*Sustainability-Based Review of Irrigation Schemes Performance for Sustainable Crop… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.103980*

with methods of optimizing water usage using variety of solutions based on sensor networks, microcontrollers and machine learning or fuzzy logic [45]. These methods have been in use to evaluate and predict optimum water required for irrigation. Such a smart irrigation is a systems made up of solar power station, networking infrastructure and water management and control stations (water storage, sprinkle or drip lines, water pumps, soil moisture sensors and micro-controller unit). In smart irrigation systems, the system components are commonly coupled using the Internet of Everything (IoE) approach as schematically summarized and shown in **Figure 3**. The use of such irrigation technology exerted a positive and significant impact on sustainable crop production and food security in Nigeria specifically [48].

#### **Figure 2.**

*Framework for sustainable irrigation scheme design, operation and management [45].*

#### **Figure 3.**

*Technological advances for coupling smart irrigation components using IoE [45].*

Agricultural activities in Jibia Irrigation Project (JIP), Katsina State, depends mainly on power supply from diesel generators and electricity from the national grid to supply water to the farmlands. This has slowed down the pace of irrigation development in the area. The full exploitation of the agricultural potential of JIP and that of Nigeria in general, requires the exploitation of our vast renewable energy sources to provide the needed power. Also, an alternative way to the high power demand of the operation of JIP and the likes is water conservation practices using different types of mulch. KRIP being one of the major irrigated agriculture in the northern Nigeria reported that, the majority of the farmers lack the technical know-how on water conservation and it is based on this that the researchers recommended the need to create awareness to the farmers where major irrigation is taking place. This will assist in achieving water conservation and management strategies in order to effectively and efficiently utilize the limited available water resources.

Irrigation schemes in Nigeria such as Watari Irrigation Project (WIP), Barwa-Minjibir Irrigation Scheme (BMIS), Tomas Irrigation Project (TIP) and Kpong Irrigation Project (KIP) in Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), had to abandon farming activities due to poor water-sharing techniques [50]. Thus, farmers should be fully conversant with irrigation technologies through agricultural machinery and credit facilities. Moreover, farm inputs such as fertilizer, seed, chemical and other materials needed by farmers should be made available to the farmers. Infrastructural decay is also another problem that has been affecting the success of irrigated agriculture in northern Nigeria. About 30% of water structures at WIP were found to be damaged and malfunctioning [51]. Similarly, the conveyance structures were silted and infested by weeds which significantly reduced the carrying capacity of the canal. Also, about 8% of the irrigable area downstream was abandoned due to inadequate supply of water. There is an increased occurrence in soil salinity and sodicity issues within the WIP due to a poor drainage system [52].

In this regard, the majority of the irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria such as Sokoto Rima, Watari, Jibiya and Tomas are operated far below their design capacity due to lack of adoption of improved equipment and poor maintenance [53]. In addition, a larger proportion of the currently used irrigation equipment was purchased during the inception of the projects (the 1970s to 1980s) without replacement. Thus, there is a need to conduct empirical studies in Nigerian irrigation schemes to assess the following;


#### **2.5 Institutional aspect of irrigation schemes sustainability**

Institutions are the political, social or business organizations (public or private) that are involved in policy-making and implementation. While institutional sustainability is the continuation of the benefit flows to the users/clients/owners/ employees or the general public with or without the programmes or organizations that stimulated them in the first place [54]. Institutional performance is considered as

#### *Sustainability-Based Review of Irrigation Schemes Performance for Sustainable Crop… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.103980*

one of the yardsticks with which the performance of developmental institutions such as irrigation schemes can be evaluated. At the end of the 20th century, the increasing role and relevance of social and institutional structures in connection with the whole field of contemporary environmental management are gaining prominence. Currently, institutional mandates constituted social well-being, economic gain as well as environmental health. Such a sustainability-based management strategy has gained more attention all over the world as this form an important developmental strategy as enclosed in the ongoing sustainable development goals (SDGs). The main aim of such a strategy was to effectively and sustainably manage and utilize the limited available natural resources [55]. For example, in the irrigation management sector, this approach has in recent years been employed to shift irrigation management toward a community-based by sharing power with multiple sets of other institutions stakeholders [56]. This requires every stakeholder involved in all levels of irrigation management to collectively take responsibility for managing the affairs of the schemes.

The small-scale private irrigation schemes (SPRI) sector in Nigeria is supported by a range of private agents, including irrigation technology service providers, NGOs, water user associations (WUAs) as well as public institutions such as the National Fadama Development Project (NFDP), the Agricultural Development Project (ADP), the State Irrigation Department (SID), river basin development authorities and state and federal government ministries [56]. A study carried in 1972 led to the institution of three models of public irrigation schemes; namely the Bakolori Scheme, the Chad Basin scheme, and Kano River Irrigation Project, subsequently additional eleven more River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) were added across the country after the success of the pilot schemes in 1976 [57].

The Nigerian government does not only own, operate and maintain irrigation schemes, but provides agro-support services such as land preparation, seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, and assists in marketing the produce. The reforms in water institutions such as Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) systems were formulated and implemented to achieve effective operation of the schemes, equitable distribution of irrigation water among farmers, high crop productivity and food security among others [58].

In the Hadeja-Jama'are river irrigation project, the utilization of the project is just 50% while the Zobe dam in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina which was constructed 40 years ago, currently has few irrigation activities as the scheme is not formally developed. Also, at the Bakolori irrigation dam in Zamfara State, under the Sokoto Rima Water Project, the area cultivated is not commensurate with the amount of water in the dam [57]. For instance, at the end of the 1999/2000 irrigation season, out of the 100,300 ha developed only 35,000 ha were irrigated giving a pathetic 35% capacity utilization. Most of the irrigation schemes that the government has invested in are either underutilized for irrigation or abandoned irrigation schemes like the Hadeja-Jama'are river project, the utilization is 50% while the Zobe dam in Dutsin-Ma in Katsina, which was constructed 40 years ago, currently has little irrigation activities [52]. Cases in points that highlighted the danger of poor irrigation management institutional performance are the findings by [53]. More than 29% of the farmers of Tomas Irrigation Project (TIP) expressed unhappiness with the water allocation method currently used and about 55% of water users hold the opinion that irrigation scheme management, operation and maintenance is an exclusive responsibility of the government. In addition to poor water management, infrastructural decay and stakeholders' conflict as the major problems affecting the scheme.
