Doma-Rutu landscape: Institute unveils plan for sustainable irrigation, agricultural production

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By Our Reporter, Lafia

International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has made public presentation of the Inclusive landscape management plan for the Doma-Rutu landscape for sustainable irrigation and improved agricultural production.

Prof. Henry Igbadun, IWMi Consultant, while presenting the plan to stakeholders in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital, urged the Government and stakeholders to support the project to achieve the desired results.

According to him, the plan is aimed at sustaining the resources of the landscape, which are water and land for sustainable and improved agricultural production.

Igbadun explained that the plan was developed by collaborative efforts of relevant stakeholders including farmers, government, youths and women groups.

“This project started in early 2023 when we did situation analysis, and that enabled us to characterised the landscape.

“And then together with stakeholders, the ministry, local government, the farmers, the different groups in the landscape, men, women, youth, we came together to say this is the situation of your landscape.

“So, all these groups came together and we developed this plan which was presented today, from tomorrow we plan to begin to activate some of the content of the plan,” he said.

Prof Igbadun said that the farmers would be trained on the act of drilling tubewell as a way out in providing water for dry season farming, and also demonstrating to them how different irrigation innovations could be used to irrigate their farms.

“Our interest is in solar, so we have solar equipment, we will train them on that aspect and other different irrigation facilities,” he stated.

Also speaking, Dr Adebayo Oke, A Researcher at IWMI, Regional office, Ghana, said the Doma -Rutu landscape project was sponsored by the Consultative Group of International Agriculture Research Centres (CGIAR).

He noted that CGIAR and partners were concerned about pressing problems like climate, agricultural production, and sustainable livelihood across the world.

Oke said the interest of CGIAR and its partners was about a water-secure world where people have access to water and use it sustainably to secure it in the future.

“Under one of the initiatives called Transforming agri-food systems in West and Centre Africa, we selected Doma-Rutu as one of our intervention sites in Nigeria.

“We came with what we called landscape situation analysis where we sat together with the people within this very interesting landscape.

“We discussed how can we improve productivity, transform the food system, have sustainable production, preservation the environment, and become more resilient to climate vulnerability,” he explained.

In their separate remarks, Mr Garba Rosha, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mr Akaese Ayitogo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources said the Doma – Rutu landscape was in line with the state agenda on food security and promised to support the project.

The public presentation and launch of the inclusive landscape management plan for the Doma-Rutu landscape had in attendance the representatives of various communities, ministries departments and agencies.