In Nigeria, the most densely populated country in Africa, announced the introduction of a “national emergency” in connection with a threat to food security. This is stated in the Epistle of President Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinube, which was read out at the opening of the “6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage”, held in Abuja.
In his message, Tinube announced a “emergency in the country” in connection with a threat in the field of food security, and also called for the expansion of irrigation infrastructure and joint management of water resources throughout the country.
The President recalled that the conference was organized under the slogan: “The decision of the crisis of the development of irrigation and water management in Africa”, noting that this is a call for the sustainable development of agriculture and economic stability.
“Africa is still faced with serious problems in the realization of her irrigation potential. Among the problems are inadequate infrastructure, financial restrictions, climate change and management,” said Tinube.
He emphasized that the conference provided a significant opportunity to develop solutions to these problems.
According to Tinube, Nigeria has great potential in terms of irrigation.
“In our country there are more than 3.1 million hectares of irrigated lands in large river basins, such as Niger and Benue,” he said.
President of Nigeria also stated the need to adopt an innovative strategy in the field of water supply and agriculture.