Nigeria is facing a severe food security crisis, with an estimated 30.6 million people experiencing acute hunger as a result of conflict, high inflation, and the intensifying effects of climate change. Increasingly frequent floods and droughts have damaged agricultural production and heightened the vulnerability of rural communities. In this context, irrigation has emerged as a critical strategy for climate adaptation and resilience-building within the country’s agrifood systems.
Despite its importance, irrigation remains significantly underdeveloped in Nigeria. Around 14.5 million smallholder farmers, who produce roughly 90 percent of the nation’s food, still depend largely on rainfall. Although about three million hectares of farmland are suitable for irrigation, only around five percent is currently irrigated. High equipment and maintenance costs, limited farmer knowledge and training, poor infrastructure, restricted access to credit, and weak policy and institutional support have all constrained the adoption of irrigation, particularly at small scale.
Irrigation has the potential to enable year-round food production, improve water productivity, and strengthen the resilience of farming systems. While the Federal Government has renewed its focus on irrigation to boost agricultural output, most interventions continue to prioritize large, formal irrigation schemes. This approach has often overlooked informal, farmer-led irrigation systems, which can be more adaptive, sustainable, and responsive to local needs.
Farmer-led irrigation development places farmers at the center of investment and decision-making, allowing them to choose crops, technologies, irrigation methods, and markets based on their specific contexts. This flexible, bottom-up approach has already demonstrated positive impacts in states such as Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Sokoto, where shallow groundwater tube wells have enabled year-round crop production and enhanced food security. However, wider adoption remains limited by weak coordination across sectors, policy inconsistencies, insufficient financing options, and misalignment between national priorities and development programs.
To address these challenges and scale farmer-led irrigation, coordinated action among diverse stakeholders is essential. The International Water Management Institute has established a multi-stakeholder platform on farmer-led irrigation to strengthen collaboration, align priorities, and mobilize investment across Nigeria’s irrigation and agricultural sectors. Launched in partnership with key government ministries, financial institutions, and development initiatives, the platform builds on regional experience with solar irrigation, digital advisory tools, and climate-resilient water management solutions.
Going forward, the platform will support regular dialogue among stakeholders to shape policies, improve access to finance, and promote technically and economically viable irrigation solutions, including solar-powered technologies. Strengthening farmers’ capacities through digital decision-support tools and better access to data on water availability, weather, and markets will also remain a priority. By putting farmers at the center of irrigation development, these efforts aim to reduce reliance on rainfed agriculture, strengthen food security, and support sustainable livelihoods, contributing to Nigeria’s national goals and broader continental development ambitions.
