Water management practices for sustainable rice production in Nigeria

Abstract

The importance of rice in Nigeria is no longer the question but rather how can we meet the growing demand, reduce import and be self-sufficient. Consumption per capita jumped from 2.9 kg (1970/74) to 24.1 kg (1995/99). Our production figure increased by 6 times within the period to 3.27 million tons but our importation figure by 1998 stood at 1 million tons accounting for one third of the total import for West Africa. By 1999 area harvested from rice stood at 2.2 million hectares of which 65% was from rainfed lowland. However our yield average is 1.5 t/ha. There are 55 high yielding varieties for various ecologies officially released and another 6 NERICA varieties in the pipeline for upland areas. The lowland elite varieties with good management could yield up to 6 tons per ha. But these potentials are never achieved on farmers ’ field because of poor water control system and bad soil management. This is why a renewed call for a concerted effort needs to be made for a better water and soil management practices referred to in this paper as *Sawah System and better policies.