the exploration of alternative energy sources like solar power to alleviate the burden of fuel costs.
They said farmers in their area in Katsina State buy everything they need for farming on their own without any form of financial assistance from the government to make farming easier for then and boost farm produce.
Abdullahi said, “The government should be providing fertiliser, pesticides and water pumps at subsidised rates to encourage us. But I will be happy if we could have solar powered generators to simplify our work because the fuel price is scary” he pleaded.
Responding to the farmers complaints concerns regarding water scarcity, Badamasi Abubakar, the Manager of Jibia dam, assured farmers of water provision for irrigation purposes.
However, he acknowledged operational challenges, including the need for equipment maintenance and fuel procurement.
“We have some challenges too,” he said. He however hinted that the state government has bought a new generating set for use at the same site noting that the responsibility is that of the federal government to do.
In a related situation, farmers in Danja Local Government Area of the state are by now await the completion of the Danja earth dam, initiated to address water scarcity issues in the region.
