Nigerian farmers struggle as climate change dries up water sources.
Farmers in Nigeria are finding it increasingly difficult to get enough water for their crops. Riverbeds have started to run dry leading some to have no choice but to pump for groundwater. The finger is pointed firmly at climate change, with conservationists warning that food could become scarce if measures are not urgently put in place to help the farmers irrigate their land.
These are the conditions for farmers in Nigeria and many believe climate change is to blame. After two decades of working his farm in north-western Nigeria, and struggling to find water for his crops, Nasiru Bello has no other option but to resort to pumping groundwater. A muddy puddle is all that remains of a river that had provided water for his over five-hectare farm and those of others in the Kwalkwalawa community in arid Sokoto state. “All these things are a result of climate change, because in the previous years we didn’t know the dryness of rivers like that but now due to climate change they are dry.
