By YANGE IKYAA
In line with the commitment of President Buhari’s vision towards diversifying the nation’s economy, ensuring food security and lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, the honourable minister of water resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, on Thursday in Jigawa State handed over sector number 4, covering 289 hectares of farmland under the Gari Irrigation Project back to farmers, following successful completion of the construction of irrigation infrastructure in the sector.
This newly completed sector of the irrigation scheme will see 1,472 benefitting farmers added to the project, even as the project is coming back to life with irrigation activities now taking place after more than twenty years of delay and inactivity.
Speaking at the occasion, Engr. Adamu noted that Gari Irrigation Project covers an area of approximately 2,114 hectares, supplied with water from Gari and Marke Dams in the northeastern part of Kunchi Local Government Area of Kano State. The irrigation and drainage infrastructure fall within five local government areas, namely Kazaure and Roni LGAs in Jigawa State and Kunchi, Dambatta and Makoda LGAs in Kano State.
Engr. Adamu noted that so far, about 3,056 hectares of farmland from 12 sectors have been completed and handed over to the beneficiary farmers. He therefore charged the farmers to be diligent and protect the project from unguarded obstraction of water and physical damage to the irrigation infrastructure.
The minister expressed his gratitude to President Buhari and his colleagues at the federal executive council for their support during the review of the Gari Irrigation Project and assured that he will continue to work with the federal ministry of finance, budget and national planning as well as the National Assembly to ensure sustained funding until the project is completed.
The rxecutive governor of Jigawa State, Alh. Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, in his remarks, noted that people especially youths in the five local government areas of the state and environs have no business migrating to the urban areas in search of greener pastures and encouraged them to make good use of the opportunity and infrastructure to provide for themselves as well as their families.
The Emir of Kazaure, His Royal Highness Alhaji Najib Hussain Adamu, urged the farmers to ensure diligent use, as well as protection of the irrigation facilities whilst extoling the high virtues of Mr President and the minister of water resources in bequeathing the farmers with irrigation facilities for all year farming.
Earlier in her brief, the acting director, department of irrigation and drainage, Engr. (Mrs.) Esther O. Oluniyi, said that the federal ministry of water resources, through her department, took a decision to complete the project sectorially to enable farmers to have full benefit of the all year round farming activities as the project progresses.
