Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has called for the establishment of large-scale irrigation farms as a key solution to addressing the escalating food insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin region.
He the call during a panel discussion titled ‘Ensuring Food Security through Building Resilience of Food Systems in the Lake Chad Basin Region’ at the ongoing 5th Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum in Maiduguri.
Other members of the panel include the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, Country Director of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Nigeria, Koffy Dominique Kouacou, and David Stevenson moderated the session.
Zulum stressed that the Lake Chad Basin region is endowed with vast arable land which, if properly harnessed, can significantly contribute to the region’s food security.
He underscored the importance of collaboration between regional governors, critical partners, and the United Nations to establish irrigation farms that can be efficiently managed by agricultural experts.
“We need to invest in irrigation. Irrigated agriculture is the only solution. Unfortunately, our investment in irrigated agriculture is very low. We have vast fertile land. Borno State alone has a total land mass of 72,000 sqkm, out of this, over 70% is arable land,” Zulum stated.
With the region’s growing population, the governor noted that reliance on rainfed and subsistence farming practices is no longer sustainable. He stressed the urgent need for research into climate-resilient crops and farming techniques to ensure food affordability and sufficiency.
“There is increasing population growth while our food production is going down because of over-dependence on rainfall. What we need to see through this forum is how the region will establish larger irrigation farms that can be operated either by surface irrigation or drip irrigation systems that will ensure sufficient utilisation of the limited water resources,” he added.
Governor Zulum further highlighted the importance of livestock development, pointing out that the Lake Chad Basin is the leading producer of livestock in the sub-region.
He suggested that irrigation schemes could support the growth of animal pastures, thus boosting beef and milk production.
