ibironkeeniola The federal government, through the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING), project has launched a N100million research to fashion out ways to tackle the problem of soil salinity and sodicity bedevilling tomato and rice farmers under Kano River Irrigation Project area. The research, which is being undertaken by experts from Bayero University Kano in conjunction with the International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), is aimed at delineating the salt/sodium prone areas so as to proffer solution to the age long menace.
Over 22,000 hectares of farm lands in the project (KRIP) area traversing Kura, Bunkure and Garun-Malam local government areas of the state were said to have high concentration of salt and sodium which are inhibitive to plant growth. Daily Trust gathered that within the last five to ten years since the problem started manifesting in the areas, about 30 to 40 percent of annual output of paddy rice and tomatoes produced in the areas are lost to soil salinity.
SOURCE:DAILY TRUST