BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
The Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation is collaborating with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to enhance the quality of irrigation water in the country.
A statement by Mrs Funmi Imuetinyan, Director Information and Public Relations of the Ministry, said this development was disclosed Wednesday during the meeting of the Technical Committee on Water Quality, focusing on developing the Nigerian Standard for Irrigation Water Quality held in collaboration with the Standards Organization of Nigeria in Abuja.
In her remarks during the meeting, Mrs. Oyeronke Oluniyi, Director of Irrigation and Drainage at the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, described the National Standard for Irrigation Water Quality as vital for enhancing agricultural productivity, ensuring food security, and advancing socio-economic development in Nigeria.
She highlighted the Ministry’s efforts to raise awareness about water quality by discouraging harmful practices such as washing clothes in irrigation systems and open defecation, given that many food products are consumed raw.
Mrs. Oluniyi added that the project would be transferred to the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) for implementation, with the ministry maintaining a supervisory role to ensure its success.
In his submission, Dr. Ifeanyi Okeke, the Director General of SON, represented by the Deputy Director, Food and Agriculture Group, Mrs Nene Obianwu, said maintaining standards was key to protecting crops from harmful contaminants which threatens public health.
He highlighted the release of two critical documents to enhance national standardization; the Principles and Procedures for the Development of the Nigerian National Standards (PPDNNS) and the Nigerian National Standardisation Strategy (NNSS).
The NNSS outlines a four-year plan to address Nigeria’s environmental and socio-economic priorities in line with international best practices.
Dr. Okeke emphasized the importance of forming a National Technical Committee to finalize the National Standard for Irrigation Water Quality and underscored water’s critical role in agriculture, particularly in addressing challenges like climate change and population growth.
He stressed that improving water management and irrigation standards would protect crops from harmful contaminants, safeguard public health, and drive economic growth.
Also speaking , the Director of Water Quality Control and Sanitation at the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation , Mrs Elizabeth Ugoh emphasised that validating irrigation standards would help tackle key development challenges in Nigeria.
She said the Ministry was committed to validating irrigation standards to boost food security, nutrition, productivity, and socio-economic development.
She noted that the committee has been critically reviewing the documents since 2022 to develop irrigation water quality standards tailored to Nigeria’s needs for effective agricultural practices.
She also stressed the need to address poor monitoring and evaluation and to conduct regular reviews for sustainable progress.
