Shortage of Water as a Constraint to Irrigation Farming at Daberam Dam Site, Northern Nigeria

Irrigation farming the world over is currently facing serious challenges due to growing scarcity and competition for water especially in arid and semi arid regions. A number of medium and small scale irrigation projects are constrained by shortage of water which limits irrigation farming at the dam’s sites. The Daberam dam located in Katsina State northern Nigeria has been facing shortage of water for ten years. This paper examines the shortage of water as a constraint to irrigation farming at the dam site. Data for the research were collected through structured questionnaire administered on the irrigation farmers and direct observation during field visit .The results have shown that a number of factors have been responsible for the shortage of water which include construction of other dams around the river basin, insufficient water discharged by streams that feed the dam, heavy silting of the dam insufficient rainfall experienced in the area. The farmers have adopted a number of measures to cope with the shortage of water which includes rationing water, digging wells, migrating to nearby dams, abandoning irrigation farming etc. The implications of the shortage include low farm productivity, physiological stress to the crops, and loss of employment opportunities. This situation has attracted the attention of the State Government that has awarded contract for the rehabilitation of the dam to be able to contain more water and establishment of agro-meteorological station to provide weather related data. The paper recommended additional measures towards improving water supply to the dam.

Keywords: Shortage, water, constraint, irrigation farming, Daberam.