Water scarcity in Nigeria is predicted to worsen due to climate change, and this poses a threat to its food security.
The collective effect of less water and rising heat are destroying Nigeria’s farming system, which in turn destabilizes the whole food supply chain, from farm to table.
Besides causing loss in crop yields, this also leads to higher food prices, less food availability, and poorer nutrition for millions of people in Nigeria.
Climate change is expected to greatly reduce the water needed for farming across the country. Projected temperature rises already increase evaporation, pulling moisture from the soil and from reservoirs needed for irrigation. This warming also reduces runoff into rivers and limits the groundwater recharge that most agrarian areas in the north rely upon, setting the stage for prolonged aridity.
This scarcity creates a vicious cycle. Because the weather is so hot, crops need more water. Farmers then must irrigate more frequently just to stop their plants from wilting. This creates a severe supply demand contradiction whereby the little water we have needs to stretch further than ever to satisfy an overheated environment.
In desperation to protect their investment, farmers overpump groundwater, so it drains out much faster than nature can refill the underground reservoirs. This guarantees long-term depletion as the water sources eventually run dry, completely wiping out future farming seasons.
This breakdown of water supply will eventually affect the production of staple foods because as the yield of these crops reduce, they immediately become scarce, and so, their prices begin to increase. And lower income households will be most affected.
How to Fix This
In order to secure its food supply, Nigeria must forsake its present wasteful water systems and replace them with advanced micro irrigation systems.
The country should invest heavily in drip irrigation and high precision sprinklers to reduce the amount of water used per crop. This will most likely require federal or state interventions focused on fixing damaged canals so as to avoid leakages and store water much more effectively.
Also, farmers should be taught to avoid monoculture and instead, use drought resistant crops. Planting traditional grains that need less water, such as millet and improved kinds of sorghum, helps retain soil moisture.
The country should also be ready to find alternative water sources. This may involve cleaning wastewater so it can be used safely for farming and building desalination projects, especially near the coastal areas (Lagos and the Niger Delta). These projects require a high initial investment but they provide a secure, drought proof water supply that protects the food system from climate shocks.
However, these strategies will remain ineffective and unsustainable without decisive centralized government action.
The government needs to make sure water policies prioritize food production. It should also create programs that teach farmers how to use water wisely based on science and adopt prediction tools which help plan water use better. That is the only way Nigeria can successfully defend its food supply against the water shortages caused by climate change.
