Professional Assessment of Land Suitability for Irrigated Agriculture in the Hadejia-Jama’are Floodplain, North East Nigeria

This study conducts a professional land suitability assessment for irrigated agricultural development in the Hadejia-Jama'are floodplain, which spans portions of Jigawa and Yobe States in the North East geopolitical zone. The Hadejia-Jama'are floodplain is one of Nigeria's most ecologically and agriculturally important wetland systems, but pressure for irrigation scheme development requires systematic land suitability evaluation to identify areas appropriate for agricultural intensification without compromising ecologically sensitive sites. Using the FAO framework for land evaluation, soil surveys were conducted at 45 observation points across the floodplain, describing soil profiles and collecting samples for texture, bulk density, pH, salinity, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, exchangeable sodium percentage, and drainage class determination. Topographic data from high-resolution DEM analysis provided slope and flooding frequency information. Land suitability classes (S1 to N2) were assigned for irrigated rice, irrigated wheat, and irrigated vegetables based on defined land quality matching to crop requirements. Findings revealed that approximately 38 percent of the surveyed floodplain area was rated as highly suitable (S1) for irrigated rice and 24 percent for irrigated wheat. Areas rated unsuitable for irrigation (N1 to N2) were predominantly seasonally flooded zones with heavy clay soils and poor drainage. Salinity hazard affected 16 percent of the survey area. The study recommends the designation of a spatial irrigation development plan that protects ecologically sensitive zones while maximising agricultural potential, and proposes site-specific soil management guidelines for each suitability class. Keywords: land suitability, irrigated agriculture, Hadejia-Jama'are, floodplain, North East Nigeria.