The Smallholder Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), Oyo State chapter, yesterday, said that the lack of irrigation facilities had become a major obstacle to dry-season farming in the state.

Chairperson of SWOFON in Oyo State, Atinuke Akinbade, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

Akinbade, who shared the experiences of women farmers in the state during the 2025 dry season, said that inadequate access to water for irrigation significantly affected the performance of many farmers during the period.

She said that farmers who managed to plant struggled to access sufficient water to irrigate their farms, a situation worsened by the effects of climate change.

“Many farmers who depended on streams and wells to water their crops suffered major setbacks because those sources could not provide enough water for irrigation.

“Some farmers had to resort to buying water from commercial water tankers, which increased the cost of production.

while at times it was even difficult to get water from the tankers,” she said.

The SWOFON chairperson warned that failure to address the problem could worsen food insecurity in the coming months.

Earlier, SWOFON Coordinator in Oyo East, Oluwatoyin Oyedeji, explained the severe hardship members of the organisation experienced in sourcing water for irrigation.

“Many farmers are already counting their losses because water was not available to irrigate their farms.

“Those who depended on streams and brooks were badly affected because many of them dried up, while in the few that still have, farmers had to dig deeper into the ground in search of more,” Oyedeji said.

In the same vein, the Women Leader for farmers in Saki East, Musiliu Ashiru, said the absence of irrigation facilities also hampered dry-season farming in her area.

According to her, many farmers that still engaged in dry season farming had to pay for water to keep their crops alive.

“Many of them buy water from the dam here to irrigate their crops. It has not been easy for them this year,” Ashiru said.