Sports

IWMI Launches Stakeholders Dialogue Platform To Shape Nigeria’s FLID Agenda

Published

2 weeks ago

September 22, 2025

Mariam Sanni

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has launched a Multi-stakeholder Platform on Farmer-led Irrigation (MSD-FLID) to foster cross
sectoral engagement, collaborative priority setting, demand articulation, and investment to shape the country’s FLID agenda.

The platform is aimed towards bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders across Nigeria’s irrigation and agricultural sectors.

IWMI officially launched the platform on September 10th with the first in a series of multi-stakeholder dialogues – a crucial component of the platform, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources & Sanitation (FMWR&S), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMA&FS), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), and the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) Project.

As Africa grapples with the increased frequency and intensity of climate impacts, irrigation becomes a critical adaptation and resilience building strategy. There is significant potential for small-scale farmer-led irrigation development (FLID) in Nigeria.

As a farmer-driven approach, FLID offers opportunities to explore solar-powered solutions and public-private partnerships that promote scalable irrigation innovations, helping to bring these technologies and solutions to a wider group of smallholders. FLID’s full potential, however, remains underutilized.

Despite the availability of numerous irrigation innovations, adoption is constrained by weak cross-sectoral coordination, policy incoherence, lack of flexible financing, and misalignment of national needs and priorities with development interventions.

Supporting farmer-led irrigation development to drive Nigeria’s food security needs urgent action. Boosting productivity, food security, and improving livelihoods through irrigation development requires an enabling environment for effective coordination and enhanced harmonization of programs to accelerate irrigation innovation uptake.

The dialogue highlighted the critical importance of improved coordination to expand FLID in Nigeria.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Olufunke Cofie, IWMI’s Africa Director for Research Impact, emphasized IWMI’s long-standing commitment to supporting food system transformation in Africa and in Nigeria particularly:

“The potential for farmer-led irrigation in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa is significant. Stakeholders must collaborate to realize this potential. FLID is central to African agrifood systems transformation and crucial for resilience building.”

Engr. Esther Oluniyi, the Director of Irrigation and Drainage, FMWR&S, and Mr. Ayo Sotinrin, the Managing, Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Nigeria, both emphasized the essential need for a multi-stakeholder platform to address the challenges of scaling up FLID.

“Strong partnerships are key to the transformation of Nigeria’s irrigation sector. We are ready to collaborate with all stakeholders,” Engr Esther Oluniyi, Director Irrigation and Drainage, FMWR&S, Nigeria.

Mr. Sotinrin also reaffirmed BOA’s commitment to supporting FLID through innovative financing products, strategic partnerships, and schemes for solar irrigation.

“BOA will continue to work with IWMI to co-design tailored financial products for FLID, develop financing models for solar irrigation, and leverage its network for FLID advancement,” Sotinrin stated.

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Sports

Nigeria Jets Out Tuesday for 2025 Hockey AFCON as Federation President Engr Nkom Backs Teams for Podium Finish

Published

1 hour ago

October 5, 2025

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

With the 2025 Hockey African Cup of Nations (AFCON) set to take place in Egypt from October 11 to 18, both the men’s and women’s national hockey teams are set to depart Nigeria on October 7, brimming with confidence and determination to make the nation proud.

The President of the Hockey Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Engineer Simon Nkom, speaking after a series of friendly matches at the Hockey Pitch, Package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, said the teams’ early preparation and intensive training camps have positioned them for a successful outing in Egypt.

“In sports—whether it’s hockey, handball, or basketball—fitness is key. That’s why we began camping weeks ago to build the players’ strength and resilience ahead of this major competition. This is the African Cup of Nations—the highest level of hockey on the continent. We’ve prepared well, and I’m confident our teams will finish on the podium,” he stated.

Nkom highlighted the significant progress Nigerian hockey has recorded in recent years, noting that the country’s world ranking improved from 56th to 36th, while in Hockey 5s, Nigeria now stands 12th globally.

“A few years ago, people barely knew hockey existed in Nigeria. Today, our women’s team ranks 3rd in Africa, and the men’s team is 4th. This growth is a product of deliberate grassroots development and consistent effort,” he added.

To ensure smooth participation and avoid past challenges of late arrivals at tournaments, the federation has finalized logistics for early departure.

“We’ve made all arrangements for the teams to leave early to acclimatize and play friendly matches before the competition begins. The players are motivated, relaxed, and ready to give their best. By God’s grace, they will return home with their heads held high,” Nkom assured.

The HFN President also lauded the federation’s board members for their commitment and teamwork over the past four years, which he said has greatly contributed to the sport’s steady rise in Nigeria.

Head coach Ndana Baba Abdullahi, who oversees both the men’s and women’s teams, praised the federation’s support and lauded the players’ work ethic throughout the extended training camp.

“We’ve worked very hard — morning and evening sessions, tactical drills, conditioning. The players have responded excellently. We started with 35 players and are now down to the final 18 who will make the trip,” Abdullahi said, adding that the early arrival in Egypt would give Nigeria a crucial psychological and tactical edge.

Men’s team captain, Michael John, expressed confidence in the squad’s readiness and determination to make history in Egypt.

“We’re perfectly fine — we’ve trained hard and prepared well,” he said. “We’re just waiting for the whistle to blow. By God’s grace, we won’t disappoint our country or those who worked hard to send us there.”

Similarly, women’s team captain, Alfa Cornelius, echoed optimism about the team’s prospects.

“We’ve been camping for over a month, and the coaches have done a wonderful job. We’ve worked hard to match our opponents in both strength and skill. I’m 100% confident that we’ll perform excellently in Egypt,” she said.

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