By Abdallah el-Kurebe
Irrigation farmers in Sokoto state, Northwest Nigeria are currently converting their pumping machines from the use of petrol (PMS) to LPG (cooking gas)-powered engines, ASHENEWS reports.
So far, farmers in two locations of Lugu and Wurno villages (all in the Wurno local government area of Sokoto state, have been mobilized, and are being sensitized by the Sokoto State Chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).
In the two locations, over 500 pumping machines are earmarked for conversion to LPG (cooking gas), and AFAN has embarked on sensitizing the farmers in these villages.
The Sokoto state chairman of AFAN, Jamilu Sanusi Muhammad told ASHENEWS that while engineers have been contacted for possible conversion of the Yamaha model, at the moment only the Honda model of the pumping machine is being converted.
Benefits of the conversion
Speaking on the benefits of the conversion, which is a result of the frequent pump price rise of the PMS, Muhammad said, “A pumping machine (Honda) will use N1,500 worth of LPG (cooking gas) per day as against N5,600 worth of PMS (petrol) per day in Lugu village and N4,340 worth of PMS (petrol) in Wurno village, respectively.”
According to him, “This is a significant reduction of 73% in the cost of fuel for irrigation in the case of Lugu and a reduction of 65% in the case of Wurno, respectively.
“The time for servicing the machine will be prolonged by doubling its normal duration, thereby reducing the cost of maintenance to 50%,” Muhammad told ASHENEWS.
Asked who between the farmers and AFAN will foot the bill for the conversion, the chairman said, “The farmers are ready to take ‘THE BULL BY THE HORN’. Each farmer will pay for his/her conversion.”
While the Honda model is now being converted, the solar system is being connected to the Yamaha model because it cannot be powered by LPG (cooking Gas).
ASHENEWS’ findings are that the conversion will go a long way in cutting the costs of petrol use in the dry season (starting from October), which will ultimately reduce the cost of producing wheat, rice, onion, tomato, garlic, sweet potatoes, etc significantly, and check the inflation of food prices.
Muhammad said with the intervention of the state government, AFAN will cover dry-season farmers in the 23 local government areas of Sokoto state. “We have discussed with the governor of Sokoto state, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, who has promised to intervene in solving the problem. Before then, our farmers are ready to demonstrate some level of capacity to reduce the burden on the state government.”
