FG to irrigate 30, 000 hectares in 3 years

Mr. Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources, said work has started on a national roadmap towards increasing Nigeria’s irrigated agriculture by 30, 000 hectares between now and year 2020. Successful implementation of the plan will move the country’s irrigated land from 100,000 to 130,000 hectares.


Adamu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that the roadmap is part of the ministry’s contribution to the country’s desire to substantially increase food production and generate foreign earnings.

He said the ministry had made some progress by packaging a National Irrigation and Drainage Policy which was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2016, adding that the roadmap will be implemented within a span of 15 years.

Adamu said the ministry had also carried out studies where irrigation facilities could be provided with results expected by the end of 2017. He cited the Benue Basin, Dongai-Suntai and the Nasarawa areas as possible locations for such facilities.

He said because irrigation is an ongoing process, the ministry has directed the management of River Basin Development Authorities in the country to lay more emphasis on opening more land for the development of irrigation facilities.

The minister explained that extraneous issues such as erosion, installation of streetlights and provision of furniture, among others, will be de-emphasised in the operations of river basins.

Adamu expressed delight that the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) programme, supported by the World Bank, would help in rehabilitating irrigation schemes toward promoting food security and all year round farming.

He urged all water users in these irrigation schemes to do more to protect the schemes, saying the era of enjoying free facilities was over.




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