An Evaluation of Water and Land Uses in the Kano River Project, Phase I, Kano State

The paper evaluates the use of water and land, as important irrigation components, in the Kano River Project, Phase I, based on the Kadawa Large-Scale Irrigation Project. The aim of the paper is to see whether project farmers apply irrigation water and cultivate land to the levels specified by the project management, in accordance with the original project design. The irrigation water requirements of wheat and tomatoes and the projected hectares were taken as standards to demonstrate farmers’ effort in water application and land Development. An average water amount of 4627m³/ha was applied on wheat as against the recommended average of 6557. 1m³/ha. For tomatoes, an average water amount of 6933.9m³/ha was applied as against the recommended average of 7139m³/ha. Again, in terms of land development, an average of 1.1 hectares were under wheat cultivation as against 1.2 hectares devoted to tomato cultivation. The use of these important land development inputs, among others, has yielded an average of 2.0 tonnes per hectare per farmer as against the projected 2.6 tonnes of wheat. For tomatoes, an average yield of 34.5 tonnes per hectare per farmer was realized as against the projected 24.3 tonnes per hectare. It is argued that the observed improper water application and low land development are bound to pose serious limitations to efficient performance of the irrigation project, and, hence a threat to a sustainable irrigation development.