COUNTRY
PROFILE - NIGERIA
Nigeria
located in north of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa bounded by Republic of
Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has an area of 923,768 km2. It extends
northward from the elbow of the Gulf of Guinea between the latitudes 4°
and 14°N and is bordered on the west by the Republic of Dahomey, on
the north by the Republic of Niger and on the east by the Republics of
Chad and Cameroon.
Nigeria can be divided
into 10 land regions. They are : (1) Sokoto Plain; (2) the Chad Basin,
(3) the Northern High Plains; (4) the Jos Plateau; (5) the Niger-Beneu
River Valley; (6) the Western Uplands; (7) the Eastern Highlands; (8)
the Southwestern Plains; (9) the Southeastern Lowlands; and (10) the Niger
Delta.
The main river is
the Niger, entering the country in the north-west and flowing first south-east
and then south to Gulf of Guinea. Its major tributary, the Benue, rises
in the mountains of the Cameroon Republic. The river cross is the most
important river outside the Niger system, which flows into an estuary
east of the Niger Delta.
Nigeria is a land
of great variety. It has hot, rainy sump lands, dry, sandy areas, grassy
plains, and tropical forests. High plateaus and rocky mountains rise up
in parts of the country.
1. Physical and
Demographic Characteristics of Nigeria
Nigeria occupies an
area of 923 768 km2. The country lies between latitudes 4o and 14o north
of the equator and longitudes 3o and 15o east of Greenwich. There are
wide climatic and rainfall variations found in the country due to its
location south of the path of the westerly winds in the north and almost
out of equatorial doldrums of the south of Nigeria. Consequently, it is
in the heart of the trade wind belt with generally "summer"
rains and "winter" drought.
Agriculture employs three quarters of the Nigerian working population,
but agricultural landholdings are generally small and scattered. The average
number of farm plots per household ranges between 2 and 28 plots and between
0.5 and 5.0 ha, increasing in size from the south towards the north. Farming
is generally rainfed and of the subsistence variety. The total population
of Nigeria according to 1991 census was about 88.5 million people. The
population growth rate has been stable at 2.83% while infant mortality
has reduced. The estimated growth rates of population for 2000-2010, and
2010-2025 are estimated to reduce to about 2.70, 2.60 respectively.
Rainfall averages over 2000 mm per annum in the southeast, 1000 mm in
the centre reducing to as low as 500 mm in the north east. In the same
areas the mean annual pan evaporation is 2450 mm and 2620 mm per annum
respectively. Similarly, the vegetation of thick mangrove forests and
dense rain forests in the south gives way to a near-desert condition in
the northeastern corner of the country.
The county is divided into eight agro-ecological zones for the purpose
of irrigation practices based on rainfall and temperature which are the
most significant parameters.
The major crops grown in the country can be divided into two main groups:
food crops (produced for consumption) and export products. Despite the
importance of the export crops, the primary policy of agriculture is to
make Nigeria self-sufficient in its food and fibre requirements.
Nigeria is listed by FAO among nations that are at the moment technically
unable to meet their food needs from rainfed production at low level of
inputs and appear likely to remain so even at intermediate levels of inputs
at some time between 2000 and 2025.
2. Land and Agriculture
More than three quarters
of the country's agricultural area is rainfed. In development of rainfed
agriculture use can be made of the water fraction that otherwise would
have returned back to the atmosphere through direct evaporation and transpiration.
Increasing, the potential of rainfed agriculture would make a significant
impact on the food production. However, precipitation patterns differ
across the agro-ecological areas and the potential to improve yields in
rainfed agriculture is strongly related to these. Nigeria need to develop
the intermediate low cost water and soil conservation technologies which
include water harvesting and soil tillage, mulching, bunding, terracing,
etc.
A recent survey by
JICA suggest that 39% of the land mass is potentially suitable for agriculture
and out of this between 4.0 and 4.5 million ha (approximately 4.5 to 5.0%of
the land) are judged suitable for irrigated agriculture but only 1.1 million
ha can be supported fully by the water available, the remaining 3.4 million
ha being fadama.
Rainfed Agriculture
In 1987, FAO prepared
a working document on the "Need and Justification of Irrigation Development"
which undertook a scientific assessment of the size of populations that
the agricultural land resources of African countries can support. The
report assumed a projected population for Nigeria in year 2025 of 238
million, 47.90 million hectares of potential rainfed land and 2.00 million
and 3.73 million hectares potential shorter and longer transport irrigable
land. The shorter transport irrigable lands was defined as land close
to the source of the irrigation water i.e. transport distances were limited
to those within one agro ecological zone. On the other hand, longer transport
referred to land further away from source: irrigation water may be transported
from one agro-ecological zone to another. The potentials were calculated
for three alternate levels of inputs namely, low level of inputs, intermediate
level of input and high level of input.
The water resources development for agricultural purposes was in the hands
of the private sector for the production of sugar cane with only a minor
role by states in the northern region of Nigeria. Irrigation practice
was rudimentary, using residual flood waters and moisture in the low lands
called fadama (flash flood plains), and supplemented with shaduf (a traditional
device that lifts water onto the land). The main corps produced using
these traditional methods of irrigation were vegetables and rice.
3. Water Resources
The water resources
potential of the country is estimated to be 250,000 million cubic metres
(MCM) comprising 190,000 MCM of surface water with the balance in the
form of groundwater. This not withstanding, water is still a limiting
factor to agriculture in much of the country but most especially in the
northern semi-arid and dry sub-humid zones lying above latitude 11°
North.
Overall, the nation has substantial resources of both rainfed and irrigable
land. In view of differences in production potentials in various agro-ecological
zones however, irrigation, which is already important will continue to
be justified, particularly in the more marginal northern region, for the
local production of high value perishables, and perhaps for rice and some
export crops.
As a result of FAO and US Bureau of Reclamation studies in the early 1970s,
three pilot public irrigation schemes were developed, all in the sub-arid
and dry sub-humid agro-ecological zones, namely: Bakolori Scheme, the
Kano River Irrigation Scheme and the Chad Basin Scheme. The success of
these pilot schemes coupled with the five-year drought (1970-1975) led
to the establishment of 11 River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs).
4. Irrigation
The development of
water resources especially for irrigation purposes in Nigeria dates back
to the Precolonial era. The traditional application of water to land for
dry season farming in the Northern Nigeria was one of the earliest attempts
made towards increasing agricultural production. This not withstanding,
Nigeria has not developed irrigation to the same extent as other developing
nations, particularly in Asia. Only about a million hectare is currently
irrigated in Nigeria. By contrast, India, which has about 3.5 times the
land mass of Nigeria, irrigates nearly forty-five (45) times as much land.
The initial case for development of irrigation in Nigeria was based in
part therefore, on the need to sustain a growth in the food supply that
would broadly lead to national food security. It is revealed that between
1976 and 1990, about US$ 2000 million of public funds were invested in
the development of large to medium scale public irrigation projects. Consequently,
irrigated agriculture witnessed a spectacular growth, rising from slightly
more than 25,000 ha of irrigated farmland in 1975 to the current 974,900
ha. Surface irrigation in its various forms (basins, borders and furrows)
issued predominantly for water applications in both public and private
irrigation schemes.
Areas under irrigation include areas equipped with full or partial water
control, spate irrigation, equipped wetlands and inland valley bottoms
(including fadamas), irrespective of their size or management type. From
a survey undertaken by FMWR i 1995 it appears that irrigated areas in
Nigeria amounts to some 974 900 hectares. However, the exact amount of
land under irrigation is difficult to estimate, because there is no clear
commonly agreed definition of irrigation that is adopted by all.
Three main categories of irrigation development exist in Nigeria today,
namely public irrigation schemes, which are systems under government control
(formal irrigation); the farmer-owned and operated irrigation schemes
(informal irrigation) that receive assistance from government in the form
of subsidies and training; and residual flood plains fadama, where no
government aid is supplied and is based on traditional irrigation practices.
The most important irrigated crops are rice, wheat, and vegetables. Together
they occupy about 90 to 95 per cent of the total water managed area.
At 1998 price, the average cost for irrigation development was estimated
at N750,000 per ha. Annual operation and maintenance costs ranged between
N5,000 per ha for gravity systems and N22,000 per ha for pumping systems,
and up to N30,000 per ha for sprinkler irrigation systems.
Based on past trends and on the present agricultural policy of Nigeria,
a tentative scenario depicts irrigation between years 2000 and 2025. The
scenario does not foresee a significant increase of irrigated area between
now and year 2025. According to projection, land under irrigation has
increased at less than 1% per annum in the last decade. It is not foreseen
that the situation would change significantly because of many reasons.
The harvested irrigated areas would increase from the estimated current
figure of (974 500*1.2) = 1 169 400 hectares to about (1 567 422 * 1.5)
= 2 351 133 hectares in 2025.
Because water is essential for agriculture, the most important external
environmental effects on agriculture are related to the availability and
quality of water.
Surface and subsurface water flows are changing due to changes in landuse
in Nigeria. Important changes are due to agriculture itself, logging,
urbanization and development of infrastructure. These reduce the water
retention capacity of the land, especially if combined with drainage and
trained rivers for flood protection.
The urbanization will also increase withdrawals for domestic and industrial
use resulting in less water being made available for agriculture. Though
the quantity of water withdrawal for domestic and industrial uses might
be relatively small, the quality of the return flows from both are often
seriously degraded.
5. Food Production,
Trade, and Related Water Issues
Meeting Demands
for Water and Food in 2025
Irrigation and drainage
infrastructure is a vital and necessary leg of the Green Revolution triangle
of seeds, fertilizer, and water control. As such, it has played a critical
role in the prevention of famines and widespread starvation and in the
rising standard of living of millions of farmers in parts of the nation.
Nevertheless, the performance of many irrigation and drainage system is
significantly below potential due to a variety of shortcomings.
There is widespread concern about the financial sustainability of irrigation.
Investment cost for developing public irrigation schemes were partly or
fully subsidized. More importantly, the recurrent costs of operation and
maintenance are seldom recovered directly from farmers, resulting in stagnation
in further development of irrigated fields. Such short sighted operation
and maintenance policies have reduced the economic life of irrigation
facilities and led to impaired water delivery capacities. Nigeria need
to shift emphasis towards rehabilitation and modernization of existing
systems, but the cycle of construction-deterioration-rehabilitation has
to be broken through greater mobilization of resources from the farmers
themselves to ensure adequate O&M of the systems.
Some irrigation schemes were implemented with the object of reducing the
dependence on imported rice, and wheat but very few were really successful.
Kano River Irrigation Project and the case of Office du Niger in Mali
are however a good example of successful irrigation schemes.
A number of initiatives have been undertaken to promote rational lowland
development, especially in narrow fadama, strips, which are scattered
everywhere in Nigeria. Improved and locally adapted irrigation techniques
are being promoted by several research institutes, led by the West African
Rice Development Association (WARDA), which manages an Inland Valley Consortium
composed of several national and international research institutes. Technical
documents have been published both for the humid tropics and the Sahelo-Sudanian
zone. Development projects are implemented in most countries with the
financial assistance of bilateral and international donors.
Rice production exploiting surface water during or just after the rainy
season has been the main objective of most of the projects, whereas shallow
aquifers and lowlands areas may also be a reliable source of water for
vegetable production during the dry season. New FAO initiatives in SPFS
are underway to promote micro-scale irrigation using low-cost technologies
to access water (e.g. hand dug wells) and to pump this water (e.g. treadle
or small gasoline driven pumps).
Population growth reduces the per capita availability of fresh water supplies,
leading to stress or even scarcity. Under a new classification scheme,
a country with an annual renewable fresh water supply per capita of more
than 1,700 cubic meters (m3) will experience only occasional local water
shortages. A country having a supply of less than 1,000 m3 per capita
per year will experience chronic water shortages which will hamper economic
development and lead to serious environmental degradation.
Nigeria has sufficient water potential to meet the 2025 requirements,
but will have to more than double their efforts to develop water sources
to do so. However, finding the financial resources to build enough water
development projects to accomplish this will be extremely difficult.
Reallocation and Reuse
It is inevitable agriculture, as the largest water user in many river
basins will be called upon to relinquish supplies it currently withdraws
from the river to other users. We must not lose sight of the fact, however,
that perhaps two-thirds of the water diverted by irrigation typically
returns to the river downstream. Water is often used and reused many times
on its way from an upper watershed to the sea. Reliable systems of property
rights for water are important precursors to orderly transfers of water
among users and uses in future.
Technology/Crop Yields
There is an enormous potential in Nigeria through development of irrigation
for higher yields, which could possibly be achieved by advances in bio-technology
through development of higher producing, pest and drought resistant crops.
However, seeing the present state of affairs, there is little likelihood
of a substantial breakthrough. Only comparatively small advances in the
order of five to ten percent may be expected.
Expanding areas
More production can be realised by developing new areas. Expansion of
rainfed agriculture will in most cases include conversion of natural forests,
mountain slopes or marginal soils, resulting in disturbed ecosystems and
increased erosion. To achieve a same production increment, less land has
to be developed if provided with irrigation. However, the best places
are already occupied and development of new areas will be more costly.
Much attention has to be paid to the rehabilitation of poorly performing
systems, especially those degraded due to poor management. Development
of drainage systems and improved water management practices could return
large areas to productive use.
Rainfed agriculture
will remain the main producer of traditional cereals and tubers. Self
sufficiency of traditional cereals is important for the household food
security of rural populations. Rainfed production will grow at the rate
of the rural population.
Irrigation will grow
as fast as the urban demand in fruit, vegetable an rice. However, at the
national level, wheat will continue to be imported, while rice production
will increase yet the percentage of import may have to be kept at its
present level. Local rice production would mostly come irrigated farms
and be supplemented from fadamas and rainfed production.
ICID and Nigeria
Nigeria is an active member of ICID since 1970. 4th Afro-Asian Regional
Conference was held at Lagos, Nigeria in 1982. Mr. N.O. Papoola (1980-1983),
Dr. E.U. Nwa (1984-1987), and Eng. I.K. Musa (2002-2005) were Vice Presidents.
Nigerian National Committee is actively represented in 7 workbodies of
the Commission. |
