Experts Recommend New Agricultural Land Administration Method
A report on irrigation agriculture practices in Nigeria has recommended the adoption of semi-formal land ownership and administration methods to boost land use and agricultural production in Nigeria.
The report, titled, “Learning by Doing! Action Research Experiences from TRIMING Project in Nigeria’s Public Irrigation Schemes,” was released in Abuja, yesterday, at a two-day workshop organised by Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING), a World Bank-funded Federal Government initiative.
The publication, compiled by Research Panel of Experts (RPoE), assembled by TRIMING, is the synthesis of research reports and outcomes from five research projects funded by the TRIMING Project. The research is aimed at advancing irrigation farming in Nigeria and to address challenges in agricultural production and its value chain. The research projects were carried out between 2017 and 2023 in five target schemes, namely: Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme (HVIS); Middle Rima Valley Irrigation Scheme (MRVIS); Bakolori Irrigation Scheme (BIS); Kano River Irrigation Scheme (KRIS); and Dadin Kowa Irrigation Scheme (DKIS).
“The semi-formal land administration method was socially acceptable, transparent, pro-equity, effective, cost efficient, sustainable, and farmers were willing to adopt it; hence a high possibility that it will be adopted for implementation of land consolidation in DKIS.
“The semi-formalised land administration process was perceived as having the potential to guarantee security of tenure and land use rights, support land taxation, provide collateral for credit, develop and monitor land markets, reduce land disputes, facilitate land reform, improve infrastructure development, and support environmental management.
Hence it was concluded that the land administration process may promote private investments in agriculture and support sustainable irrigation development.”
In her remarks, Mrs. Walson-Jack disclosed that the Federal Government had initiated advocacy programmes aimed at enhancing host communities’ understanding of the projects in order to deepen their participation and ownership of completed water projects.
She listed some of the benefits expected from the workshop as best practices identification, capacity building, networking and collaboration.
She told participants that the success of the workshop depended on their active participation, engagement, and commitment to the shared goal of enhancing agricultural productivity.
TRIMING’s National Project Coordinator, Mr Peter Yakubu Manjuk, said the workshop was planned, among other things, to discuss the sustainability issues relating to the research finding and recommend action. It was also meant to promote community ownership of the research outcomes and plan for advocacy programmes for upscaling the promising research results by relevant institutions.
Source: https://guardian.ng/news/irrigation-agriculture-experts-recommend-new-land-administration-method/