High fuel costs push Niger farmers toward solar irrigation

Niger State farmers have lamented the rising cost of petrol, saying it is making it increasingly difficult to keep irrigation pumps running and pushing them to seek cheaper ways of watering their farms as unpredictable rainfall makes dependence on rain-fed farming riskier.

The farmers raised concerns during a Demand-Supply Linkage, Financing Options Workshop and Field Demonstration on Solar-Based Irrigation Systems organised by the International Water Management Institute, IWMI, in Minna.

Some of the farmers stated that the increasing cost of fuelling irrigation pumps has made farming more expensive.

One of the farmers, Mohammed Musa,  said they need alternatives that would allow them to continue irrigating their farms without spending a significant part of their earnings on fuel.

Another, Saratu Abdul, noted that access to affordable irrigation was becoming increasingly important as farmers could no longer depend solely on rainfall.

She said the high cost of acquiring solar equipment, however, remained a concern for smallholder farmers who were already struggling with rising production costs.

The concerns by the farmers came as agricultural stakeholders, financial institutions and equipment suppliers explored ways of making solar-powered irrigation systems more accessible to smallholder farmers in Niger State.

The Senior Regional Researcher of IWMI, Engineer Dr Adebayo Oke, said the removal of fuel subsidy and subsequent increases in petrol prices had significantly raised the cost of operating conventional irrigation pumps.

According to him, the development had made solar-powered systems increasingly attractive because they could reduce the recurring energy costs faced by farmers. Oke said climate change was also making irrigation increasingly important, as unpredictable rainfall was affecting farmers’ ability to depend entirely on rain-fed agriculture.

He explained that solar irrigation could allow farmers to produce beyond the rainy season while creating opportunities for youths and women to operate irrigation and water-delivery businesses.

However, Oke said the high initial cost of solar irrigation equipment remained one of the major barriers to adoption while cautioning that increased irrigation must be accompanied by responsible water use to prevent pressure on water resources.

The Technical Lead and Consultant, Professor Oluwashun Adebayo Ojeleye, said a two-inch solar irrigation pump costs between N300,000 and N350,000, while a three-inch system costs about N400,000 to N500,000.

He stated that financing arrangements involving banks, equipment suppliers and farmers could help overcome the initial cost, allowing farmers to acquire the equipment and repay from proceeds of their harvests.

Also, the Niger State Commissioner for Agriculture, Isah Sidi Rijau, said farmers could not fully realise the state’s agricultural potential if they continued to depend almost entirely on rainfall, particularly as changing climatic conditions were making farming increasingly unpredictable.

He urged financial institutions to develop financing models tailored to smallholder farmers, while calling on farmers to strengthen their cooperatives to improve their access to agricultural financing.