Sustainable Farming for Food Security in Nigeria
In many parts of Africa, smallholder farmers face the daunting challenge of water scarcity. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 40% of Africa’s population relies on agriculture for their livelihoods, yet less than 4% of farmland is irrigated.
For the majority of these farmers, reliance on inconsistent rainfall and costly diesel-powered pumps severely limits their productivity and profitability. The lack of access to affordable, reliable irrigation solutions results in crop failures, lower yields, and food insecurity across the continent.
As the global conversation on climate resilience and sustainable agriculture gains momentum, especially in the lead-up to COP30, Nigeria stands at a critical point in addressing its food security challenges. National plans to scale up irrigation infrastructure, enhance agricultural productivity, and ensure food security, whilst simultaneously addressing the sustainability of energy production, have been initiated, including the Renewed Hope Infrastructural Development Plan (RHIDP) and the Accelerated Stabilization and Advancement Plan (ASAP). These plans aim to address the problem of recurrent in-season drought by increasing irrigated land under cultivation and opening new irrigable land for all year-round farming and improving the capacity of farmers to adopt climate-smart techniques and tools, including Solar Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS). The integration of renewable energy with modern irrigation solutions represents a transformative approach to tackling the impacts of climate change issues, such as erratic rainfall, but also addressing low agricultural productivity and resource inefficiency, particularly among smallholder farmers. These plans also offer the potential to create many new jobs for young men and women in the agriculture sector and supporting services.
Building on a Strong Foundation
CARES Group has played an integral role in Nigeria’s irrigation reform efforts through its contributions to the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) project. This initiative, backed by the World Bank, focused on rehabilitating key irrigation schemes and enhancing their operational efficiency. CARES has been involved in the organizational and institutional changes at two irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria, transferring responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the bulk infrastructure, from the River Basin Development Authority to a new Scheme Management Office (SMO), and establishing and building the capacity of farmer-based Water Users’ Associations (WUA) to manage their sectors of the scheme. Under the new system, the WUAs pay a tariff for the water supplied to them by the SMO under the terms of a Water Service Agreement, which is governed by a Scheme Executive comprising representatives of all the key stakeholders. CARES developed the Decision Support Tools that enable all levels of the scheme management structure to understand the water demands and distribution schedules, making adjustments throughout the growing seasons to account for crop growth and weather conditions, and to set the water tariffs through a transparent process, ensuring that regular and planned maintenance activities are fully funded and implemented.
CARES Group has also undertaken work to promote climate adaptation by smallholder farmers, upscaling their adoption of Solar Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS) (UN-CTCN Solar Powered Irrigation Systems for Lowland Rice (Liberia) and SPIS Innovative Financing Mechanisms, Conducive Policy Framework, Technology Regulation and Training Modules (Ghana)). In Liberia and Ghana, CARES have supported the rollout of SPIS technologies in rural communities, implementing a pilot scheme and providing training and strategic planning that helped farmers increase yields, reduce dependence on rainfed agriculture and optimise water use. The insights gained into the technical and socio-economic issues of adoption of SPIS solutions by smallholders uniquely position CARES to provide technical and managerial support in replicating and scaling similar successes in Nigeria.
Regarding Renewable Energy, CARES Group has a unique understanding of the hydropower potential in Nigeria (Nigeria Hydropower), particularly of existing multi-purpose dams which have only been partially commissioned. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources commissioned CARES to review eight large, existing irrigation dams, where there were facilities for hydropower development, but power-generating equipment had not been installed or connected to the national grid. The studies considered whether the dams could be brought into production, the water demands for irrigation, and the possibility of using surplus water for additional hydropower generating capacity.
See more of our services and contributions here: https://www.cares-group.com/projects/
Looking Ahead
As TRIMING transitions into its next phase under the Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria (SPIN) programme, the vision is to combine the rehabilitation or development of hydropower dams with sustainable irrigation systems downstream. The SPIN project will address the nexus of water-food-energy challenges in Nigeria through investments in irrigation, dam safety, and hydropower planning. By mobilizing water for productive purposes, optimizing the use of existing storage facilities, and enhancing hydropower planning capacity, the project will make integrated management of water, energy, and food more effective and resilient. SPIN aims to improve the management and resilience of multi-purpose water infrastructure by strengthening the policies, institutions, capacities, and inter-governmental cooperation required for water resources management, modernizing irrigation infrastructure and agricultural practices, and improving dam operations and safety.
The SPIN schemes tend to be larger scale, requiring multi-governmental efforts of federal and state actors in managing dams, energy production, and water distribution. In parallel to SPIN, Nigeria is also setting the stage for a more inclusive and decentralized irrigation future through the Irrigate Nigeria project, spearheaded by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and supported by the Office of the Vice President and various partners. The project aims to enhance mechanized farming and enable three farming cycles each year, in particular by promoting access to PPP-driven SPIS, with a focus on increasing productivity and climate resilience among smallholder farmers growing key staple crops and horticultural produce.
The intersection of renewable energy and irrigation represents a powerful solution to Africa’s intertwined challenges of food insecurity and climate vulnerability. CARES Group is committed to being at the heart of this transition in Nigeria and across the region, bringing forward our experience, insights, and collaborative spirit to build resilient systems that empower farmers, protect ecosystems, and sustain national development.
As Nigeria advances on this path with critical support from international donors and strategic partnerships, CARES Group remains ready to contribute to a greener, food-secure future.