Nigeria's quest for food security remains a significant challenge, with irrigation management playing a critical role. The country ranks 96 out of 113 on the Global Food Security Index. With a rapidly growing population projected to double from 200 million to 400 million by 2050, the challenge will intensify. Currently, about 90% of Nigeria's food production relies on rainfed agriculture. Effective stakeholder engagement is crucial for sustainable irrigation management, yet its current status in Nigeria is inadequate. Investing in irrigation infrastructure and improving water management practices will boost agricultural productivity. This paper examines the importance of stakeholder engagement in irrigation management and its impact on food security. The paper proposes a framework for stakeholder engagement, emphasizing the need to identify, analyse, and prioritize stakeholders' involvement in irrigation development. Strategies for Getting, Keeping, and Growing (GKG) stakeholders are highlighted. These strategies will enhance the stakeholder base for higher impact, sustain longterm engagement, deepen relationships to innovate for higher-scale impact, and ensure mutual benefits. Furthermore, the paper showcases a couple of examples of best practices in stakeholder management in Nigeria, highlighting successful initiatives and lessons learned. The two case studies are the World Bank-assisted Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) project and the Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria (SPIN) Project. To strengthen stakeholder management and enhance food security in Nigeria, the paper recommends establishing stakeholder platforms, develop Stakeholder Engagement Plan, cascading lessons learnt to new Schemes, capacity building for stakeholders, and developing inclusive irrigation policies. Adopting a stakeholder-centric approach will enable Nigeria to harness the full potential of irrigation management to achieve food security. By prioritizing stakeholder engagement, Nigeria can make significant strides towards improving agricultural productivity, reducing poverty, and enhancing food security.
| Published in | American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry (Volume 14, Issue 1) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14 |
| Page(s) | 30-38 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Stakeholder Engagement, Irrigation Management, Food Security, Nigeria
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| [2] | Food and Agriculture Organization (2017). Nigeria: Country Profile. |
| [3] | National Bureau of Statistics (2020). Nigeria’s GDP Report. |
| [4] | National Climate Change Commission (2020). Nigeria’s Climate Change Policy. |
| [5] | National Population Commission (2019). Nigeria’s Population Report. |
| [6] | World Bank (2020). Nigeria Economic Update. |
| [7] | World Bank (2018). Stakeholder Engagement: A Guide for Development Practitioners. |
| [8] | World Bank (2019). Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) Project. |
| [9] | Federal Ministry of Water Resources (2019). Nigeria’s Water Resources Report. |
| [10] | Global Water Partnership (2019). Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). |
| [11] | Grimble, R., & Wellard, K. (1997). Stakeholder Methodologies in Natural Resource Management. |
| [12] | Freeman, R. E. (2010). Stakeholder Theory: The State of the Art. |
| [13] | Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (2020). Agricultural Policy. |
| [14] | Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment (2020). Environmental Policy. |
| [15] | Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria (SPIN) Project (2020). Project Report. |
| [16] | African Development Bank (2018). Irrigation Management Transfer: A Review of the Literature. |
APA Style
Ochigbo, A. J. (2026). Stakeholder Engagement in Irrigation Management: Key to Unlocking Food Security in Nigeria. American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 14(1), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14
ACS Style
Ochigbo, A. J. Stakeholder Engagement in Irrigation Management: Key to Unlocking Food Security in Nigeria. Am. J. Agric. For. 2026, 14(1), 30-38. doi: 10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14,
author = {Adoyi John Ochigbo},
title = {Stakeholder Engagement in Irrigation Management: Key to Unlocking Food Security in Nigeria},
journal = {American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {30-38},
doi = {10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajaf.20261401.14},
abstract = {Nigeria's quest for food security remains a significant challenge, with irrigation management playing a critical role. The country ranks 96 out of 113 on the Global Food Security Index. With a rapidly growing population projected to double from 200 million to 400 million by 2050, the challenge will intensify. Currently, about 90% of Nigeria's food production relies on rainfed agriculture. Effective stakeholder engagement is crucial for sustainable irrigation management, yet its current status in Nigeria is inadequate. Investing in irrigation infrastructure and improving water management practices will boost agricultural productivity. This paper examines the importance of stakeholder engagement in irrigation management and its impact on food security. The paper proposes a framework for stakeholder engagement, emphasizing the need to identify, analyse, and prioritize stakeholders' involvement in irrigation development. Strategies for Getting, Keeping, and Growing (GKG) stakeholders are highlighted. These strategies will enhance the stakeholder base for higher impact, sustain longterm engagement, deepen relationships to innovate for higher-scale impact, and ensure mutual benefits. Furthermore, the paper showcases a couple of examples of best practices in stakeholder management in Nigeria, highlighting successful initiatives and lessons learned. The two case studies are the World Bank-assisted Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) project and the Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria (SPIN) Project. To strengthen stakeholder management and enhance food security in Nigeria, the paper recommends establishing stakeholder platforms, develop Stakeholder Engagement Plan, cascading lessons learnt to new Schemes, capacity building for stakeholders, and developing inclusive irrigation policies. Adopting a stakeholder-centric approach will enable Nigeria to harness the full potential of irrigation management to achieve food security. By prioritizing stakeholder engagement, Nigeria can make significant strides towards improving agricultural productivity, reducing poverty, and enhancing food security.},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Stakeholder Engagement in Irrigation Management: Key to Unlocking Food Security in Nigeria AU - Adoyi John Ochigbo Y1 - 2026/02/02 PY - 2026 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14 T2 - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JF - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry JO - American Journal of Agriculture and Forestry SP - 30 EP - 38 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8591 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajaf.20261401.14 AB - Nigeria's quest for food security remains a significant challenge, with irrigation management playing a critical role. The country ranks 96 out of 113 on the Global Food Security Index. With a rapidly growing population projected to double from 200 million to 400 million by 2050, the challenge will intensify. Currently, about 90% of Nigeria's food production relies on rainfed agriculture. Effective stakeholder engagement is crucial for sustainable irrigation management, yet its current status in Nigeria is inadequate. Investing in irrigation infrastructure and improving water management practices will boost agricultural productivity. This paper examines the importance of stakeholder engagement in irrigation management and its impact on food security. The paper proposes a framework for stakeholder engagement, emphasizing the need to identify, analyse, and prioritize stakeholders' involvement in irrigation development. Strategies for Getting, Keeping, and Growing (GKG) stakeholders are highlighted. These strategies will enhance the stakeholder base for higher impact, sustain longterm engagement, deepen relationships to innovate for higher-scale impact, and ensure mutual benefits. Furthermore, the paper showcases a couple of examples of best practices in stakeholder management in Nigeria, highlighting successful initiatives and lessons learned. The two case studies are the World Bank-assisted Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) project and the Sustainable Power and Irrigation in Nigeria (SPIN) Project. To strengthen stakeholder management and enhance food security in Nigeria, the paper recommends establishing stakeholder platforms, develop Stakeholder Engagement Plan, cascading lessons learnt to new Schemes, capacity building for stakeholders, and developing inclusive irrigation policies. Adopting a stakeholder-centric approach will enable Nigeria to harness the full potential of irrigation management to achieve food security. By prioritizing stakeholder engagement, Nigeria can make significant strides towards improving agricultural productivity, reducing poverty, and enhancing food security. VL - 14 IS - 1 ER -
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