A review of the evaluation of irrigation practice in Nigeria: Past, present and future prospects

Irrigation practice across the world is vital to successful green revolution all year round to achieving sustainable development goals in food security, socio-economic and rural development. However, irrigation practice in Nigeria has not achieved the set goals despite the huge investment involved. Moreover, the level of investment and abundant water resources ought to have expedited the goals of food self-sufficiency and socio-economic development in the country. This review attempts to uncover the underline issues regarding the irrigation practice in Nigeria through the evaluation of past and present practices, and its future prospects. The review showed that the major persistent issues that have been hindering the performance of irrigation practice to achieving the set goals were inconsistent government policies, lack of political commitment, low awareness and lack of technical know-how among the farmers on irrigation farming system, and untimely financial intervention. In addition, the communication gap between the government and the farmers was responsible for some cases of underutilization and abandonment of large-scale irrigation system. The study concluded that to achieve food security and socio-economic development through irrigation systems practice in Nigeria, there is need to provide proper policy framework, appropriate technology, and farmers’ awareness and their inclusion in the decision making process. Key words: Irrigation practice, Green revolution, socio-economic development.