By Lanre Omotoso
Governors of the Southwest states have been enjoined to create more dams to harvest rainwater that will be useful for irrigation farming during dry season.
A lecturer in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Professor Raphael Omolehin gave the advice on the need to safeguard rainwater that may lead to flooding.
Professor Omolehin emphasized that governments in the Northern parts of the country created artificial lakes, which farmers utilized during dry season to grow food crops.
The Agricultural economist, who stressed that the River Basin Commissions in the Southwest did not have noticeable dams for dry season farming, urged them to learn from their Northern counterparts, who ensured that their farmers grow 80 percent of cereals needed by breweries in the Southwest.
He noted that instead of allowing rain to constitute flooding, the one channelled to artificial lakes could be useful for agricultural, domestic and hydro-electrical purposes.
While stressing that the Southwest is endowed with thick forests, Professor Omolehin added that governors in the region could create artificial lake, bulldoze those forest and cluster farmers around them for all year round farming.
He stressed that pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, maize and rice attract diseases during rainy season, but yield bountiful during dry season, saying irrigation would make most crops to be cheaper and affordable.
The Agricultural economist noted that most farmers in the Southwest practised subsistence farming, calling on Governors of the region to purchase irrigation equipments, subsidize fertilizer and agro chemicals for their farmers to be able to produce surplus food so as to reduce hunger.
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