Zulum at the panel discussion
Gov. Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has called for the establishment of large-scale irrigation farms as a key solution in addressing the growing food insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin region.
A statement from Government House Press Unit said Zulum made 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, while David Stevenson moderated the session.
Zulum noted the potential of the Lake Chad Basin region is endowed with vast arable land, and said if properly harnessed it would 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% are arable land,” the governor said.
Koffy, Zulum, Stevenson, and Kyari
He observed that with the region’s growing population, reliance on rainfed and subsistence farming practices is no longer sustainable, adding that there is 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.”
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, pointing out that irrigation schemes could support the growth of animal pastures, thus boosting beef and milk production.
“We have a low-hanging fruit in irrigation. The shores of Lake Chad provide ample water resources and even where surface water is scarce, we can easily drill tube wells.
“What we need now is the political will from governors, regional partners, the federal government, and the national governments of Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic to drive this process,” Zulum said.
