Water Resource Management:dam Collapse and Its Impacts on Agric.production in Kankia,northern Nigeria

Water is an essential resource for all forms of life on the planet Earth. But only three per cent of water is fresh despite the fact that there are many users of the world’s fresh water. This makes it imperative to manage water resources especially in developing countries where there is high rate of population growth and large percentage of the population depend on agriculture as their source of livelihood. This paper examines loss of water resources through dam collapse and its implications on agricultural production in semi arid region of northern Nigeria. Data for the study were generated through field visit to the dam site to make observations on the collapsed dam and examine its impact on the local people and livestock. There were also field visit to another dam site about eight kilometers away where some of the farmers migrated. This was complemented with interview with the farmers, people of the area and snapping of pictures of the dams’ sites, farmland and gardens. The results have shown that the dam collapse led to loss of water resources which has implications such as destruction of farm lands, loss of dry season farming opportunities, loss of water and pasture for livestock, movement of livestock away and migration of some farmers to another dam site. This paper therefore recommends rehabilitation of the collapsed dam, periodic maintenance and timely release of excess water during the rainy season to effectively manage this water resource.