The Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Oyo State chapter, says lack of irrigation facilities has become a major obstacle to dry-season farming in the state.

The chairperson of SWOFON in Oyo State, Atinuke Akinbade, said this in Ibadan on Monday.

Ms Akinbade, who shared the experiences of women farmers in the state during the 2025 dry season, said that inadequate access to irrigation water significantly affected many farmers’ performance during the period.

“It hindered many older farmers from participating in dry season farming and also prevented younger farmers from doing as much as they could in cultivating large acres of land,” she said.

Ms Akinbade explained that farmers who managed to plant during the season struggled to access sufficient water to irrigate their farms, a situation worsened by the effects of climate change.

“Many farmers who depended on streams and wells to water their crops suffered major setbacks because those sources could not provide enough water for irrigation.

“Some farmers had to resort to buying water from commercial water tankers, which increased the cost of production, while at times it was even difficult to get water from the tankers,” she said.
The SWOFON chairperson warned that failure to address the problem could worsen food insecurity in the coming months.

“Even now, rainy season farming has not fully commenced because of the irregular rainfall pattern.

“This is a double burden, and if nothing is done, it may lead to serious hunger later,” she said.

Ms Akinbade, however, acknowledged that the government had organised training for members of the association on home gardening.
She, however, said that little support was provided to address the challenges of dry-season farming.

The chairman said that the home garden support package given to members consisted mainly of seedlings and one sprayer.

“They gave us two packs each of maize and pepper seeds, with six seeds in each pack, as well as one sprayer, so that we can grow food for household consumption,” she said.

Earlier, Oluwatoyin Oyedeji, SWOFON coordinator in Oyo East, explained the severe hardship members of the organisation experienced in sourcing water for irrigation.

“Many farmers are already counting their losses because water was not available to irrigate their farms.

“Those who depended on streams and brooks were badly affected because many of them dried up, while the few that still had water had so little that farmers had to dig deeper into the ground in search of more,” Mr Oyedeji said.

In the same vein, the women’s leader for farmers in Saki East, Musiliu Ashiru, said the absence of irrigation facilities also hampered dry-season farming in her area.

According to her, many farmers who still engage in dry-season farming have had to pay for water to keep their crops alive.
“Many of them buy water from the dam here to irrigate their crops. It has not been easy for them this year,” Ms Ashiru said.
(NAN)